WEST Indies Cricket Board (WICB) CEO, Michael Muirhead, is optimistic about what the Super50 tournament can achieve in a few years. This follows a successful end to its flagship regional one-day international tournament, the NAGICO Super50, which ended last Saturday (January 23) in Trinidad and Tobago where the defending 2015 champions, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force took the title.
The CEO is delighted at the opportunities this tournament presents and he indicated that in future years “there is a direct opportunity for corporate partners to align themselves with the WICB”.
The tournament, which has been held under the NAGICO banner in the last three years, has had a number of positives; “We are hoping to improve on some of the issues we encountered.”
Darren Bravo (Trinidad and Tobago Red Force) was the top scorer with 274 runs, while Sulieman Benn (Barbados Pride) was the leading wicket-taker with 15 wickets.
Jon-Russ Jaggesar (TT Red Force), Damion Jacobs (Jamaica Scorpions), Delorn Johnson (Windward Island Volcanoes) and Veerasammy Permaul (Guyana Jaguars) all finished the tournament with 14 wickets each.
According to statistics shared by the WICB, three of the existing Franchises had at least three players making debuts: Jaguars – Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd and Kevon Boodie; Scorpions – Brandon King, Aldane Thomas and Jermaine Harrison; Pride – Roston Chase, Justin Greaves and Dane Currency.
The invited ICC Americas gave an overall creditable performance. They had two games in which they scored over 200 runs and some of their other games were lost in close encounters.
“The potential for this tournament is tremendous, and in keeping with the Board’s policy on selection, this pool of players will form the platform from which the West Indies ODI final team is selected for international home and away series,” reiterated the CEO.
The ODI Tri-Nation series, featuring South Africa, Australia and the West Indies, will be held in June this year and the “best available eligible players will be selected”.
The CEO was adamant that the 9th place ranking in World ODI was not something he wants on the record for much longer and he hopes for gradual improvement over the short to medium term.
The schedule over the next few weeks is as follows: The four-day PCL resumes on Thursday, February 11 after which the men’s and women’s teams will participate in the ICC World T20 in India.