West Indies Cricket- the present and the future- will be high on the agenda when CARICOM Heads of Government meet in Barbados on February 19-21 for their 48thRegular Meeting.
The high-level assembly is expected to be held at the Wyndham Grand on the southeastern coast of the island.
Heads of Government will discuss several pressing issues for the Community, and the glorious game which has brought global glory to this region will again be in the spotlight as stakeholders aim to find solutions to the many challenges faced on and off the field.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) is expected to send a delegation to the meeting.
The likely heads will be President Dr. Kishore Shallow; and Chris Dehring, highly regarded Jamaica administrator, who will take up the position of CEO.
He takes up the post on February 1 and will be based at the headquarters at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.
CWI has found itself in several public spats with the Barbados Cricket Association and the Guyana Cricket Board over governance reform.
There is also the ongoing debate over the conclusion of last year’s men’s regional limited overs tournament, where both Barbados and Jamaica captains did not spin the toss.
The prospect of relegation to a lower tier in Test cricket has been mooted in international cricket circles. CWI has yet to make a public statement on the matter, but it is expected to be discussed at the CARICOM meeting.
On the field, the West Indies senior men’s and women’s teams continue to struggle.
The men’s Test team are bottom of the table in the ICC World Test Championship while the women will be required to compete at the qualifiers tournament to earn a berth at the World Cup in India later this year.
Other hot topics in use: Food and nutrition security, climate change and the climate finance agenda; the ongoing challenges in Haiti; security issues; digital resilience; external relations matters and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
Other issues such as maritime and air transport and reparations will also occupy the attention of the leaders over the two-day period.
