Johnny Grave

The tournament plans to have matches in Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago, Once again, the window for the CPL will not clash with West Indies fixtures so the best Caribbean talent will be on show at the Biggest Party in Sport.

Pete Russell, Republic Bank CPL’s CEO, said: “We are very pleased that this window allows the CPL to give the best players from the Caribbean the opportunity to showcase their talents. The window also allows CPL franchises to sign the best available international players after successful discussions with other leagues to avoid the same clashes we had in 2023. As always,we would like to thank Cricket West Indies for their help and support in finding a window that works so well for all stakeholders.”

Johnny Grave, Cricket West Indies CEO, said: "We are pleased to have once again worked closely with the CPL to strategically prioritize this window so that all West Indian cricketers can participate in the full CPL tournament once again. With the 2024 CPL taking place just two months after hosting the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in the region, it provides another fantastic opportunity for our fans to enjoy some world class exciting T20 cricket and for our regional governments to benefit from more cricket generated economic activity.”

The teams were due to contest a three-Test series from June but it was postponed until July. If it is decided that the tour will go head it will most likely be played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, whether the tour occurs is contingent on guarantees that the West Indies players and management will be safe.

According to Andrew Mason, the Barbados-based cricket commentator and host of the Mason and Guest talk show, he has confirmed that the players were contacted and that Trinidadian fast bowler Shannon Gabriel was among them, having recovered from surgery and is now fit to play again.

In addition to Gabriel, Mason reports, others called include Darren Bravo, Joshua Da Silva, Anderson Phillips and Shannon Gabriel.

Sunil Ambris, Preston McSween, Alzarri Joseph, Jahmar Hamilton and Rahkeem Cornwall; John Campbell, Paul Palmer, Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Markino Mindley, Shimron Hetmyer, Veerasammy Permaul and Keemo Paul; Jason Holder, Kraigg Braithwaite, Shane Moseley, Kemar Roach, Chemar Holder, Keon Harding, Shane Dowrich, Shai Hope, Kyle Mayers, Roston Chase, Sharmarh Brooks, and Jamal Warrican.

CWI CEO Johnny Grave seemed to have confirmed the news during an interview on the Cricket Show, saying that the West Indies would want a minimum of four weeks in the UK to prepare for the first Test.

Two of those weeks, he said, could be in quarantine if the squad was based at a place where it could train.

He said he would need to be 100 per cent sure that travelling to England didn't put any player at unnecessary risk.

"We've had, as you can imagine, lots of conversations individually and - as of the start of this month - we started really a much wider discussion with the ECB over what a tour might look like," said Grave.

Simmons has been self-isolating since and will only be permitted to re-join the team on Thursday, July 2, if he returns two negative Covid-19 tests.

However, his decision to leave the bio-secure location has raised some concerns and questions over whether the head coach unilaterally decided to leave the facility where the team has been preparing for the coming three-Test series beginning July 8.

Grave assured that Simmons received permission from the Chief Medical Officers of Cricket West Indies and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

“Yes, he left to go to his father-in-law's funeral on Friday and is now going through the re-entry process having had his whole exit and entry approved and managed by the medical teams,” Grave said.

In Simmons’ absence, assistant coaches Roddy Estwick and Rayon Griffith will oversee the Windies four-day, first-class fixture that starts on Monday.

Floyd Reifer will be the batting coach

According to Sir Viv, a National Hero in his native Antigua, the missed opportunities mean there is now an uphill task for the women in the region to get to the level where they can, again, win world tournaments.

“After we would have had the women’s World Cup and after they would have won we haven’t seen the so-called promises we would had here with the tournament being held her in the Caribbean, and we here in Antigua would have seen the hype about the ladies and where we are going, but I think that has been a letdown,” said Richards.

“We would have dropped a few points in that particular category and that’s one of the negatives that I think in order to try and get that momentum again where we once were because it is not looking good at present, and especially with some of the tournaments we would have seen the girls partake in this year also,” he said.

Recently, Cricket West Indies CEO, Johnny Grave, indicated that his organization would be doing all it could to ensure that the regional tournament for women continued despite the fear of COVID-19 spread in the Caribbean.

The CEO was speaking about the Women’s Super50 Cup as well as the inaugural Regional Under-19 Women’s Championship.

“They are very important tournaments, not just in terms of the preparation but in terms of the preparation for the selection of those respective squads as we look to compete in the World Cups of those events due to take place in the early part of 2021,” said Grave.

That is the word from Cricket West Indies CEO Johnny Grave, who remains hopeful that the tour will happen in some form of the other. If Grave has his way, the West Indies, who are currently engaged in a bio-secure three-Test #Raisethebat series in England, could be hosting South Africa as early as September.

However, he concedes Grave that there are significant obstacles to surmount.

 “We have had three calls in the last seven days with our counterparts in South Africa. The plan as we are working on now is that the players will come home a week Wednesday. They will have the weekend at home. Those that are in the Caribbean Premier League will head down to Trinidad on probably the third of August; so a very quick turnaround. The CPL will then start in mid-August and go through to the 10^th of September, and we hope very much that then South Africa will follow immediately after that,” Grave said while speaking on Mason & Guest in Barbados on Tuesday.

“Whether we can get the full tour in or whether we have a split tour between the Tests and T20s we don’t know.

“India are trying to get the IPL towards the back end of September – either in India which, I know is their preferred choice or in the UAE as a back-up choice, but there has been no announcement on that yet. We very much hope that South Africa will be able to come here in September for either a T20 only tour or a Test only tour, at the very least.

“And it will be dependent on the IPL. South Africa have a number of their Test players who have IPL contracts whereas this current Test team, we don’t have any IPL players in.”

Grave said the West Indies would be unable to play Test cricket during the IPL season.

“South Africa has made that very clear to us. They’ve got a commitment to their players to allow them to play in the IPL. So, at this stage we hope that that’s the case but at this stage I can’t confirm, with no flights between South Africa and the UK, which is the obvious route for them to travel,” he said.

“At the moment, it’s not something that South Africa has been able to confirm to us. But, we are talking to them regularly and we hope for good news soon.”

South Africa last visited the Caribbean in 2016 for a tri-nation series that also involved Australia.

Controversy struck earlier this week after promising batsmen Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer were left out of the regional team, ahead of its series against Sri Lanka after both failed a fitness test.  The opener Lewis’ omission came as even more of a surprise in the circumstances, considering the fact that he was the team’s best player in the recently concluded series against Ireland.

“We’ve made it clear to the players for three years now.  The last thing we want to do is to be fining any players.  The last thing we want to be doing is to be downgrading a player’s contract.  The last thing we want to do is to not have any of our players available for selection,” Grave told the SportsMax Zone.

“At the same time if we have really to make a difference in driving a new fitness culture in our cricket and professionalizing all elements of cricket in the West Indies, we have to have minimum standards, accountability for those standards and consequences if players don’t adhere to those standards,” he added.

According to the official over the last two years, CWI has been forced to fine players significant sums of money and significantly reduced salaries.

Both players failed to meet the minimum standard but are expected to be re-tested in a few weeks.

After a winning performance in the Headley-Weekes tournament in 2023, the West Indies Academy are all set to make their debut in the West Indies First-Class season, along with the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) who are making a return, re-joining the tournament after a few years’ absence.

The 2024 West Indies Championship is set to begin in February, with the opening three rounds spanning from 7 to 24 February. In the first block of games, matches will take place in two Host Countries: St. Kitts and Nevis at two venues, Warner Park and the Conaree Cricket Centre, and in Jamaica, at three venues, Sabina Park, Kensington Cricket Club, and Chedwin Park. The second block of matches resume on 13 March, with the fourth and fifth rounds scheduled to be held in Trinidad and Tobago at the Queen’s Park Oval, the Diego Martin Sports Complex and the Sir Frank Worrell Cricket Ground at UWI Spec, and in Antigua and Barbuda at the Coolidge Cricket Ground. The tournament will then restart after Easter with the final two rounds from 10 to 20 April with matches in Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

The competing eight regional teams fighting for the Headley Weekes Trophy over seven (7) rounds of matches are – defending champions Guyana Harpy Eagles, Barbados Pride, Combined Campuses and Colleges, Jamaica Scorpions, Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force, West Indies Academy and Windward Islands Volcanoes.

The 2024 West Indies Championship will have a significant increase in prize money with the winning team receiving US$250,000, while second-placed team will receive US$100,000.

Johnny Grave, CWI Chief Executive Officer said: “We are pleased to announce the schedule for the upcoming West Indies Championship and welcome two new teams and an expansion in the number of matches. With significant upgrades taking place at all the host venues for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in June and additional improvements being made to the National Stadium in Grenada and Windsor Park in Dominica, we are using nine venues across Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda and Trinidad & Tobago. The eight teams will be fighting hard for the Headley Weekes Trophy and the new prize money of US$250,000 available to the winning team. All the games will be shown live on our YouTube channel, with live ball-by-ball scores on our website so that fans around the region and world can watch and follow the competition unfold over the next three months.”
The West Indies Championship will run from 7 February to 20 April. Fans can stream all the matches live on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel and access live ball-by-ball scoring here in the match centre.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
West Indies Championship 2024
7 to 10 February:

Jamaica Scorpions vs Windward Islands Volcanoes - Sabina Park, Jamaica

CCC vs Barbados Pride - Chedwin Park, Jamaica

Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs West Indies Academy - Warner Park, St. Kitts

Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Trinidad & Tobago Red Force - Conaree Cricket Centre, St. Kitts

14 to 17 February:

Jamaica Scorpions vs CCC - Sabina Park, Jamaica

Barbados Pride vs Windward Islands Volcanoes - Kensington Cricket Club, Jamaica

Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Guyana Harpy Eagles - Warner Park, St. Kitts

Trinidad &Tobago Red Force vs West Indies Academy - Conaree Cricket Centre, St. Kitts

21 to 24 February:

Jamaica Scorpions vs Barbados Pride - Sabina Park, Jamaica

Windward Islands Volcanoes vs CCC - Chedwin Park, Jamaica

Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Trinidad &Tobago Red Force - Warner Park, St. Kitts

West Indies Academy vs Guyana Harpy Eagles - Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG), Antigua

13 to 16 March:

Trinidad &Tobago Red Force vs Windward Islands Volcanoes - Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad

CCC vs Leeward Islands Hurricanes - Diego Martin Regional Complex, Trinidad

Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Barbados Pride - Sir Frank Worrell Cricket Ground at UWI Spec (UWI SPEC), Trinidad

West Indies Academy vs Jamaica Scorpions - CCG, Antigua

20 March to 23 March:

Trinidad &Tobago Red Force vs Barbados Pride - Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad

Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Jamaica Scorpions - Diego Martin Regional Complex, Trinidad

Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Windward Islands Volcanoes - UWI SPEC, Trinidad

West Indies Academy vs CCC - CCG, Antigua

10 to 13 April:

Jamaica Scorpions vs Guyana Harpy Eagles - Sabina Park, Jamaica

CCC vs Trinidad &Tobago Red Force - Chedwin Park, Jamaica

Leeward Hurricanes vs Barbados Pride - UWI SPEC, Trinidad

West Indies Academy vs Windward Islands Volcanoes - CCG, Antigua

17 to 20 April:

Jamaica Scorpions vs Trinidad &Tobago Red Force - Sabina Park, Jamaica

CCC vs Guyana Harpy Eagles - Kensington Cricket Club, Jamaica

Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Windward Islands Volcanoes - UWI SPEC, Trinidad

West Indies Academy vs Barbados Pride - CCG, Antigua

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The ODI Series will be West Indies fourth series of 12 in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League in which the top seven teams can secure automatic qualification for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India. West Indies currently lie in eighth position out of 13 teams and have the opportunity to move above Pakistan into seventh position.

This will be the West Indies’ first tour of Pakistan since April 2018 when three T20Is were contested. The two-time former World Champions will be playing ODIs in Pakistan for the first time since December 2006.

“Today we have confirmed the details for the West Indies Men’s white-ball tour of Pakistan in December. CWI would like to thank the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and our own cricket operations, medical and security teams for the work that has gone into the organization of this tour,” said CWI CEO Johnny Grave.

“West Indies and Pakistan have always delivered exciting series and we’re looking forward to visiting Pakistan to complete what has been a hectic and momentous year of cricket in the light of the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The tour starts a new cycle of T20i cricket, building towards next year’s ICC T20 World Cup in Australia. The ODIs also have great significance as West Indies looks to earn more points towards securing qualification for the ICC Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup in India in 2023.”

According to CWI, independent security advisors, Eastern Star International (ESI) will continue to monitor the security situation in Pakistan, and will also have a representative assigned to the team for the duration of the tour.

Meanwhile, the West Indies Women’s Team is presently in Karachi, Pakistan for three ODIs as part of their final preparations for the upcoming Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers.

Tour Schedule

December 9 – West Indies arrive in Karachi

December 13 – 1st T20I, Karachi

December 14 – 2nd T20I, Karachi

December 16 – 3rd T20I, Karachi

December 18 – 1st ODI, Karachi

December 20 – 2nd ODI, Karachi

December 22 – 3rd ODI, Karachi

 David White, CEO of New Zealand Cricket said the tours would go ahead despite the ongoing pandemic, saying that managed isolation arrangements are being worked out for the visiting teams.

"We are making tremendous progress. I was just on the phone to the West Indies, they're confirmed, Pakistan is confirmed, Australia and Bangladesh... so 37 days of international cricket," White told reporters in Auckland.

However, CWI CEO Johnny Grave told Sportsmax.TV that nothing has been confirmed for the Caribbean side to visit New Zealand where there were no reported COVID-19 infections for more than three months.

The West Indies recently returned from their three-Test bio-secure #Raisethebat series in England. The hosts won the series 2-1.

This will be Ireland’s second full white-ball tour to the West Indies having previously toured in 2020 which included a thrilling one-wicket, last-over win for the West Indies in the second match of the 2020 CG Insurance ODI Series.

 “We are looking forward to welcoming Ireland back to the West Indies in January. They last visited the Caribbean in 2020 and we had some exciting encounters, so we can anticipate a competitive series to start the new year,” said CWI CEO Johnny Grave.

“This will be the start of a very busy year for us at CWI, as we host several international teams as well as the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup.

“We want to thank the Government of Jamaica and our colleagues at the Jamaica Cricket Association, who have been working closely with us to make sure that the tour can take place safely and smoothly. We’d also like to thank title sponsors CG Insurance for their ongoing support and investment in cricket, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it has been vital funding to help us to sustain the sport across our Caribbean countries and communities.”

Naz Farrow, CEO of CG Insurance said his company is happy to be able to support CWI during these challenging times.

“When we first began our partnership a few years ago, we would have never imagined that the teams, and the world, were about to face one of the biggest challenges of this generation,” he said.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have been thrilled to see the players and teams work through the various obstacles to constantly deliver world-class cricket. Even now, as Ireland joins to play the ODIs in January, we are proud to continue to support CWI, and this series, and look forward to these exciting matches in 2022.”

The CG Insurance ODI Series between West Indies and Ireland will be West Indies fifth ODI series out of the 12 in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League, in which the top seven teams can secure automatic qualification for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.

The CG Insurance ODIs will start at 9:30 am local time (10:30 am Eastern Caribbean/2:30 pm Ireland) and the T20I will start at 4 pm local time (5 pm Eastern Caribbean/9 pm Ireland). All matches will be available in Ireland and the United Kingdom on BT Sport on its sports channels and across its digital platforms.

Match schedule – at Sabina Park

January 8: 1st CG Insurance ODI – 9:30 am (10:30 am Eastern Caribbean/2:30 pm Ireland)

January 11: 2nd CG Insurance ODI – 9:30 am (10:30 am Eastern Caribbean/2:30 pm Ireland)

January 14: 3rd CG Insurance ODI – 9:30 am (10:30 am Eastern Caribbean/2:30 pm Ireland)

January 16: T20I International – 4 pm (5 pm Eastern Caribbean/9 pm Ireland).

The Test and T20 International (T20I) series against the Proteas, rescheduled from 2020, will start the International summer. The world-renowned tourism destinations of Saint Lucia and Grenada will be the West Indies host venues. South Africa are due to arrive at St Lucia on June 1 and will play two Test matches at The Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, followed by five T20Is at the Grenada National Cricket Stadium from June 26 to July 3. CWI is grateful to the Governments of St Lucia and Grenada for agreeing, at relatively short notice, to host the touring South Africans. This will be the first time that South Africa has played bilateral cricket in the West Indies since 2010.

The July 9 to 24 Australia white-ball tour of the West Indies will also begin at St Lucia’s Darren Sammy Cricket Ground hosting five T20Is. The Aussies then move on to Barbados for three day/night CG Insurance One Day Internationals (ODIs) at the world-famous Kensington Oval. The CG Insurance ODIs provide the opportunity for West Indies to secure more points in the ICC ODI Super League, as the West Indies strive to qualify automatically for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup following the recent 3-0 victory against Sri Lanka. https://www.icc-cricket.com/cricket-world-cup-super-league/standings

Pakistan is scheduled to arrive in Barbados on July 21 ahead of their five-match T20I Series, with the first two matches to be played at Kensington Oval before travelling to Guyana to play the concluding three T20Is at Guyana’s National Stadium from 26 to 29 June. The West Indies and Pakistan teams will then travel to Jamaica for two back-to-back Test matches at Sabina Park from August 12 to August 24 which conclude four days prior to the start of the Caribbean Premier League in St Kitts.

This schedule features a total of fifteen T20Is for the reigning ICC T20 World Champions, as the West Indies continue the build-up to their title defence at the ICC T20 World Cup, in October and November 2021.

CWI CEO Johnny Grave said: “Following the successful hosting of the all-format series against Sri Lanka earlier this year, we are delighted to announce that we are set to welcome South Africa, Australia and Pakistan to the West Indies. To host three international teams back-to-back in five territories is unprecedented, and putting these fixtures together was an enormous Covid-related logistical challenge. We must thank the visiting teams for agreeing to travel at this challenging period for world cricket and we are especially grateful to our regional Governments who are playing such a vital role in partnering with CWI to ensure that International cricket can be hosted safely while providing entertainment for our loyal fans and income for our cricketers and cricket communities.”
CWI has also been working closely with Territorial Cricket Boards, along with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Sport in all the host countries, to orchestrate all the logistics and agree the safety and medical protocols for the tour. All players, support staff and match officials will stay, train and play in a bio-secure environment, with regular COVID-19 PCR testing taking place with the assistance of Ministries of Health and from CARPHA.

It is not yet determined whether fans will be able to attend matches in person, however, they will be able to follow live on TV in the Caribbean with Flow Sport, live on radio with Vibes FM and their partner radio stations and via ball-by-ball updates and the new live blog in the match centre on www.windiescricket.com.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have confirmed all the tour logistics and have submitted detailed medical and security plans to CWI for final review.

The West Indies Women are due to arrive in Pakistan on November 1 for the ODI series that is scheduled to be played at the National Stadium in Karachi.

This will be the West Indies Women’s third bilateral series in 2021, after hosting Pakistan and South Africa in the Caribbean this summer. The West Indies players are currently in Antigua for a High-Performance training camp as part of the team’s preparation for the upcoming Cricket World Cup Qualifiers.

“This reciprocal tour to Pakistan is an important part of our preparation plans ahead of the World Cup qualifying tournament that is scheduled to take place in Zimbabwe in mid-November. This tour to Pakistan will give the team the chance to play in different conditions compared to the Caribbean and have more high-level competitive cricket ahead of aiming to secure one of the three qualifying spots available for the Women’s Cricket World Cup next year,” said CWI CEO Johnny Grave.

“The security plan arranged by the PCB is the same high level that the West Indies Men’s and Women’s teams received when they last toured Pakistan in 2018 and 2019, respectively.  Independent security advisors, Eastern Star International (ESI) have confirmed to both CWI and WIPA that they are satisfied that the risk is manageable and can be mitigated to an acceptable level of safety.  We will now take a final recommendation to our Board of Directors before the Selection Panel confirms the squad.”

The West Indies Women will travel directly to Zimbabwe after the ODI Series for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers from November 21 to December 5.  They will be one of 10 teams, along with Pakistan, aiming to secure one of three qualifying places for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand in February 2022.

The West Indies Women last toured Pakistan in January 2019 for three (3) T20 Internationals in Karachi.                                                                               

FULL MATCH SCHEDULE

1st ODI – November 8 at National Stadium, Karachi

2nd ODI – November 11 at National Stadium, Karachi

3rd ODI – November 14 at National Stadium, Karachi

In the wake of the discovery of the new Omicron Covid variant, more severe global restrictions against travellers from a number of African countries, including Zimbabwe, forced the ICC to abandon the tournament prematurely and to send competing teams home as quickly as possible.

The West Indies squad was flown to Oman by an ICC private charter, with a short stopover in Namibia, along with eight other international squads. Oman was used as a staging area for the West Indies Women’s squad while they awaited an available route home.

“We are pleased to confirm that the West Indies Women’s squad will soon be making their way back home. We want to thank them for their patience and understanding as we worked with our counterparts at the ICC and Oman Cricket to facilitate their return at the earliest opportunity,” said CWI CEO Johnny Grave.

“We want to express our appreciation to the ICC, Oman Cricket and our operations team, who have worked tirelessly to ensure everyone was comfortable and remained safe.”

Meanwhile, Head Coach Courtney Walsh the players and coaching staff are relieved to be heading home after enduring challenging times in quarantine.

“The team is relieved by the good news that we will be home with our families before Christmas. The sudden cancellation of the Qualifiers and transition period in Oman has been mentally taxing on the entire team, both for the players and management staff,” Walsh said.

“As a management group, we tried to ensure that the players remained in a positive frame of mind. Our Strength and Conditioning Coach created a fitness challenge for all of us to participate in for the duration of the quarantine period, as it was something to take our minds off what was happening. I must say thanks to our Team Manager, the ICC and Oman Cricket, for all their logistical work, in ensuring we’re on our way home as quickly as possible.”

The players and team management are expected to arrive at their various West Indian home territories over the course of the next few days.

Following the termination of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers, ICC announced that the West Indies Women along with Pakistan Women and Bangladesh Women secured the final three qualification spots for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup by virtue of the existing ICC Women’s ODI rankings. The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup will be played in New Zealand from March 4 to April 3, 2022.

The men’s program restarted under similar circumstances when the team became one of the first to resume playing international cricket, with its tour against England last month.  With the women’s inactive for the entire period, concerns were raised regarding a need to keep them engaged and active.

With South Africa pulling out of the tour, due to prevailing concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic, the regional team was invited to fill the spot.

“It’s similar to the men in as much as the ECB has said they understand the financial position that we are in and they have agreed to pick up the cost.  So, this provides us with the best opportunity to restart our women’s program,” Grave told the Mason and Guest radio show.

“With the Guyana and Trinidad borders shut, getting the women together has been impossible.  They haven’t been training since March, since they returned from the World T20 in Australia.  This provides us with the opportunity to have three weeks of training camp prior to a couple of weeks’ worth of games.  We are playing five international T20s.  So, it really has kickstarted our women’s program, which we have been trying to do.”

Sammy’s final squad, which is expected to be named sometime this week, will be one of nine teams to travel to the Trinidad and Tobago in May for eight warm-up matches, four of which will take place at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, while the other four is scheduled for the historic Queen’s Park Oval. The teams will arrive in twin island republic on May 21.

The revelation came from Cricket West Indies’s (CWI) CEO Johnny Grave during the recently-concluded CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, in Port of Spain.

Grave explained that the final West Indies squad will not convene in full until they travel to Jamaica at the end of May to engage South Africa in three warm-up contests. However, he pointed out that there will be a camp in Antigua prior, which will involve members of the final squad, who are not plying their trade in the Indian Premier League.

From Jamaica, the Rovman Powell-captained squad will then travel to Trinidad and Tobago for the clash against 50-over World Cup winners Australia, ahead of the tournament to be hosted in the Caribbean and United States.

West Indies, the 2012 and 2016 champions, are hunting a third T20 World Cup title.

 “We’re going to have a week-long preparation camp in Antigua from May 12, before heading to Jamaica. We’re then going to leave Jamaica and come here to Trinidad and Tobago for a week’s preparation, including playing at the historic Queen’s Park Oval on May 30, in an evening fixture against one of the tournament favourites Australia,” Grave shared.

“That will probably be one of the only games in the warm-up schedule that will be ticketed, and we certainly hope that the fans here in Trinidad, and particularly those in Port of Spain, will come out and rally behind the West Indies in that warm-up match, which is the final game we’ll play before we head to Guyana for the opening game on June 2,” he added.

West Indies, who are drawn in Group C alongside New Zealand, Afghanistan, Uganda and Papua New Guinea, will open against the latter at the Guyana National Stadium on June 2.

Grave urged fans to come out and rally behind the West Indies outfit in their push to start the tournament on a high.

“Making sure we have a huge party in Georgetown, and we get off to a winning start (will be crucial). We all know in these global tournaments, confidence and momentum are important and we can think of nothing better than starting with a victory in Guyana and ending it in Barbados on June 29 with a similar victory,” Grave said.

The decision to postpone the tour came as a result of the uncertainty for the safe resumption of cricket in the United Kingdom, as well as international air travel.

As a result, it was a logically mutual decision to postpone the tour to a later date until the clearance is granted by the UK government. The proposed window for the likely staging of this series is now July until the end of September.

“We continue to be in regular dialogue with the ECB on when and how we might be able to rearrange the Test Series. Clearly playing in June is now not possible and we will continue our discussions with the ECB and other Internationals Boards on trying to find new dates,” said CWI CEO Johnny Grave.

“We will only travel to England to play the series if our players can be assured that it is safe to do so. Our respective Medical Teams are beginning to discuss how this series could be played whilst guaranteeing the health and safety of our players and support team. We will be as flexible as we can without compromising the safety of our team.”

The West Indies were scheduled to play the three-match Test series from June 4-8, The Oval, June 12-16 Edgbaston, June 25-29 Lord’s.

Cricket West Indies made the announcement on Tuesday.

The decision comes only after cricket operations and medical officials from CWI and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) held detailed discussions and agreed that all local and international logistics and medical protocols would follow those established and successfully implemented for the West Indies Men’s tour to England earlier this year.

The players and staff will remain in a bio-secure environment for the duration of the tour, with all matches being played “behind closed doors” at the Incora County Ground, Derby.

“We are delighted to be able to confirm this tour and re-start our Women’s programme.  It has been a real challenge to put everything in place at short notice but knowing that our Women’s team will be hosted in the same bio-secure environment as our Men’s team, following all the established protocols, has enabled us to confirm the tour in under two weeks since we first spoke to the ECB about the potential opportunity,” said CWI CEO Johnny Grave.

“We are very proud to have restarted Men’s International cricket with the ECB and its great that we can now bring back Women’s International cricket too.”

CWI has sought the relevant approvals within the Caribbean, including seeking permission from the various Governments to facilitate the movement of players and support staff using private charter planes as well as conducting medical screenings and individual COVID-19 testing for all members of the touring party.

The five-match series will replace England’s scheduled series against India and South Africa after both those teams were unavailable to travel due to COVID-19.

 The full schedule is as follows:

Monday September 21: 1st Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (Sky Sports)

 Wednesday September 23: 2nd Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (Sky Sports)

Saturday September 26: 3rd Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (Sky Sports, BBC)

Monday September 28: 4th Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (Sky Sports)

Wednesday September 30: 5th Vitality IT20, England v West Indies (Sky Sports)

The third IT20 on Saturday September 26 will be simulcast live on the BBC and Sky Sports; the first-time women’s international cricket in the UK has been on free-to-air television since the 1993 Women’s World Cup final.

This will be the first time two ICC ranked women’s teams will play a bilateral series since the worldwide lockdown as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Both teams last played each other at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia, where England defeated the West Indies by 46 runs.

The West Indies and England are set for a return to international cricket next month with a three-match Test series, in England.  With the spread and effects of the coronavirus still very much evident in the UK, however, some have questioned the wisdom of the decision, particularly based on the risk posed to the players.

With 291,409 thousand reported cases and 41,279 deaths, the UK is the hardest-hit region in Europe.  The ECB has, however, been taking precautions with a chartered flight for the team to the UK and the implementation of a biosecure environment for the series, which will keep the players quarantined from the rest of the general public for the duration of the tour.  There is still, however, some risk attached but Grave has been quick to dismiss suggestions the invitation was accepted because of a debt owed.

“We got a three-million-dollar advance of our ICC distribution that was given to us by ECB.  It’s a short-term interest-free advance because its due to be paid back in full in July, directly by ICC to ECB and will be deducted from the money we get,” Grave told Barbados Nationnews.

“In early May when we received it, we weren’t discussing it at all because the situation in the UK was not the state that it is now.  So, I guarantee you it’s not linked in any way shape, or form to our touring or not touring.”

Three WCPL matches will be a part of double-headers along with West Indies men's T20 international series against South Africa.

Johnny Grave, CEO of Cricket West Indies, described the move as an exciting new concept for the second edition of the WCPL, which is scheduled for August 21 to 29.

"Women's cricket continues to be a strategic priority for Cricket West Indies, and this is another exciting new concept for WCPL 2024," Grave said.

"We are certain that there will be huge interest from people in Trinidad in these double headers, as fans will be able to watch world class international Men's cricket, followed by the best female cricketers in the region competing alongside some of the best overseas players in the world,” he added.

All the WCPL games will take place at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, with the double-headers scheduled for August 23, 25 and 27.

Pete Russell, CEO of the Caribbean Premier League, also expressed excitement at the move.

"We are very excited to be able to work with Cricket West Indies to have the WCPL take place at the same time as these Men's T20 Internationals. It is another example of how the two organisations are working in harmony to provide the best outcome for fans, players and cricket in the region. We look forward to another successful WCPL as the tournament continues to grow year on year,” Russell reasoned.

The Hayley Matthews-led Barbados Royals clinched the previous edition of the WCPL, where a total of seven matches were held, including the final, among three teams.

South Africa are scheduled to tour the Caribbean for two Tests in Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana from August 7. This will be followed by the three-match T20I series at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy from August 23 ahead of the CPL.

The two teams will also play a four-day warm-up game ahead of the Test series in Tarouba.