CWI’s cricket director wants soon return of International, regional cricket

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Director of Cricket for Cricket West Indies, Jimmy Adams.
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By Neto Baptiste

Director of Cricket for Cricket West Indies (CWI) and former West Indies batsman, James “Jimmy” Adams, wants to see a return of regional and international cricket to the Caribbean even before the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is ended.

Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show, Adams who was appointed to the role in January 2017, said the current situation where the regional board is not benefitting from hosting home series cannot continue for much longer.

“Even before COVID finishes, personally I’d love to get International cricket and regional cricket being played as soon as possible. I think it’s a very tricky situation, the longer you continue without any cricket in the region. I don’t think it’s a healthy situation to be in so I would almost change the question and say that it’s a priority for me even before the end of COVID,” he said.

West Indies last hosted a series in January this year when Ireland played three ODI matches and two T20 Internationals.

Adams, who made his Test debut back in April 1992 and played 54 Tests with a highest score of 208 not out against New Zealand in the 1995/1996 series here at the Antigua Recreation Grounds, said the territorial board also have an important role to play in the rebuilding and sustaining of cricket in the region.

“The ship will either sink or swim on the back of what the territorial boards do, but CWI is just the centralized administrative body so anything that happens is going to happen through the territorial arms. So the stronger the territories become administratively, technically, financially, is the stronger West Indies cricket, so it is crucial that the territorial boards keep growing as well,” he said.

The Jamaican, who also represented his country of birth for many years, said CWI will also focus on the development of coaches going forward.

“At the end of the day, I think if we use and education analogy, most people try to put their children in schools where they think they have the best teachers because there is a correlation between good teachers and good students or the results they want from students and I don’t think sports is any different. We will develop our players through our coaches and the structures that our coaches have in place at a certain level, so it follows from that if we improve the quality and standard of our coaches in the region that it would have a positive knock on effect on the quality of our players and by extension, the cricket that we play,” Adams said.

West Indies senior men’s team is currently in New Zealand where they will play three T20Is, followed by two Test matches in Hamilton (December 3-7) and Wellington (December 11-15).

West Indies are the only international team to have embarked on two overseas tours since the Covid-19 pandemic brought a worldwide pause in global cricket. Before this tour of New Zealand, they played three Tests in England in July.

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