Grave: ‘No allocations made yet’

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has not decided which countries will host matches when South Africa, Australia and Pakistan tour the region later this year, says CWI chief executive officer Johnny Grave.

Last month, president of the Barbados Cricket Association Conde Riley (BCA) told a press conference at Kensington Oval, South Africa were scheduled to play a Test match and two Twenty20 Internationals at the Oval later this year.

On Tuesday, cricket commentator and host of the popular cricket television show Barry Wilkinson’s Line and Length which is shown throughout the region, posted on social media that Barbados was set to host the entire Australia tour in the summer, and the series against South Africa would be held in Trinidad.

In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Grave said CWI has not made a decision on which venues the matches will be played.

‘We haven’t agreed yet on venues for the South Africa, Australia and Pakistan tours. We are still holding discussions with various ministries of health in the region to understand the protocols and where will be the least risk host countries. I expect we will convene a Board meeting after the annual general meeting on April 11, and make recommendations so that we can confirm the summer schedule this month,” Grave said.

He described the recently concluded series between the West Indies and Sri Lanka as “extremely challenging to host”. The series, the first to be played in the West Indies during the coronavirus pandemic was held in Antigua at the Coolidge Cricket Ground and the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound from March 3rd to April 2 in a bio-secure environment.

No spectators were allowed into the venues as part of the strict health regulations to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“It was extremely challenging to host the recent cricket in Antigua. The Twenty20 games, the ODI matches and the two match Test series against Sri Lanka were the first International cricket matches played in the West Indies during the coronavirus pandemic, therefore it was a new experience for us. It was made easier because all of the West Indies’ players, the match officials and the television crew were already in Antigua for the CG Insurance Super50 Cup,” Grave said.

He praised the Government of Antigua and the Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Board (ABCA) for the support they gave CWI over the last 12 weeks.

“We have received enormous support from the Antigua and Barbuda government and ABCA throughout the past three months of cricket. Starting with the women’s camp in January which helped us tremendously, as we were able to establish some local protocols while managing 35 people for a few weeks before all of the Super50 teams and television crew arrived,” Grave explained.

The CEO said no decision has been made on the start of the 2021 first-class season because CWI was still holding discussions with the territorial boards, the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and the various ministries of health in the region to investigate what will be possible this year.