Just about six months after the West Indies under 19 team won its first World Championship in Dhaka, Bangladesh, a fresh round of preparation has begun with age group tournaments.

So far from July – August the under 15, under 17 and under 19 tournaments have been held and the process has re-started for players who would be considered eligible for the next World Championship in 2018 in New Zealand.

Approximately 280 players are back in the mix playing for a spot on that 16-man squad and will have to play consistently well for back to back seasons to be considered.

Apart from tournaments, camps and other sessions will form part of the overall preparation and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is putting all its plans in motion.

The average spend in the three territories, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago and St Vincent & the Grenadines add up to approximately US$1,000,000. This is the estimate for a combined 50 days of cricket across the three competitions.

Additional expenditure for the WICB include payments to all categories of officials who are also part of the organisation of these tournaments.

Chief Executive Officer, Michael Muirhead, thinks this kind of investment “is important for cricket and as many of our territories benefit as much as possible. We see this as a critical part of our partnership with our stakeholders right across the region.”

The CEO went on to reiterate the importance of all the regions benefiting from all levels of hosting.

From www.windiescricket.com