Saint Lucia will host the inaugural Windward Islands Under-23 Cricket Series immediately following the conclusion of the sub-region’s senior men Super 50 cricket tournament, also to be played in Saint Lucia August 04 – 11, 2024.
The format of the inaugural tournament will be a 3-day match on Tuesday August 13, followed by two 50-over matches on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 August, 2024. These matches will be between Saint Lucia and Dominica, while St Vincent & the Grenadines is expected to play a mini-series against Grenada later this year.
This came about as a result of the decision taken at the Annual General Meeting of the Windward Islands Cricket Board when it met in St Vincent & the Grenadines on May 10, 2024.
President of the Saint Lucia National Cricket Association Wayne Auguste, says that the Under-23 Cricket Series “is most welcome as it affords us the opportunity to tap into that reservoir of talent in the Under-23 pool.”
Auguste, who participated in the WICB Annual General Meeting in May 2024, added “Saint Lucia has adopted a paradigm shift in the governance of the sport by seeking to engage all stakeholders including players towards the implementation of developmental programmes which would further enhance all players’ skill sets.
“The establishment of the High Performance Centre is testimony to that shift in engaging and developing players and coaches, so the red-ball skill sets of all would be fine-tuned, preparing players for regional and international engagements with optimum performances.”
President of the WICB, Dwain Gill, had stated that the Board, having recognized the importance of harnessing young talent, and so, made the decision to accelerate youth development through the implementation of the three programmes – Boys Under-13, Girls Under-16, and Men’s Under 23.
These, he said, are in keeping with the strategic objectives of Cricket West Indies (CWI) to promote and strengthen the cricketing talent-pathways in all the territorial boards and that the Windward Islands intend to stay ahead of the curb with the recent success of all of its competitive teams.
Meanwhile, the Saint Lucia National Cricket Association is planning to host an Under-13 cricket programme, as it seeks to broaden the scope of its developmental purview.
