The 2022 West Indies Championship will resume on Wednesday, May 18, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced on Tuesday.

CWI unveiled the match schedule for the final three rounds of the four-day first-class red ball tournament for the six professional regional franchises.

The first and second rounds were played in February ahead of the Apex Test Series which concluded yesterday with West Indies beating England 1-0 to win the newly-minted Richards-Botham trophy.

The West Indies Championship returns with all matches being played in Trinidad at the Queen’s Park Oval, Brian Lara Cricket Academy and the Diego Martin Sporting Complex. The third round will run from May 18-21, the fourth from May 25-28, with the fifth and final round from June 1-4.

Defending champions Barbados Pride lead the points table with 42 points, with Trinidad & Tobago Red Force second on 38.6 points – both recorded wins in their first two matches. They are followed by Leeward Islands Hurricanes on 24.6 points, Guyana Harpy Eagles on 21.4 points, Windward Islands Hurricanes on 10.8 points, and Jamaica Scorpions on 8.8 points.

The teams will be competing for the Headley Weekes Trophy named in honour of West Indies legends George Headley and Sir Everton Weekes.  The current top two teams face each other in Round 4 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy with the chasing four teams aiming to win their games in round 3 of the West Indies Championship to close the points gap ahead of the concluding matches.

“The resumption of the West Indies Championship, our regional four-day competition, has been good to see. While we cannot recover the two years lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, we can now re-start critical aspects of our development pathway that depended on this tournament. I'm especially pleased for all the players and support staff that have had to put their own development on hold during the enforced break,” said Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket welcoming the return of the four-day format and reiterating this competition plays a critical role in the player-development pathway.

For the ongoing tournament, each squad will consist of 15 players due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CWI is also implementing a special “player loan” system to try to ensure that each team will be able to complete their fixtures. If a team has a player(s) ruled out due to a positive COVID-19 result, they can request to use a player(s) from another team and/or from a pool of locally registered reserve players

LIVE ball-by-ball scoring of each game will be available through the www.windiescricket.com match centre. CWI will be streaming each of the matches with commentary via the Windies cricket YouTube channel. The Championship will also be streamed live in India on FanCode, as part of CWI’s partnership with the Indian broadcaster.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Monday announced the West Indies Championship 2022 will start on Wednesday, February 9, marking the return of first-class cricket in the region since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CWI has unveiled the match schedule for the first two rounds of the West Indies Championship as part of a five-round tournament scheduled for the six professional regional franchises.

The West Indies Championship marks not only a return of the regional red ball competition but also the opportunity for West Indian 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 2022.

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 Queens Park Oval in Trinidad.

In the second round, Barbados Pride faces 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 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CWI is also implementing a special “player loan” system to try to ensure that each team will be able to complete their fixtures. If a team has a player(s) ruled out due to a positive COVID-19 result, they can request to use a player(s) from another team and/or from a pool of locally registered reserve players.

Johnny Grave, CEO of CWI, commented on how the West Indies Championship is a critical part of CWI’s professional cricket calendar. Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket also welcomed the return of the four-day format.

“Following detailed planning over the past six months, we are delighted to finally announce the return of the West Indies Championship. 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.

“I am pleased to see the re-introduction 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,” Adams said.

Live ball-by-ball scoring of each game will be available through the www.windiescricket.com match centre. CWI will be streaming each of the matches with commentary via the Windies Cricket, YouTube channel. The Championship will also be streamed live in India on FanCode, as part of CWI’s partnership with the Indian broadcaster.

Leon Johnson will lead a 15-man squad that the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has named for the first and second rounds of the West Indies Championship 2022.