YOUNG West Indian cricketers will have yet another age-group tournament to showcase their skills from next year.
West Indies Cricket Board CEO Ernest Hilaire yesterday revealed that an Under-17 tournament will be added to the regional youth cricket schedule and would likely take place over Easter 2011.
The announcement was made at Kensington Oval during the launch of the Digicel Youth Cricket Development Programme on Friday.
Being shifted
The regional Under-15 competition, traditionally held at that time of year, is to be shifted to the summer alongside the Under-19 tournament.
Hilaire also explained that the Under-15 tournament will be changed from one-day to two-day cricket following the recommendations of the cricket committee.
“We want to make it more a developmental activity and less a contest for the sake of competition,” he said. “We believe that there is too much of an emphasis now on winning rather than a development and execution of skills.”
Impediment
Hilaire noted that the WICB wanted territories to move away from a win-at-all-costs mentality, which especially impeded the development of fast bowlers of late.
“The cricket committee noticed a disturbing trend where teams are now bringing in a lot more slow bowlers, because everybody wants to win, and there is the perception that our batsmen are very weak against slow bowlers. So you bring in a young fast bowler, he bowls three overs and then you just let slow bowlers bowl for the rest of the match.”
