Player loan system to help stave off COVID postponements

ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC):

CRICKET WEST Indies (CWI) has announced that the West Indies Championship 2022 will start on Wednesday, marking the return of first-class cricket to the region for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and special arrangements are being made to help teams continue in the tournament if COVID-19 infections impact their squads.

In unveiling the match schedule for the first two rounds of the championship as part of a five-round tournament schedule for the six professional regional franchises on Monday, CWI said it was implementing a special “player loan” system to try to ensure that each 15-member team will be able to complete their fixtures.

It explained that if a team has players ruled out due to a positive COVID-19 result, they can request to use players from another team and/or from a pool of locally registered reserve players.

CWI CEO Johnny Grave said the tournament is a critical part of CWI’s professional cricket calendar and its return was preceded by six months of planning.

CWI had suspended the 2019-2020 championship on March 13, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before cancelling it 11 days later and naming Barbados Pride tournament winners after they finished top of the group.

“This is exciting news as we know the teams have been putting in hours of hard work in the nets, patiently waiting for the matches to be confirmed, and are looking forward to being back on the field and entertaining their fans. These upcoming matches are especially crucial as we host England in the Apex Test Series in March, so the ‘Championship’ will be the ideal preparation for our Test players as well,” Grave said.

CWI’s Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams also welcomed the return of four-day cricket which will be contested by Barbados Pride, Leeward Island Hurricanes, Windward Islands Volcanoes, Guyana Harpy Eagles, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force and Jamaica Scorpions.

“I am pleased to see the reintroduction of regional four-day cricket for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. This competition plays a critical role in our player-development pathway and, after almost two years, we are delighted to have our regional players back playing competitively in this format,” he said.

RED BALL COMPETITION

CWI said the West Indies Championship marks not only a return of the regional red ball competition, but also the opportunity for the Caribbean players to stake their claim for selection to the West Indies Test squad for the forthcoming Apex Test Series between West Indies and England in March.

The first and second rounds will be played in Barbados and Trinidad from Wednesday, February 9 to Saturday, February 12; and from Tuesday, February 15 to Friday, February 18. The teams will again compete for the Headley Weekes Trophy named in honour of West Indies legends, George Headley and Sir Everton Weekes.

Defending champions Barbados Pride will face Leeward Islands Hurricanes in the first match at Kensington Oval; home team Trinidad and Tobago Red Force host Jamaica Scorpions at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad; while the newly named Guyana Harpy Eagles face Windward Islands Volcanoes at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad.

In the second round, Barbados Pride face Jamaica Scorpions at Kensington Oval; Trinidad and Tobago Red Force take on Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy; and Guyana Harpy Eagles meet Leeward Islands Hurricanes at Queen’s Park Oval.

The last three rounds of the West Indies Championship are scheduled to be contested in May. For the 2022 tournament, each squad will consist of 15 players.