BCA Clubs To Preview Season

It'll be all hands on deck as the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) prepares for the 2000 cricket season, slated to start on June 3, with a strategy session on Saturday. The BCA has invited all member clubs and schools to a cricket forum at Sherbourne Centre from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Prime Minister Owen Arthur is expected to deliver an address during the opening ceremony and patrons are being asked to bring an open mind, notebook and writing instrument.

One of the board's aims during its tenure is to reverse this decline and make our cricket strong again, stated the board in a document circulated to clubs and schools.

In pursuit of this aim, the board plans to review and restructure, where necessary, our local competitions as well as aspects of our cricketing environment.

Restructing of competitions to provide a higher degree of competitiveness divisional structure, promotion and relegation, player registration, zonal competition (parishes), school competitions, Crop-Over cricket, neutral grounds;

Improvement in facilites to provide better conditions for play pitches, pitch inspectors, covers, groundsmen, grounds and pavilion;

Improvement in the standards of behaviour and the conduct of play code of conduct for players (teams), improvement in standard of umpiring, development of relationship between players and umpires, seminars, reports;

Improvement in the quality of limited-overs cricket coloured clothing, players reperesenting more than one club in different competitions;

Strengthening club membership and financing cricket programmes clubhopping, prize money and sponsporship, alternative distribution of prize money, financing cricket programmes;

Attracting, developing and retaining the best players players' incentives, junior leagues.

The season is starting a bit later than usual because Barbados will be hosting of the second Test between West Indies and Pakistan May 18-22.