No Carib Beer cricket for Wilson Road

TRINIDAD and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) president Ellis Lewis said yesterday, while certain countries in the Caribbean say they are the Mecca of cricket, it is Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica that put their money where their mouth is.

Lewis made the comment in a brief address at the 2003 TTCB media party at the National Cricket Centre (NCC), Balmain Village, Couva. Lewis said: “A lot of people make noise saying that they are Mecca of West Indies cricket, but you know the truth is that only Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica are sponsoring West Indies cricket.” Carib Brewery from Trinidad and Tobago are the regional first class championship sponsors, the TCL Group of Companies also from Trinidad and Tobago are the sponsors of the Regional Under-19 cricket series. Red Stripe the Jamaican firm are the sponsors of the limited overs championships, while another company based in Trinidad and Tobago, Ispat were the sponsors of the regional team at the World Cup. Lewis added that more people from corporate West Indies are to become involved in the game so that the game will be well funded in the region.

Meanwhile, the TTCB released the fixtures for the regional Carib Beer Cricket Series and it revealed no game for Wilson Road. The sponsors Carib had asked that no game be played at Wilson Road and the Queen’s Park Oval, but the TTCB wrote the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) requesting that at least one game is played at the Oval, the best venue in the Caribbean. The local cricket season will bowl off as early as January 2 with the Gerry Gomez North/South Cricket Classic at the Queen’s Park Oval. Trinidad and Tobago take on Leeward Islands in their opening game of the Carib Beer Series at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre from January 9. The Trinidad and Tobago will have five home matches in the 2004 season with visits only to Guyana and Jamaica. They will oppose newcomers Kenya in Tobago from January 23 to 26. The regional matches committee headed by Azim Bassarath has already made a trip to the sister isle and Lewis reported yesterday that all seems well with the preparations for the match.