Due to the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic forcing a shutdown of cricket in the Caribbean and the world at large, tournaments have been rescheduled or in some cases, even cancelled.
For the regional under-17 and under-19 tournaments, the possibility of these tournaments being staged apart from the pandemic, also depends on the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) timeframe.
According to Chief Executive Officer of Cricket West Indies, “[the] U17s and U19s will depend on the CXC exams and regional travel.”
Grave added, “We are hoping that cricket can restart in time for the U17s and U19s be played as planned in July and August.”
In addition to those two male tournaments, the female under-19 tournament is also considered high priority by CWI since it is expected to serve as preparation for the inaugural female under-19 World Cup scheduled for Bangladesh next year.
Of that tournament, Grave told Stabroek Sport, “We will look to rearrange during one of the school holidays before the World Cup in January 2021.”
He stressed the tournament’s importance stating that the tournament would be useful.., “in order for us to prepare and select our U19 squad ahead of the inaugural WC [World Cup].”
CXC’s preparations have also taken a hit due to the pandemic with institutions forced to close their doors. According to a press release from the examinations council, “while the proposed revised administration schedule for the May/June 2020 examinations is July 2020, we continue to be guided by national protocols across the region.”
Additionally, international travel across the region has come to a standstill and the Guyana government has gazetted a further closure of the local airports until June 3.
Guyana often uses the Inter-County competitions as the basis for selecting and preparing their national youth teams and has already completed its under-17 tournament this year. However, the under-19 tournament has been halted due to the shutdown while CWI has already cancelled the under-15 regional tournament.
