CWI responds to leaving Oval off list

Barbados has been told that it is a “preferred venue” and it will be “strongly considered” to host international cricket in the coming years when powerhouses India and England visit the region.

This assurance from Cricket West Indies (CWI) in response to authorities here who expressed great disappointment that there will be no regional first-class matches or international matches this year.

Both Dr Kishore Shallow, president of CWI, and Chris Dehring, its chief executive officer, spoke on the matter during a press conference at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua yesterday.

Earlier this week, Calvin Hope, president of the Barbados Cricket Association, and later Damien Gaskin, chairman of Kensington Oval Management Inc., expressed their public displeasure at the idea of Kensington Oval being overlooked.

Traditional value

“The reality is Barbados has and will continue to be a preferred hosting venue in the Caribbean. We understand and appreciate fully the traditional value that Barbados has played and added to West Indies cricket. We know that there are teams who love playing in Barbados and we will continue to exercise on our end and will explore whatever possibilities there are to host in Barbados,” Shallow said.

“In this year where we are obviously trying to reduce our expenditure significantly, we have no choice than to host these matches elsewhere and come up with the structure and format which we have. Every year there are countries and stakeholders who are going to be disappointed. Next year we host India and the following year we host England and I’m sure Barbados will be strongly considered.”

CWI has not officially unveiled the fixtures and venues. However, the Saturday Sun has obtained a draft copy of the itinerary which shows Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan scheduled

to tour the region from June to August. They will play 16 matches – four Tests, six One-Day Internationals and six T20 Internationals.

Dehring suggested there could be a misconception on how the matches were assigned.

Four-year cycle “The allocation of matches can’t be looked at in a single year. You have to look at the four-year cycle which is how world cricket operates . . . . It’s a four-year FTP (Future Tours Programme). There may be nuances and circumstances where we make adjustments and so on, but it is not an arbitrary allocation.

“There are circumstances that may include the financial situation, it may include the actual cost of hosting any event in a country, which in and of itself can vary from series to series,” he said.

The draft schedule of the summer home series shows West Indies will host Sri Lanka in three one-day internationals (ODIs) and three T20 internationals at Sabina Park, Jamaica from June 3 to 14. The teams will then travel to Antigua for two Test matches at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium from June 25 to July 7. New Zealand will then arrive and play three ODIs and three T20Is at the Guyana National Stadium in Georgetown from July 11 to 22.

Pakistan will be the third team to visit and will play two Tests in Trinidad. The first is at Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain from July 25 to 29. The second will be at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy from August 2 to 6. This will be the first Test match to be hosted at the facility in south Trinidad. (PS)

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