By Neto Baptiste
The Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB) is set to move its operational base to Antigua.
This was confirmed in a recent press release issued by the board where it revealed that the move from St Kitts could take place at the start of the second quarter of 2024.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Sports, Daryll Matthew, said the move had been the subject of several discussions with the board.
“We sat and we negotiated what it would take for the headquarters to be established here; what sort of concessions do they require and so the government was very accommodating to ensure that the set of concessions, that agreement and the benefits they expect to have that we can also have reciprocal benefits, so it wasn’t a case where they just decided they were going to Antigua, it was a process that really hinged on an attractive headquarter agreement for them to be here, and I’d really like to add that it’s at not dollar value cost to the government,” he said.
According to the release, the expansion to Antigua will include the franchise men’s team using Antigua as their main training venue, while St Kitts will become the home of Leeward Islands Women’s cricket.
The board said it “highly anticipates that this strategic expansion will create greater opportunities for our players across our eight (8) territories, and will facilitate the increase of cricket being played, and will remove women’s cricket from being in the shadows of men’s cricket.”
Matthew said the move could benefit cricket in Antigua and Barbuda.
“Much like we have the West Indies Cricket Board based in Antigua and Barbuda, and based on the very fact that it is here, there are benefits you derive including employment within the jurisdiction. The teams that are part of the Leeward Islands Cricket Board will now be based here in Antigua and Barbuda, so whenever they are having their camps or any other activities, it happens here. We have the facilities here, we have the expertise here, we have the human capital and the capacity here, and so these are immediate benefits. We talk about hotel rooms and vendors when you have more games being played here,” he said.
Enoch Lewis, President of the LICB, said that his board is focused on bringing about ongoing improvement to Leeward Islands cricket, and the action being taken is with this objective in mind.
According to reports, the board will be headquartered at the Cricket West Indies (CWI)-owned Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG).
