Local, regional cricket still on schedule

LOCAL AND regional cricket action continues over the weekend amidst an increase in coronavirus cases throughout the Caribbean.

After all fixtures are completed on Sunday, Cricket West Indies and other regional sporting bodies will release an official statement early next week on the possible suspension of various domestic and regional tournaments due to the covid19 pandemic.

Speaking during the second day of the West Indies Four-Day Championship eighth round match between TT Red Force and Windward Islands Volcanoes, at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba on Friday, TT Cricket Board (TTCB) president Azim Bassarath expressed concern but remained committed to concluding this weekend’s round of matches.

Bassarath however, urged fans to allow this weekend’s cricket to be played with empty stands as a final preventative measure to stopping the spread of coronavirus. There is also a possibility the next two rounds of four-day matches will be postponed but this is yet to be confirmed.

“We are going to continue with local cricket until Sunday,” said Bassarath. “It will not be a good sign that we should postpone our local cricket while the regional cricket is taking place. We are appealing to people to let the cricket play in empty stands. We’re hoping at the end of this round of cricket, by Monday or Tuesday, we’ll make a determination of where we go after this round.”

Even though TT has only recorded one confirmed case of covid19 so far, the TTCB must adhere to the government’s temporary travel restrictions which were unveiled by Minister of National Security, Stuart Young, on Thursday at a post-Cabinet briefing.

Additionally, there has been an increase in confirmed cases of the virus in several Caribbean islands over the past few days.

“The board is considering and looking at what is taking place across the Caribbean. We are going to monitor what is taking place over the weekend. We have regional cricket here and a lot of clubs have been calling and people to enquire about what is the situation with local cricket over this weekend. But, we’ll see what happens after this weekend’s matches,” the TTCB president noted.