Division I Cricket Championship: Season of change

The annual Division 1 cricket championship, which usually starts in May, will begin in August this year.

For the first time in recent history, the season will begin with the Barbados Fire & Commercial Cup Limited-overs Competition on May 19.

As a result, the new-look Division 1 competition, which features the introduction of covers and a morning start for two-day matches, will be delayed until August 11.

Play will now start at 11 a.m. daily in the Division 1 competition, an hour later than was originally planned.

Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) business manager Rollins Howard said the decision to start the season with the Cup competition was made primarily to accommodate schoolboys who have examinations in the months of May and June.

"We don't usually play on Saturday and Sunday at the start of the season," Howard told NATIONSPORT.

"If we start with the Cup, we will still play cricket every Saturday. The schools will be playing in the knockout competition and it would not impact on Sunday cricket with them."

The Cup competition will run for nine successive Saturdays, culminating with the final on Sunday July 22.

Once the Division 1 competition starts on August 11, it will run for 13 successive weekends, ending in the first weekend of November.

For the first time ever, there will be Reserve League for teams participating in Division 1, registration of clubs and players and match referees in Division 1.

"There are other changes but the above are those which will have an immediate and the greatest impact on clubs participating in the Division 1 competition," Howard said in a memo to clubs and schools.

"We appreciate that many changes are being implemented for the new season and expect that several challenges will present themselves. However, it will be a learning experience for all of us."

Covers, which are to be used in Division 1 and the entire Cup competition for the first time, have been ordered for each club and should soon arrive in the island.

In an effort to familiarise the groundstaff with the requirements for preparation of two-day pitches as well as with the elements involved in covering pitches, a seminar for groundsmen, sponsored by the BCA and the National Sports Council, was held recently at Queen's Park.

Each Division 1 club will be represented in the Reserve League, which will be played on two consecutive Saturdays initially.

"This concession is made to allow current clubs time to recruit players who will be able to compete in the Reserve League under the same conditions as the First Division and will not exceed two years," Howard said.

"Clubs are therefore urged to embark on programmes to attract young players."

In these two years, the Reserve League will begin at 12:30 p.m. daily and will be played on the basis of 35-overs-per-side in the first innings with many of the requirements of a regular limited-overs match in place.

The second innings will be played to a normal conclusion. There will, however, be a minimum of 75 overs in the day's play.

Match referees, who have become a regular part of the Fire Cup competition in recent years, are expected to be in place for Division 1 matches.

"There is a need for more match referees and efforts are under way to recruit suitable persons so that all of the competitions can be well served," Howard said.

Other changes include the promotion of teams from Intermediate and Second Division and the introduction of new clubs to the Second Division.

Barbados Defence Force Youth Programme, champions in the Intermediate Premier League in 1999 and 2000, have been promoted to Division 1 to take the place of one of the Combined Schools teams.

Additionally, Conrad Hunte Sports Club, Dover, Wotton and Fustic have been promoted to the Premier League; Lords, Parish Land and the Barbados Fire Service have moved up to Intermediate from Second Division; and Isolation Cavaliers, Melrose and Brereton are the new comers to the Second Division competition.

There will only be minor changes to the conditions of play in the Premier, Intermediate, Second and Schools divisions.

Playing times and general conditions will be the same as in previous years, with play starting at either 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The Second Division, however, will play under conditions similar to the Reserve League.

The Fire Shield, which starts on June 10, will be played almost simultaneously with the Cup and ends with the final on July 15.

In another new feature, all clubs will have to register their players. Registration fee per club is $100 and per player $10.

Registration for schools is $50, but there is no registration fee for individual schoolboys.