Cricket West Indies suspends tournaments, meetings

Regional cricket will be suspended from Monday, at least for a month, as a precaution against the spread of the novel coronavirus, covid19.

In a statement on Saturday, Cricket West Indies (CWI) said it will suspend all CWI tournaments and face-to-face group meetings, from Monday, for a minimum of 30 days.

The decision was based on a recommendation of its Medical Advisory Committee (MAC).

CWI chief medical officer, Dr Israel Dowlat stated,“The health and safety of our players, officials and staff, are of paramount importance to CWI and we have advised the board of directors to take proactive policy steps to decrease the growing risk of contamination and spread of the virus.”

The decision by CWI will affect a number of tournaments including the final two rounds of the West Indies Four-Day Championship, the Women’s Super 50 Cup in Guyana, the Regional Under-15 Boys Championship in Antigua and the Regional Under-19 Girls Championship in Trinidad.

CWI has also made the decision to postpone all upcoming CWI meetings and as a result all urgent CWI board matters will be addressed via teleconference.

The TT Red Force versus Volcanoes, of the Windward Islands, match in the Four-Day Championship continued on the weekend at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba. The CWI decision follows an announcement by SporTT and the Ministry of Sport that events will be cancelled as facilities will be closed this week in response to the virus.