ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Reigning champions Guyana and powerhouses Jamaica will raise the curtain on the 2011 Caribbean Twenty20 Championship when they clash in the feature match of the doubleheader on January 10 next year.
Guyana won the title when they beat Barbados by one run in a thrilling final in the inaugural tournament, when the second half of the competition was staged in Trinidad and Tobago in July.
The victory qualified them for the Airtel Champions League in South Africa in September where they lost every game in a disappointing campaign.
Jamaica, one of the heavy pre-tournament favourites in July, crashed out in the semi-finals after losing to Barbados, and also lost to T&T in the subsequent third place playoff.
In the preceding game of the doubleheader, Combined Campuses and Colleges will clash with the Windward Islands.
Hampshire, one of the two English county teams involved in the competition, will open their campaign against Guyana on January 11 while Somerset meet Guyana the following day.
Leeward Islands and Barbados, who tied in the final of last month’s WICB One-Day Championship in Jamaica, will clash in the feature match of the doubleheader on January 11.
The first half of the January 10-23 tournament will be staged at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua. Action will then move to Barbados where the second half of the preliminaries will be played along with the semi-finals and grand final at Kensington Oval.
