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ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricketers in host countries for the recent ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2022 are set to benefit from a donation of 15 bowling machines which were purchased by Cricket West Indies (CWI) for the 16 participating squads to use in their training sessions.
CWI has donated four bowling machines each to Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago, with three donated to Antigua and Barbuda. The bowling machines have been distributed among territorial cricket boards and cricket clubs, in accordance with CWI’s pre-tournament objective of enhancing cricketing infrastructure in the host nations for the ICC U19 showpiece. The ICC U19 World Cup was held from January 14 to February 5, 2022, and concluded with India beating England in the final at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
“We talked about the valuable legacy for the West Indies in hosting the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, and this is a tangible example of how our regional cricket will be impacted positively,” noted CWI President Ricky Skerritt, presenting the four bowling machines in St. Kitts to President of the St. Kitts Cricket Association, Dennis Phillip.
“Our young cricketers, as well as club players and those in high-performance development programmes, will have the opportunity to fine-tune their batting skills with these high-calibre machines. Cricket West Indies has a vested interest in helping to improve the standard of cricket in all our member territories, and thereby the standard of West Indies cricket. This donation further underlines CWI’s commitment to one of our most important stakeholders – our players.”
“We want to ensure our cricket boards and clubs are in a better position to respond to players’ needs by having the appropriate facilities and equipment to propel cricket development, especially among youth. It is also a gesture of appreciation for the priceless support which CWI received from the host governments, as well as from local cricket authorities and clubs. It’s been a wonderful partnership,” elaborated Skerritt.
Additionally, the President Skerritt stressed the importance for local cricket clubs “to maintain certain minimum standards and a state of readiness to host matches, in case opportunities arise to be involved in more global tournaments”.