CWI announces new domestic red-ball competiton, Headley-Weekes series
Dec 25, 2022
St Johns [Antigua], December 25 : Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Sunday announced a new domestic white-ball competition named Headley-Weekes series, which will be played in form of a triangular series at the end of West Indies Championship, the regional four-day tournament.
The series will feature three four-day matches to be held from April 18 to May 6 next year at Antigua's Coolidge Cricket Ground.
Team Hedley and Team Weekes, which have been named in honour of legendary players George Headley and Everton Weekes, will be made up of best performers of the 2023 WI Championship and players outside the West Indies Test XI. The new West Indies Academy will provide the third team for the competition.
The 2023 edition of West Indies Championship starts on February 1 and will be played across five rounds of four-day games, featuring six regional sides.
Johnny Grave, the CEO of CWI, was quoted as saying by ESPNCrincinfo in a statement: "We are delighted to unveil the Headley-Weekes series, which is a new idea that will extend the four-day season, create more opportunities for our players to showcase their skills and will be a huge incentive for them to strive towards selection into our 'A' team, and ultimately our Test team. It will also provide some strong competitive red-ball cricket for our new West Indies Academy players as we continue to try to ensure that the next generation of players is being prepared along the pathway to international cricket."
"Whilst the West Indies Championship is once again going to be played on a one-round, five-match basis, with the plans we have for our 'A' team and Academy, to go on overseas tours after the Headley-Weekes series, we expect our best players in the region will still play at least ten four-day games in the first half of next year," he added.
The first two rounds of the championship will be held from February 1 to 11 in Grenada and Antigua.
After a break, the tournament will resume from March 15 onwards and will go on till April 1 for final three rounds in Trinidad.
