West Indies’ Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams believes that there must be some sort of competitive cricket played in order to keep advancing the standard of the sport in the region.
Adams, at the time of his comments, was a guest on Barbados radio show, Mason and Guest earlier this week where he spoke at length about the importance of competitive cricket and it’s direct impact on the international results of the Caribbean side.
When asked about the plans to keep the players ahead of the curve before their next assignment, Adams stated, “We’re basically going to try as hard as we can to get as much cricket played if not within territory versus territory to get as much cricket played within the territories even if we have to support that, from a resource point of view.”
While it was reported in sections of the media that the 2021 Regional Four-Day championship has been called off, Adams said that CWI is still exploring all possibilities of having the tournament played.
“We will continue to look at any and all possibilities to continue the concept of bringing together the best 20-24 players to play amongst themselves with a carrot of potential selection into an international In the back of all that would be constantly reassessing the landscape, for the earliest possible opportunities to actually revert back to, four-day cricket between territories,” he stated.
Adams added, “I think that having the best players in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, playing amongst themselves might be a second best option, but it is definitely a second best option and so from discussions that we had, we are very clear that as soon as a window presents itself, where it is safe to bring all of our Caribbean players and travel into and out to that place is a safe option and a viable option.”
The former West Indies captain said that similar to the last Super50 which was cut down from a double round robin to a single round robin format, it could possibly be the case if the four-day tournament is held.
“We are desperate to keep our first-class players playing some sort of competitive cricket and if it has to be internalized within the territory then so be it but they need to be playing,” he said.
Adams stressed the value placed on getting competitive contests for the players under their belts prior to international duties pointing out that it makes a difference.
“I think one of the key things going into Bangladesh was a length of time that the Test players had albeit because of COVID and COVID protocol, but the amount of time that they would have had to prepare. I think Super50 coming back home with a definite plus going into a white ball scene against the Sri Lankans and I also think that a competitive four-day game and competitive two-day game was also helpful going into the Sri Lanka series,” Adams stated.
“I am a little bit old fashioned because during my career, but I do think back in the day when young players, I was one of them, back in the day when you had enough middle time prior to a Test series was a definite bonus and a help going into international fixtures.”
The former wicketkeeper/batsman highlighted that these sort of matches does not only serve in preparing the international players but as a guide to spotting the talent that is available within the region.
“It’s not just about getting our international players prepared, it’s also, like we saw in Bangladesh, a lot of these players who performed against Sri Lanka [and] Bangladesh, got there on the back of having performed in Regional cricket. We need to see as often as we can, what is out there, what resources we have, and who potentially could step up to the plate so it really a benefit to every section of our overall landscape to have as competitive cricket and most competitive cricket, red ball cricket as you can get through the window looking at all the options we have to we don’t have a choice,” Adams reasoned.
