KINGSTON, Jamaica – For a number of reasons, the historic, inaugural Regional Women’s Twenty20 Tournament to be staged this month in Jamaica is expected to be keenly contested. The eight-team tournament will be staged at three venues in and around the Jamaica capital of Kingston – Kensington Park, Chedwin Park and Sabina Park – from Wednesday, August 8 to Saturday, August 18.
Josina Luke, the WICB’s project officer for women’s cricket, said the regional governing body was delighted to be staging the tournament at this time.
“The West Indies Women’s team will be going off to England for five T20 matches in early September and this will be followed by the ICC Women’s World T20 in Sri Lanka,” she said.
“So this tournament is timely and will provide our players with valuable match practice. It should help to sharpen their skills and help them to better understand the ebbs and flows of this format.”
She added: “It was for this reason that the directors of the WICB had agreed with the policy shift about the staging of regional women’s tournaments to coincide with the format for the women’s World tournament taking place in that year.
“We urge the fans of the game to attend the regional matches, see our talented women’s players, and see how competitive they have become in recent times.”
Luke said another reason for the attractiveness of the tournament was the success of the West Indies Women’s team over the last year.
“The West Indies Women’s team has done extremely well in this format of the game,” she said.
“They reached the semi-finals of ICC WWT20 when the previous tournament was staged here in the Caribbean, and were last rated at No.4 in the Women’s T20 World Rankings.”
She continued: “A number of the recent West Indies Women’s players have been chosen by their national sides to play in this tournament, so this will also provide some of the intrigue.
“Jamaica is also hosting a major women’s cricket event for the first time and many of the players are looking forward to this new experience.”
Luke said the WICB was pleased with the results from the West Indies Women’s team in recent times and remained committed to strengthening the women’s programme.
“With the rise of T20 cricket, our players must also begin to play this format competitively on the regional level, so when selected for international matches they can be equally competitive with the best teams in the World,” she said.
“Women’s cricket too, is on the rise, and hopefully, this regional tournament can be the start by which we can attract more women to play the game and retain those already playing.”
Luke said the WICB had also planned a one-day player development training session during the regional tournament.
“We want to emphasise various topics of personal development to the players, including the anti-doping rules, so we will also take this opportunity to bring this information to them,” she said.
The Regional Women’s Twenty20 Tournament will comprise seven rounds of preliminary matches leading into a full slate of playoffs for positions from Champions to eighth place.
The participating teams are: Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and hosts Jamaica, the reigning Regional Women’s Super50 champions.

Regional Women’s Twenty20 Tournament
Schedule of matches:
(All start times are local – NOTE: Jamaica is 1 hour behind the Eastern Caribbean)
Round 1
Wednesday, August 8
Trinidad & Tobago vs St Vincent & the Grenadines at Kensington Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires Erickson Degalarie, Christopher Taylor; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire Colin Alfred.
Jamaica vs St Lucia at Kensington Park – 14:00hrs; Umpires Colin Alfred, Lyndon Rajkumar; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire Christopher Taylor.
Guyana vs Grenada at Chedwin Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires: Verdayne Smith, Athol Hamilton; Match referee Donald McNaughton; Reserve umpire Carl Tuckett.
Barbados vs Dominica at Chedwin Park – 14:00hrs; Umpires Carl Tuckett, Patrick Gustard; Match referee Donald McNaughton; Reserve umpire Athol Hamilton.

Round 2
Thursday, August 9
Barbados vs Jamaica at Kensington Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires Colin Alfred, Erickson Degalarie; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire P. Gustard.
Guyana vs Trinidad & Tobago at Kensington Park – 14:00hrs; Umpires Verdayne Smith, Patrick Gustard; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire Erickson Degalarie.
St Vincent & the Grenadines vs Grenada at Chedwin Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires Lyndon Rajkumar, Carl Tuckett; Match referee Donald McNaughton; Reserve umpire Christopher Taylor.
Dominica vs St. Lucia at Chedwin Park – 14:00hrs: Umpires Athol Hamilton, Christopher Taylor; Match referee Donald McNaughton; Reserve umpire Lyndon Rajkumar.

Round 3
Saturday, August 11
St Lucia vs Grenada at Kensington Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires Erickson Degalarie, Lyndon Rajkumar; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire Verdayne Smith.
St Vincent & the Grenadines vs Dominica at Kensington Park – 14;00hrs; Umpires Verdayne Smith, Patrick Gustard; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire Lyndon Rajkumar.
Trinidad & Tobago vs Barbados at Chedwin Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires Colin Alfred, Christopher Taylor; Match referee Donald McNaughton; Reserve umpire Athol Hamilton.
Jamaica vs Guyana at Chedwin Park – 14:00hrs; Umpires Carl Tuckett, Athol Hamilton; Match referee Donald McNaughton; Reserve umpire Colin Alfred.

Round 4
Sunday, August 12
St Lucia vs St. Vincent & the Grenadines at Kensington Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires Erickson Degalarie, Athol Hamilton; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire Verdayne Smith.
Grenada vs Dominica at Kensington Park – 14:00hrs; Umpires Colin Alfred, Verdayne Smith; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire Erickson Degalarie.
Guyana vs Barbados at Chedwin Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires Christopher Taylor, Lyndon Rajkumar; Match referee Donald McNaughton; Reserve umpire Carl Tuckett.
Trinidad & Tobago vs Jamaica at Chedwin Park – 14:00hrs; Umpires Patrick Gustard, Carl Tuckett; Match refere Donald McNaughton; Reserve umpire Lyndon Rajkumar.

Round 5
Tuesday, August 14
St Lucia vs Trinidad & Tobago at Kensington Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires Christopher Taylor, Verdayne Smith; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire Carl Tuckett.
St Vincent & the Grenadines vs Jamaica at Kensington Park – 14:99hrs; Umpires Erickson Degalarie, Carl Tuckett; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire Verdayne Smith.
Grenada vs Barbados at Chedwin Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires Colin Alfred, Athol Hamilton; Match referee Donald McNaughton; Reserve umpire Patrick Gustard.
Dominica vs Guyana at Chedwin Park – 14:00hrs, Umpires Patrick Gustard, Lyndon Rajkumar; Match referee Donald McNaughton; Reserve umpire Colin Alfred.

Round 6
Wednesday, August 15
Grenada vs Trinidad & Tobago at Kensington Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires Erickson Degalarie, Patrick Gustard; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire Athol Hamilton.
St Vincent & the Grenadines vs Guyana at Kensington Park – 14:00hrs; Umpires Christopher Taylor, Athol Hamilton; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire Patrick Gustard.
Dominica vs Jamaica at Chedwin Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires Colin Alfred, Carl Tuckett; Match referee Donald McNaughton
Reserve umpire Verdayne Smith.
Barbados vs St Lucia at Chedwin Park – 14:00hrs; Umpires Lyndon Rajkumar; Verdayne Smith; Match referee Donald McNaughton; Reserve umpire Colin Alfred.

Round 7
Friday, August 17
Dominica vs Trinidad & Tobago at Kensington Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires Colin Alfred, Patrick Gustard; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire Erickson Degalarie.
Barbados vs St. Vincent & the Grenadines at Kensington Park – 14:00hrs; Umpires Erickson Degalarie, Verdayne Smith; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire Patrick Gustard..
Guyana vs St Lucia at Chedwin Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires Christopher Taylor, Carl Tuckett; Match referee Donald McNaughton
Reserve umpire Athol Hamilton.
Jamaica vs Grenada at Chedwin Park – 14:00hrs; Umpires Lyndon Rajkumar, Athol Hamilton; Match referee Donald McNaughton; Reserve umpire Christopher Taylor.
Consolation Final
Saturday, August 18
3rd vs 4th at Sabina Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires Christopher Taylor, Patrick Gustard; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire. Carl Tuckett.

GRAND FINAL
1st vs 2nd at Sabina Park – 14:00hrs; Umpires Athol Hamilton, Carl Tuckett; Match referee Michael Hylton; Reserve umpire Christopher Taylor.
Minor Playoff
7th vs 8th at Kensington Park – 10:00hrs; Umpires Colin Alfred, Lyndon Rajkumar; Match referee Donald McNaughton; Reserve umpire Erickson Degalarie.
Consolation Playoff
5th vs 6th at Kensington Park – 14:00hrs; Umpires Erickson Degalarie, Verdayne Smith; Match referee Donald McNaughton; Reserve umpire Lyndon Rajkumar.