ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) – Regional fans have been urged to ‘Bring It Back’, as the West Indies Cricket Board announced details of the inaugural Caribbean Twenty20 competition on Thursday. The regional governing body has invited fans to come out and create the same atmosphere that characterised the Twenty20 World Cup, which was staged in the Caribbean last month, and whose theme was ‘Bring It!’.
“This is a very exciting time for cricket in the West Indies,” said Ernest Hilaire, the WICB chief executive officer, in a news release.
“We just staged the hugely successful T20 World Cup, and now we have the inaugural Caribbean T20 Tournament.”
He added: “We expect to see superb action on the field, from the region’s best players, and great excitement off the field, from the lovely Caribbean people in the stands.
“Fans across the World have fallen in love with the short version of the game, and we know they will be thrilled with what they see during the Caribbean T20.”
The Caribbean T20 will be played from July 22 to 31, with the first phase in Barbados from July 22 to 25, with the second phase in Trinidad from July 28 to 31.
Along with the six territorial sides of Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and Windward Islands, there will be a Combined Campuses & Colleges side, as well as an international team to be announced at a later date.
Hilaire noted in the release that there is a huge incentive for the teams to win the Caribbean T20, with the leading regional team going on to represent the region in the Champions League T20 in South Africa in September.
The eight teams will be split into two groups of four teams. There will be a round robin stage in each group – each team will play three matches – with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the semi-finals.
The winners of the semi-finals will advance to the Final, with the losing semi-finalists to contest a third-place play-off.