The St Kitts and Nevis’ government believes the hosting of the Caribbean Premier League will help stimulate a tourism sector that has been dealt a severe blow by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Sports Minister Jonel Powell said he expected the popular Twenty20 tournament, scheduled to bowl off August 28, to have a positive impact especially on hotels and restaurants with a boost also anticipated for the services sector.
This, Powell said, would translate into increased employment at a difficult time when there was little economic activity due to pandemic.
“We have identified the fact we have been blessed and able to manage the COVID-19 situation very well here, and bearing in mind the substantial economic benefits that would flow from being able to host the entire CPL here in St Kitts and Nevis, particularly at a time when things are very slow because of the pandemic, we thought it to be a very prudent move to try and get the games here and we’ve been successful,” Powell said.
West Indies and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder, Andre Russell, has crossed the threshold of 6000 runs in T20 cricket during an IPL match against the Delhi Capitals.
The big hitter became the sixth West Indian to reach the mark behind the likes of Dwayne Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Kieron Pollard on top run-getter Chris Gayle. Russell is, however, the youngest West Indian player to reach the total.
Russell, who was celebrating his birthday, reached the milestone with a double in the 16th over of the match. He went on to blast an unbeaten 45 from 27 deliveries but Delhi won the match by 7 runs.
Former West Indies spinner and Jamaica captain, Nehemiah Perry, has called on delegates of his home country to put the interest of the sport first and not pursue what he described as a ‘separate agenda’ than wanting the best for the game.
Although an election date is yet to set, Jamaica Cricket Association president (JCA) Wilford Billy Heaven is expected to run unopposed for a fourth two-year team when the annual general meeting is held.
He has successfully held off two challenges, winning by a landslide on both occasions and many in the country’s local cricketing circles believe he would do the same if confronted by opposition in the 2021 election.
“I think we definitely need change. I cannot understand why it is that we have not won anything over the years, we have been last, second to last, we’ve only won one trophy out of 30-odd, and at the end of the day the administration is winning by a landslide,” Perry told the Mason and Guest radio program.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua —The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel has named 30 players for an estimated month-long West Indies Women’s high-performance camp to be held in Antigua starting on May 2. This will be the second such month-long camp in 2021 assembled under the guidance of Head Coach Courtney Walsh and his support team.
With the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers now rescheduled for December, Coach Walsh has devised a programme to maximize team preparations ahead of international cricket and the qualifiers later in the year.
“The purpose of this camp is to work on consistency and game awareness. The last camp was more observational, and we got a pretty good idea of where the ladies are at. There are 30 players coming in and a few of them are coming in nursing injuries, so the coaching staff and medical team are ready to work with all of them,” he said.
“We are going to use this camp to see as much of the players as possible. I am most excited to see the younger ones coming into the camp because we’re trying to build the pool of players available. So, I think it’ll be a great opportunity for these youngsters and the other new players to grasp the chance before them.”
The 2021 Caribbean Premier League will be hosted entirely at Warner Park in St. Kitts, beginning on August 28.
The 33-match tournament will allow fans to attend at up to 50 per cent capacity of the 8,000-seat venue – as long as they show proof of vaccination to enter the stadium facility. However, CPL chief executive Pete Russell said that not all players would be required to be vaccinated in order to take part, in light of varying vaccine access to overseas players in particular.
“We’re aware that we need to get people vaccinated where possible,” Russell said during a press conference on Tuesday.
“That’s not always going to be the case but that is a process that we’re undergoing right now whether it’s [those] working for the CPL or playing [who] will be vaccinated. But it’s not a requirement that they’ll be vaccinated because there will be quarantine options as well."
