CWI welcomes return of four-day cricket

Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced last week that the West Indies Championship 2022 will start this week, marking the return of first-class cricket in the region since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

The West Indies Championship marks not only a return of the regional red ball competition but also the opportunity for West Indian players to stake their claim for selection to the West Indies squad for the upcoming Apex Test Series between West Indies and England in March 2022.

The first and second rounds will be played in Barbados and Trinidad from Feb. 15-18. The teams will again compete for the Bradley Weekes Trophy named in honor of West Indies legends George Bradley and Sir Everton Weekes.

Defending champions Barbados Pride, who won the last edition of the West Indies Championship in 2020, will face Leeward Islands in the first match at Kensington Oval, Barbados.

The last three rounds of the match of the West Indies Championship are scheduled to be contested in May 2022.