The Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB) is set to host its first three-day tournament in a little over a decade.
This is according to CEO, Peter Abraham, who said the tournament will be held between February 18th and March 4th with St. Kitts & Nevis as joint hosts, marking the first time that teams within the sub-region will compete for the three-day title since 2012.
“It’s going to be the first three-day tournament I think we’ve had in over a decade and we’re playing it at a time where the CWI championship [Four Day] will be on a break so it will allow the selectors to see new talent coming through to pick them both in the franchise and for the remaining games so we’re quite excited. The one-day component will come down in October prior to the Super 50,” he said.
Abraham explained that preparations are in full swing for the tournament that will be held within a five-week window when the CWI Championship breaks but added that LICB is still on the hunt for a major sponsor.
“We have a few potential leads we are touching base with right now but given the current state of the economy and businesses rebounding and we have a few potential persons where we always get small sponsors but we are looking at getting a title sponsor for the tournament in the near future. We are also cognizant of the current state of the economy within the Leeward Islands at the moment,” he said.
The CEO also revealed there are long-term plans for the staging of a LICB T20 tournament.
“That has been discussed internally by the board so there are actually plans and we’re just working through fine details but that is a future plan for us right now. What we also have in front of us is a Cool & Smooth tournament that we are in partnership with Cool & Smooth to ensure that the tournament only gets better and better,” Abraham said.
Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, St. Kitts, Nevis, British Virgin Islands (BVI), Montserrat, St. Maarten, and the US Virgin Islands (USVI) are expected to take part in the tournament.