West Indies: Changes for 2001 Cricket

Exciting changes are in store for the 2001 Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) competitions.

That's the word from BCA president Stephen Alleyne, who stopped short of fully disclosing the exact nature of the proposed initiatives.

'The board has committed itself to reviewing all the structures of our domestic cricket,' he told WEEKENDSPORT after the BCA's 1999 Awards ceremony at Kensington Oval on Wednesday night.

'The process started with the clubs' forum earlier this year at which we attempted to take the cricketing pulse of Barbados. A wealth of ideas came from that forum.'

Alleyne added that in the period since the forum, the BCA's Cricket Development Committee had debated exhaustively the ideas and suggestions made and were gradually developing a preferred format for next year's season.

'How we are aiming to proceed is to develop a pro forma for the season and to share it with all those who will be affected,' the BCA boss said.

'We've had very good discussions with the first division clubs and we have proposed a format which they have bought into and are comfortable with.'

He, however, chose not to let too much out of the bag at this stage.

Work in progress

'It is a work in progress and before we make a definitive statement about the exact arrangements, we prefer to complete the consultations.'

The Cricket Development Committee will meet soon with the lower division clubs with regard to proposed changes affecting the intermediate and second divisions.

Alleyne did confirm that the board of management was committed to implementing a registration system for players and introducing covers to the first division competition.

The clubs themselves, he said, had suggested that they could forego part or all of their prize money for one season in an effort to finance the provision of covers.

'Any measure that is going to redound to the benefit of our cricket will be a worthwhile sacrifice,' he said.

'I want to stress that it is an idea that came from the clubs and not the board. I thought it was a selfless and novel idea and demonstrative of the commitment and seriousness which still exists in our cricketers and clubs today.

'There is much work to be done but we are heartened by the responses and involvement of our member clubs. This level of participation augurs well for a good conclusion to our deliberations.'