The very popular regional T20 cricket series will now be played in January next year. The tournament was played in Barbados and T&T in July this year and was won by Guyana. As a result, they will represent the West Indies at the Airtel Champions League in South Africa later this month. Director of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Baldath Mahabir explained the reason for the move: "We were informed by the officials of the Champions League that the regional tournament was played too late in the season.
They needed to know who would represent the West Indies at the tournament earlier and this was the major reason in bringing the tournament forward to January, to give them proper notice of our representatives." Mahabir added that the weather conditions were expected to be much better in January and this was also a plus. "The rain affected the tournament this year because we were playing at the tail end of the cricket season in Trinidad. In January the weather is expected to be much better and this is another plus," he said.
The FC Clarke Road United president also revealed that their will also be a Calypso Cup tournament immediately following the regional T20 series. "The top four teams from the Regional T20 cricket series will be chosen to play in the Calypso Cup and they will be joined by four teams from overseas. At the end of this tournament, the regional First Class series will be played, so that players can focus solely on that type of cricket.
