WEST INDIES Director of CRICKET Condey Riley and former West Indies opener Philo Wallace both expressed displeasure at Barbados not being selected to host any of the matches during the 2023 CWI Four-Day Championship.
Riley, also president of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), said he was not accepting the reason for the decision was problematic flight arrangements on the island.
“When things like this happen, I understand why CWI is where it is. But I know if you want to get to Barbados, it’s the same way you can get to Antigua or Grenada or St. Vincent, you can get to Barbados,” Riley told listeners of “Mason & Guest” on Tuesday.
Asked by host Andrew Mason if the BCA had raised any concerns or objections to the CWI’s decision not to host games in Barbados, Riley said: “No. You know why? No sense. You say the problem is travel, so how can they land on the other islands? I never went to school in August and when I hear that ignorance, I just smile.”
Wallace disagreed with that course of action and pleaded with the BCA to press the CWI for further explanations.
“I was surprised that the reigning first-class cricket champions have not been given a single first-class game in Barbados… I think it is a clear indication from the CWI that Barbados is being excluded…
“You can’t have Barbados as champions who can’t have home games and host other games as well. I would like to hear from the CWI about who decides the matches and who decides where these games will be played,” Wallace said, adding that regional players should also not be deprived of playing on the fast-paced surface at Kensington Oval.
On Tuesday, the CWI revealed the schedule of the 2023 West Indies Championship to be followed by the new Headley-Weekes Series. The series will have three games and three teams.
Team Headley and Team Weeks will be selected from the top performers in the 2023 West Indies Championship and players from outside the West Indies starting Test XI. West Indies Academy will provide the third team in the new series. This series will start from April 18 to May 6 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) in Antigua.
The 2023 edition of the West Indies Championship precedes it with five rounds of four-day action featuring the six regional franchise teams – defending champions Barbados Pride, Guyana Harpy Eagles, Jamaica Scorpions, Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force and Volcano Islands.
The first two rounds will be played from February 1-11 in Grenada (National Stadium) and Antigua (CCG and at SVRS). There will then be a break before the tournament resumes on March 15 to April 1 for the final three rounds, after which the champions will be crowned and presented with the Headley-Weekes trophy.
These matches will be played at Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA), Queen’s Park Oval (QPO) and Diego Martin Sports Complex (DMSC).
Tournament schedule:
West Indies Championship 2023
February 1-4: Round 1 in Grenada/Antigua
February 8-11: Round 2 in Grenada/Antigua
March 15-18: Round 3 in Trinidad
March 22-25: Round 4 in Trinidad
March 29-April 1: Round 5 in Trinidad
Tri-Headley Weeks Series (@CCG)
19-22 April: Team Headley v WI Academy
April 26-29: Team Weeks vs WI Academy
May 3-6: Team Weeks vs Team Headley
