Bridgetown, Barbados - Following the meeting of the Board of Directors on October 1st and 2nd CEO of the WICB, Dr Ernest Hilaire, made the following announcements at the post Board Meeting press conference in Barbados:

CORPORATE MATTERS

Review of WICB operations - The Board of Directors received a summary report from Deloitte Touche Tomhatsu, a firm which has been engaged by the WICB to conduct a study on the changing trends in international cricket and how they affect the West Indies. In the coming months there will be a major review of all WICB operations.

Player Relations Officer - The WICB has appointed Ms Ayanna Cooper as Player Relations Officer. The Player Relations Officer will liaise with international, regional and developmental players and design and manage programmes geared towards their professional development.

Legends Function - The WICB will host an annual function to honour the legends of West Indies cricket.

CRICKET MATTERS

Development
West Indies A - West Indies A will play against Pakistan A during their tour of the Caribbean in November 2010. The two sides will play two unofficial Tests, three One Day and two Twenty20 matches. Full schedule will be announced later this week.

Testing - The WICB will introduce standard fitness testing for all contracted and selected players three times per contract year – November, January and June.

There will also be anti-doping and anti-corruption education workshops along with increased anti-doping testing throughout the year.

WICB Umpires & Match Referees Panel - The WICB will establish 2 Umpires Panels and a Match Referee Panel.

i) WICB Senior Umpires Panel - this panel will mostly include the senior umpires in the region.
ii) WICB Emerging Umpires Panel - this panel will include the emerging umpires in the region.
iii) WICB Match Referees Panel - this panel will include match referees who will officiate in all WICB Tournaments.

The Umpires on the WICB Senior Umpires Panel & the Match Referees on the WICB Match Referees Panel will be retained.
Specialist Camps

i) The Board of Directors has made it mandatory that there be Preparatory Camps prior to every West Indies tour.
ii) The WICB will host specialist camps in the areas of batting, bowling, fielding and wicketkeeping for the elite players at all junior age group and senior levels across the region.

Kiddy Cricket Project Officer - The WICB has appointed a Kiddy Cricket Project Officer who will be responsible for managing a restructured and re-energized Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket Programme across the region.

Youth Development Cricket Project Officer - The WICB has appointed a Youth Development Cricket Project Officer who will be responsible for managing the Digicel Youth Development Cricket Programme across the region.

Tournaments
Calypso Cup – In light of the ongoing financial challenges being experienced throughout the Caribbean the WICB will indefinitely postpone the launch of the proposed Calypso Cup.

Caribbean Twenty20 Tournament - The WICB will focus on building the Caribbean T20 brand by expanding the Caribbean T20 Tournament to include the two finalists of the ECB’s Friends Provident T20 Tournament (in addition to Canada).

WICB Regional Under 19 & Under 15 tournaments - The annual WICB Regional Under 19 and Under 15 tournaments will be played during the months of July and August during the summer vacation period for students.

WICB Regional Under 17 Tournament - The WICB Regional Under 17 Tournament will be played annually in December with the inaugural tournament taking place in December 2011.

Women’s Cricket
Central Retainer Contracts for Women - The WICB will offer Central Retainer Contracts to six women cricketers. This initiative is geared towards strengthening the core of the West Indies Women’s Cricket Team and it will be expanded in future to include an incrementally larger number of players.

Sagicor High Performance Center Women’s Cricket Programme - West Indies Women cricketers will attend the Sagicor High Performance Center for a specified period in 2011 for training and development of their skills.