…To be played in Antigua and Grenada
Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Thursday announced the match schedule and venues for the first two rounds of the West Indies Championships, the region’s first-class four-day red ball tournament which will be played in Antigua and Grenada.
The tournament will open with Windward Islands Volcanoes hosting Trinidad & Tobago Red Force at the Grenada National Stadium (GNS). This match will start on January 31, and will continue on February 1 to 3.
In Antigua, defending champions the Barbados Pride will start their bid for a third straight title when they face Guyana Harpy Eagles in the feature match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (SVRS) on February 1 to 4.
The third contest will see Leeward Islands Hurricanes hosting the Jamaica Scorpions at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) from February 1 to 4.
The second round will be played from February 8 to 11, when the Barbados Pride will meet the Jamaica Scorpions at CCG; Trinidad & Tobago Red Force travel to face the Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the SVRS, and the Guyana Harpy Eagles take on the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the GNS.
The third round of the West Indies Championships resumes on March 15 with the final round concluding on April 1, when the 2023 Champions will be crowned and presented with the Headley Weekes Trophy.
The final three rounds will all be played in Trinidad, and the venues will be announced at a later date.
Roland Holder, CWI Manager of Cricket Operations, has said: “We are happy to announce the match schedule and venues for the first two rounds of the West Indies Championships, Our flagship regional tournament on the annual calendar. The six teams have been preparing diligently for the upcoming season, and we expect to see keen competition this year as they battle for the Headley Weekes Trophy. From the tournament, the best performers also have the reward of playing for Team Weekes and Team Headley in the new tournament announced by CWI, scheduled for April and May.”
The new Headley Weekes Series will follow the West Indies Championships, and will feature three matches and three teams. Team Headley and Team Weekes will select from the best performers in the 2023 West Indies Championships and players outside the starting West Indies Test XI. The new West Indies Academy will provide the third team in the new Series.
Team Headley and Team Weekes are named in honour of West Indies pioneers and legendary batting greats George Headley and Sir Everton Weekes, whose names are also honoured on the Trophy for the winners of the West Indies Championships. All three matches will be played from 18 April to 6 May at CCG in Antigua.
Every West Indies Championship match will be streamed live on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel. Fans can follow each and every game from their mobile devices, computers or connected TVs, including access to live ball-by-ball scoring on the Windiescricket.com live match centre.
2023 WEST INDIES CHAMPIONSHIPS MATCH SCHEDULE
All matches start at 10am Eastern Caribbean time (9am Jamaica time)
GNS – Grenada National Stadium, Grenada
SVRS – Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua
CCG – Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua
ROUND 1:
<31 January to 3 February> – Grenada
Windward Islands Volcanoes vs Trinidad & Tobago Red Force at GNS
<1 to 4 February> – Antigua
Barbados Pride vs Guyana Harpy Eagles at SVRS
Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Jamaica Scorpions at CCG
ROUND 2:
<8 to 11 February> – Grenada and Antigua
Windward Islands Volcanoes vs Guyana Harpy Eagles at GNS
Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at SVRS
Jamaica Scorpions vs Barbados Pride at CCG
ROUND 3:
<15 to 18 March> in Trinidad – Venues to be confirmed
Trinidad and Tobago Red Force vs Guyana Harpy Eagles
Jamaica Scorpions vs Windward Islands Volcanoes
Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Barbados Pride
ROUND 4:
<22 to 25 March> in Trinidad – Venues to be confirmed
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Barbados Pride
Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Jamaica Scorpions
Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Windward Islands Volcanoes
ROUND 5:
<29 March to 1 April in Trinidad> – Venues to be confirmed
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Jamaica Scorpions
Guyana Harpy Eagles v Leeward Islands Hurricanes
Barbados Pride v Windward Islands Volcanoes
<Headley Weekes Tri-Series
All matches to be played at CCG, Antigua>
Match 1: 19 to 22 April: Team Headley vs West Indies Academy
Match 2: 26 to 29 April: Team Weekes vs West Indies Academy
Match 3: 3 to 6 May: Team Weekes vs Team Headley
<Barbados Pride:> Shane Dowrich (Captain) Camarie Boyce, Shamarh Brooks, Jonathan Drakes, Keon Harding, Chaim Holder, Akeem Jordan, Nicholas Kirton, Jair McAllister, Shayne Moseley, Zachary McCaskie, Shamar Springer, Kevin Wickham; Vasbert Drakes (Head Coach)
Guyana Harpy Eagles: Leon Johnson (Captain), Veerasammy Permaul (Vice Captain), Chandrapaul Hemraj, Matthew Nandu, Kemol Savory, Tevin Imlach, Anthony Bramble, Kevin Sinclair, Nial Smith, Ronsford Beaton, Akshaya Persaud, Ashmead Nedd, Shamar Joseph, Ryan Hercules (Head Coach)
<Jamaica Scorpions:> Paul Palmer Jr (Captain), Jamie Merchant, Alwyn Williams, Aldaine Thomas, Leroy Lugg, Kirk McKenzie, Romaine Morris, Abhijau Mansingh, Patrick Harty, Akim Fraser, Marquino Mindley, Gordon Bryan, Ojay Shields; Andrew Richardson (Head Coach)
<Trinidad & Tobago Red Force:> Darren Bravo (Captain), Amir Jangoo, Imran Khan, Jason Mohammed, Terrance Hinds, Jyd Goolie, Jeremy Solozano, Yannic Cariah, Bryan Charles, Vikash Mohan, Uthman Muhammad, Tion Webster, Khary Pierre; David Furlonge (Head Coach)
<Windward Islands Volcanoes:> Alick Athanaze (Captain), Jerlani Robinson, Kavem Hodge, Keron Cottoy, Sunil Ambris, Justin Greaves, Tevyn Walcott, Kenneth Dember, Preston McSween, Teddy Bishop, Daurius Martin, Kimani Melius, Nicklaus Redhead; Shirley Clarke (Head Coach)
<Leeward Islands Hurricanes> (provisional squad): Jahmar Hamilton (Captain), Mikyle Louis, Kieran Powell, Colin Archibald, Terance Warde, Jeremiah Louis, Keacy Carty, Ross Powell, Kofi James, Damion Williams, Kelvin Pitman, Hayden Walsh jr., Rahkeem Cornwall; Stuart Williams (Head Coach).
