Former Prime Minister of Jamaica PJ Patterson has said that West Indies will return to the pinnacle of world cricket only when there is a unity of purpose among key stakeholders.

Delivering the keynote address at the second annual West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)/West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) Awards Ceremony at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Thursday night, Patterson reminded that the West Indies’ greatest asset are its cricketers, therefore the WICB and WIPA should continue to work together in developing the players and the game in general in the Caribbean.

“It is they (the players) who people come out to watch and not those who hold high office… the struggle for equal recognition has been far too long and acrimonious.

“The time, energy and money spent by WICB and WIPA on 14 arbitrations and a plethora of lawsuits would have been far better devoted to taking us out the pit and back to the pinnacle where we once belonged.

“Let the darkness of the night now give way to the birth of a new dawn and constitute a meaningful partnership so that West Indies cricket can once again be number one,” said Patterson.

Meanwhile, Trinidad & Tobago batsman Darren Bravo and Jamaica’s all-rounder Stafanie Taylor walked away with the respective male and female Cricketer of the Year awards.

The left-handed Bravo, who scored a career-best 218 against New Zealand last December, said that he was surprised when the announcement was made that he was the 2013 West Indies Cricketer of the Year.

“I was a bit surprised when I heard the announcement, but it is a great feeling to have been named the West Indies Cricketer of the Year. This shows the amount of hard work that I have been putting in over the years and I am just happy that it really paid off.

“I just want to thank all of the players for being there for me, my family and friends for their support as well,” Bravo told the Sunday Observer.

WIPA’s director Michael Hall received the 2013 West Indies Female Cricketer award on behalf of the absent Taylor.

Meanwhile, Shivnarine Chnaderpaul and Chris Gayle received special awards for historical landmarks in the regional game.

Chanderpaul was honoured for being the first West Indian cricketer to play 150 Test matches and was also named West Indies Test Cricketer of the Year, while Gayle will be celebrating a milestone of 100 Tests against New Zealand at Sabina Park today as he was honoured for his accomplishment.

Other major awards went to Dwayne Bravo (West Indies One Day International Cricketer of the Year); and Sunil Narine (West Indies T/20 Cricketer of the Year).

Other awardees were Patrina Walcott (Atlantic Award); Tagenarine Chanderpaul (Under-19 Cricketer of the Year); Jamaica (Under-19 Team of the Year); Nikita Miller (First-Class Four-day Cricketer of the Year); Shane Shillingford (First-Class Limited Over Cricketer of the Year); Trinidad and Tobago (First Class Team of the Year); Miguel Cummins (Emerging Player of the Year); Darren Bravo (Caribbean T/20 Cricketer of the Year); Lock-Heart Sebastien (WIPA Lifetime Achievement Award) and Edward Griffith (WICB Lifetime Achievement Award).