Grassroots cricket in the Caribbean under threat

Cricket West Indies (CWI) Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams is expressing concern that grassroots cricket in the region is under threat.

He said administrators are desperately trying to regain momentum to preserve and nurture current and future talent and that there is a particular need to identify and develop female talent in the sport. Speaking at a news conference where he discussed the recent launch of the CWI Emerging Players Academy in Antigua which is aimed at supporting the development of world class players from the Caribbean.

Adams said while there is raw talent across CWI territories, “if we don’t protect our grassroots cricket, then we might not be saying that in 10 years time.” “Our grassroots cricket is under attack at the moment. We’re trying desperately to work with Government’s across the region to ensure we don’t lose that base that we’ve had and that we depend on going forward,” he said.

The former West Indies captain said that while the academy will see both male and female cricketers participating in several high-performance training and development camps, women’s cricket is in particular need of support.

Adams said the academy will provide a great start towards bridging the critical gap between junior and professional levels.