st. john's, antigua, (cmc)
BACK-TO-BACK One-Day Inter-national (ODI) matches will be a thing of the past after Zimbabwe completes its tour of seven limited overs matches against the West Indies in April and May.
Chief Cricket Operations Officer of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Zorol Barthley said the WICB is the only one of the playing countries that continues to schedule ODIs on two successive days.
But Barthley said this will change after the Zimbabweans play back-to-back ODIs at the Antigua Recreation Ground on April 29 and 30, Guyana on May 6 and 7 and in Trinidad and Tobago on May 13 and 14. When the Indians visit in May there will be no back-to-back ODIs.
They will play on May 18 and 20 in Jamaica and on May 26 and 28 in Trinidad.
TWO DAY BREAK
Barthley said the International Cricket Council (ICC) has stipulated that there should be a break of at least two days between ODI and three days for Test matches.
He was speaking on OBSERVER Radio's Wednesday edition of Voice of the People, following the announcement of the revised schedule.
The WICB has been scheduling back-to-back ODIs over the past few years as an incentive for regional cricket fans to travel to Caribbean venues to watch matches in other countries.
Well-known Barbadian journalist, Keith Holder, a phone-in guest on the programme, said old habits will take some time to die among regional fans and he suggested that this change in the scheduling should be explained by the WICB.
Barthley consented to bring the suggestion to the attention of his superiors.
On another issue, noted regional commentator Reds Perreira called on the West Indies selectors to utilise the five ODIs against India as the beginning of World Cup preparation for the regional side.
Perreira said the Win World Cup Windies committee should announce a programme that will help the Caribbean side to make a strong bid to win the tournament which will be staged in the region in a year's time.
Zimbabwe will play seven matches including the first-ever full ODI day/night fixture in St Lucia on May 10.
The two Test matches against Zimbabwe were cancelled in January after the ICC withdrew Test status from the African country amid an on-going row between the authorities and the top players.
India will play four Tests in Antigua (June 2-6), St Lucia (10-14), St Kitts (22-26) - for the first time - and Jamaica (June 30-Jul 4).
Barthley said the Indians have asked not to play any tour matches but there is a likelihood that they will engage an Antiguan team in a two-day fixture before the start of the first Test.
He said the Indians will also spend a week in St Maarten as guests of the Indian community there (at no cost to the WICB) to rest and recuperate ahead of the third Test in St Kitts.
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