(CMC) – Trinidad & Tobago prime minister Dr Keith Rowley said he will use a family holiday next week in Barbados to start talks with several personalities about the way forward for West Indies cricket.
Rowley is the new chairman of the Caricom prime ministerial sub-committee on cricket, and he said he hoped to engage with several West Indies “legends” while in Bridgetown to come up with ideas for the improvement of the sport around the Caribbean and the fortunes of the West Indies teams on the international stage.
“I hope to see some people there (in Barbados), my political colleagues, and some cricket fans,” he said during a news conference yesterday. “You know I have this assignment now to get involved in West Indies cricket, and I hope to start talking to some people there (in Barbados).
“I have been talking to people here in Trinidad. I have been talking to a lot of the ‘legends’, the West Indies ‘legends’, and I am hoping to get them involved in some discussions when I come back from Barbados.” Following their meeting in meeting last month in the T&T capital, Caricom heads of government issued a communiqué expressing their profound disappointment at the performance of the West Indies men’s team in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup qualifiers played around the same time in Zimbabwe.
West Indies won only two matches and failed to qualify for the first time for the global One-day International showpiece to be staged this October in India.
During the meeting, the Caricom heads of government received a presentation and held preliminary discussions with Cricket West Indies president Dr Kishore Shallow on the state of the game in the Caribbean and preparations for the hosting of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2024.
“I want to have virtual meetings with all who are available, and then after that, call some people to a location, possibly in Tobago, so we can discuss this whole question about where ‘goeth’ West Indies cricket,” Rowley added.
“In the new year, we want to come up with some semblance of a plan for West Indies cricket, and T&T is to play a significant role in that… That’s the one commitment we have made. It’s important to us, and because it is a Caricom assignment, I take it on as the Prime Minister of T&T.
“But please, don’t tell anybody that I am in charge of West Indies cricket, or I am responsible for West Indies cricket. I am going to be working with stakeholders in West Indies cricket to see if we can come up with a workable plan.”
The Caricom prime ministerial sub-committee on cricket was previously chaired by St Vincent & the Grenadines prime minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, and former Grenada prime minister, Dr Keith Mitchell.
