The Leeward Islands Hurricanes will run a near one-month camp here prior to the start of the regional Four Day cricket competition set for early November.
This was announced by President of the Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB) Enoch Lewis on Observer Radio’s Good Morning Jojo Sports Show on Monday.
The move, Lewis said, would afford the team more opportunities to play cricket against quality opposition going into the start of the WICB’s Professional Cricket League (PCL).
“If I get three or four practice matches in before those tournaments, then I expect the team to select itself. I expect the players to select themselves by way of performance and so I am not going to take this excuse that I was not match ready. We’ve not done it before and I figure it is something we need to do because as it is right now, I believe most of the other territories are playing cricket and playing competitive … at least, maybe A side against B side and so on,” he said.
Hurricanes will be without five players for part of the PCL after they were drafted into various West Indies squads.
Antiguan all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall, Anguillan wicketkeeper Jahmar Hamilton and Kittitian all-rounder Keiran Powell have all been selected for the West Indies A team’s tour of Sri Lanka starting this month.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes will also lose young sensational Antiguan fast bowler Alzarri Joseph who has been called to the ODI squad for the first time and Trinidadian batsman Nicholas Pooran who has been selected in the T20 squad.
The team, Lewis believes, will have the support based needed here to adequately prepare for the upcoming season.
“I am thinking that the best place for them to do that would be Antigua so my plans are to have a training camp in Antigua that probably runs, minimum, three weeks where they will play maybe three or four matches before the Four Day tournament starts,” he said.
The 2016/17 Professional Cricket League is slated to bowl off on November 11 when Leeward Islands will take on Barbados in their opening Four Day fixture.