BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP):
THE WEST Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will allow regional teams to include one non-West Indian player on their squads in a bid to boost competitiveness at the domestic level, the body has announced.
The board also said in a release late on Monday that West Indian players will be able to move freely among the six regional teams of Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, the Leeward Islands, Trinidad and the Windward Islands.
Teams will be allowed to field one non-West Indian player each beginning in October for the President's Cup one-day tournaments in Barbados, said Zorol Barthley, WICB chief cricket operations officer.
TO BOLSTER WEAK AREAS
"This could allow the fans to see top players from other countries in action in our domestic tournament (and) could only make for more competitive cricket and a higher standard of play," he said.
He said the free flow of West Indian players opens "the way for teams to bolster their weak areas, while allowing all our prospective international players an opportunity to be on show".
The move is in accordance with the planned Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), a regional trading market that would allow the free flow of goods and labour. The free-trade zone is scheduled to go into effect next January.
The board also said that with respect to the residency requirements, a person would be eligible for selection to the West Indies team if he was a citizen or permanent resident of a member country of the WICB and was not disqualified by the board.
