Windies board moves to strengthen club cricket

The West Indies Cricket Board has moved to strengthen the roots of the game in the region with a historic US$360,000 grant programme which is aimed at supporting club cricket across the Caribbean.

The Grassroots Cricket Support Facility will make available US$90,000 to clubs in four periods between March 2011 and December 2012. Clubs and local cricket organisations can apply to the WICB for a grant of up to US$5,000 each. The grants will be issued to clubs to aid in one of three areas, namely: infrastructure development, strengthening training programmes and procurement of gear and equipment.

"This is one of the most important initiatives the WICB will undertake to help strengthen cricket at the grassroots level," said WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire. "We are focussing on the clubs throughout the region who have expressed how difficult it is to organize and sustain cricket and we are lending a hand in a tangible way. West Indies cricket needs club cricket to be strong and we need to assist and give meaningful support.

"Veteran cricket administrator and writer Tony Becca has been prominent in lamenting for years that club cricket is in dire need of a shoulder to lean on and this programme is one way in which we believe we can help to build and strengthen West Indies cricket from the ground up.

"We want to have partnerships with clubs all across the region because these are where West Indies players come from and we have to not only recognise that but demonstrate to the clubs that the WICB is serious about assisting them as they execute their programmes and activities which benefit all of West Indies cricket."