Money to be allocated to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) from the Caribbean Premier League, an annual contribution of US$360,000, will, according to board President Dave Cameron, boost the pace of the professionalisation of first-class cricket in the region, and initiate a shift from the way things are done currently.
It is a position supported by West Indies Players Association (WIPA) President and CEO Wavell Hinds.
The move to professionalise West Indies first-class cricket was announced in March following a meeting of the board, and forms part of a 19-point plan to raise the quality of first-class cricket in the region. In addition to the Test players already contracted by the WICB, 15 first-class players from each of the six territories will be contracted on a full-time, year-round basis.
This development, however, does not mean that the West Indies will turn its back on grassroots players.
SHIFTING FOCUS
"We have 151,000 kids playing grass-roots cricket across the region. That's a huge number, but we haven't been able to translate that into winning Test matches and one-day internationals, so we now have to focus a little bit on performance," the WICB president said. "We are not going to take our foot off the development and getting kids in the game, but obviously, if you are more successful, then kids will gravitate towards the sport.
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