ANTIGUA: The International Cricket Council (ICC) teamed up with Cricket West Indies (CWI) to launch the ‘Mothers & Daughters coaching program’ in St John’s, Antigua ahead of the upcoming Women’s World T20 in the West Indies. The tournament will be played across Antigua, St Lucia and Guyana in November.
More than 100 participants were present at the launch of the program.
“This is the first ever Mothers & Daughters cricket event in the West Indies. This is the pioneer project and we will have two others to come in St Lucia and Guyana – as these are the three venues for the matches in the tournament,” Program co-ordinator KJ Singh said.
“We are bringing everybody together. This is a version of cricket where the women and girls will be exposed to the game. They are with the coaches and they are having a good time.
“We also had promotional events to give tickets to everyone here – they will all get a chance to watch the semis and final in Antigua on November 22 and 24 at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.”
Members of the Windies side, the defending champions after having won the last edition in 2016, were present on the occasion, as were former male internationals Gus Logie, Jimmy Adams and the legendary Sir Andy Roberts, who is an ambassador for the tournament. Logie is the assistant coach of the Windies side, while Adams is the CWI director of cricket.
Singh added that the initiative would help spread cricket.
“They (the participants) are learning all the skills of the game – batting, bowling, fielding – and also a lot about the game itself. For many, this is the first time they are playing the game, so this will be memorable in many ways.
“This is part of Cricket4Good, an initiative which the ICC has going all over the world. This event has its origins at the ICC Americas and they deserve special mention for this event. We want to host this as an annual event all across the West Indies. It can grow and it brings informal cricket into play.
“There are a lot of women who want to play but they can’t become involved in formal cricket, so this is the right place for them – come out, have fun and enjoy the game they love, and it also promotes fitness, healthy lifestyle, community-building and camaraderie.”
