Leewards Islands, Bermuda boards forge new ties

Leeward Islands president Enoch Lewis.
Leeward Islands president Enoch Lewis.

HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – Executives of the Leewards Islands Cricket Board and the Bermuda Cricket Board have hailed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) the two bodies have signed.

According to a media release yesterday, the aim of the MOU is to underpin the development of what is hoped will become a long-term partnership between two bodies that are 1 000 miles apart.

The MOU sets out matters of agreed principle and policy, reflecting the spirit of cooperation between the Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB) and the Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB), but it is not intended to be legally binding, the release said. 

The area of cooperation will include, subject to mutual consent, any activity or programme considered desirable and feasible on either side to foster and develop the co-operative relationship between the two institutions.

Enoch Lewis, president of the LICB and a former player, said the signing of the agreement – the first of its kind for the LICB – was a truly momentous occasion for both boards. He said one of the key objectives of the LICB was “strategic relationship building with the ultimate outcome of continually providing greater and enhanced opportunities for our players and officials”.

He added: “We believe this has been achieved, in a mutually beneficial way, with our counterparts at the Bermuda Cricket Board via this agreement.

“We at the LICB are truly excited by the potential exposure that this agreement creates for both players and officials from both organisations, and by extension the opportunity arising therefrom to improve the standard of cricket being played at all levels and also the overall administration of the sport.”

BCB president Lloyd Smith echoed Lewis’s comments, saying: “On behalf of the Bermuda Cricket Board, we are privileged to be signing this MOU with the Leeward Islands Cricket Board. 

“We hope that this sets a precedent for future opportunities for both organisations, players, coaches, umpires and administrators to grow in the sport.

“The BCB finds this MOU to not only be historic, but also nostalgic, as many Bermudians are descendants of the Leeward Islands ancestry. We consider it to be an honour to be able to work with our Caribbean family.”