The inaugural Tony Cozier and Reds Perreira 23 and Under T-6 Regional Cricket Festival is scheduled to bowl off from April 14-18, 2022 in Barbados.
To be held under the theme of 'One Caribbean, One Sport, One People, One Love' signifying the importance of togetherness within the region and creating the necessary investment for the development of young cricketers, the tournament is also being held in honour of two of the region’s greatest cricket commentators, Red Perreira and the late Tony Cozier.
“We are seeking to honour Mr Reds Perreira and pay respects to the late Mr Tony Cozier, who were very good friends and by extension, two of the greatest West Indian cricket commentators and writers that we have witnessed on this planet,” said Hamilton Lashley, the founder and director of the foundation.
“These gentlemen have been mentors and an inspiration to many youths and it is against this background we are seeking to stage this tournament on the Easter weekend of 2022.”
According to Lashley, a former Minister of Social Transformation in Barbados, countries that have expressed an interest so far include Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, St. Lucia, Bermuda, Antigua and Bermuda, Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Saint Marteen, Canada and the United States of America.
The foundation is planning on playing matches at the famous 3Ws Cricket Oval located at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus and Briar Hall Ground in Christ Church.
It is expected that 24 teams will be part of this tournament and each team is required to bring 10 players per team. Seven players will play a game, six on the field with one super sub.
The deadline for registration is January 28, 2022, and there is a registration fee of US$500 per team.
The winner of the tournament will walk away with US$10,000 with the second and third-place teams getting US$5000 and US$2500, respectively. The fourth-placed team will get US$1,250.00
Those who wish to participate and are fully vaccinated will not have to quarantine once they have arrived in Barbados. However, those not vaccinated or who have only one dose of the vaccination will have to quarantine for five days as stipulated by the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit in Barbados.
Transportation will be provided for overseas participating teams to and from the airport and to fixture matches.