St John’s – It’s the mother of all rematches that should have the eyes of regional cricket fans when the Caribbean Twenty20 Cricket Tournament bowls off early next year in Antigua and Barbados.
Barbados and the Leeward Islands, the two teams which battled for 50-overs supremacy last month, will be at it again on the tournament’s second day, January 11, at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.
In the schedule announced by the West Indies Cricket Board yesterday live on ABS TV in Antigua, the big grudge match between the home team and 50-overs finalists Barbados will be the feature match at 8 p.m.
In addition, English teams Somerset and Hampshire Royals will give the tournament an international flair.
Hampshire Royals, the English T20 kings, will kick off their Caribbean campaign when they lock horns with invitational side Canada in the curtain-raiser at 4 p.m.
Reigning Caribbean Twenty20 champions Guyana and star-studded Jamaica will clash in a mega feature encounter on the opening day, January 10.
Leewards and Barbados are reigning WICB 50-Overs title-holders after a tense tied final in Jamaica last October.
The other English team – Somerset – will play their first match on January 12 against Guyana in another colossal match-up.
There will be 12 preliminary matches in Antigua at the Vivian Richards Stadium and eight preliminary matches in Barbados plus the semi-finals, third-place play-off and the final at Kensington Oval.
Ten teams will participate in the 2011 Caribbean Twenty20 – seven from the Caribbean plus the two top English Twenty20 teams, champions Hampshire Royals and losing finalists Somerset along with Canada.
The teams will be divided into two groups and the top two teams from each group will secure semi-final places.
Two matches will be played each day – the first at 4 p.m. (day/night) and the second at 8 p.m. (night). (BA/PR)
Group A: Guyana, Jamaica, Combined Campuses and Colleges, Windward Islands, Somerset.
Group B: Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Leeward Islands, Canada, Hampshire.
Fixtures:
ANTIGUA – Sir Vivian Richards
Cricket Ground
Monday, January 10
Combined Campuses and Colleges
v Windward Islands (4 p.m.)
Jamaica v Guyana (8 p.m.)
Tuesday, January 11
Canada v Hampshire Royals (4 p.m.)
Leeward Islands v Barbados (8 p.m.)
Wednesday, January 12
Somerset v Guyana (4 p.m.)
Combined Campuses and Colleges
v Jamaica (8 p.m.)
Thursday, January 13
Hampshire Royals v Barbados (4 p.m.)
Leeward Islands v Trinidad and Tobago
(8 p.m.)
Friday, January 14
Windward Islands v Somerset (4 p.m.)
Combined Campuses and Colleges
v Guyana (8 p.m.)
Saturday, January 15
Leeward Islands v Hampshire Royals (4 p.m.)
Canada v Trinidad and Tobago (8 p.m.)
BARBADOS – Kensington Oval
Tuesday, January 18
Jamaica v Somerset (4 p.m.)
Windward Islands v Guyana (8 p.m.)
Wednesday, January 19
Canada v Leeward Islands (4 p.m.)
Trinidad and Tobago v Barbados (8 p.m.)
Thursday, January 20
Combined Campuses and Colleges v Somerset (4 p.m.)
Windward Islands v Jamaica (8 p.m.)
Friday, January 21
Trinidad and Tobago v Hampshire Royals
(4 p.m.)
Canada v Barbados (8 p.m.)
Saturday, January 22
Semi-final 1: Group A Winner v
Group B 2nd (4 p.m.)
Semi-final 2: Group B Winner v
Group A 2nd (8 p.m.)
Sunday, January 23
3rd-place play-off: Semi-final 1 loser
v Semi-final 2 loser (4 p.m.)
Final: Semi-final 1 winner v Semi-final 2 winner (8 p.m.)
