CWI eyes FANtastic future
Published:Sunday | May 2, 2021 | 12:18 AMDaniel Wheeler - Staff Reporter
To access this article in full please login or register today
Cricket West Indies (CWI) Chief Executive Officer Johnny Grave says while it is unlikely that fans will return to stadiums for West Indies matches before next year, he has not ruled out the possibility of patrons returning, provided certain...
Cricket West Indies (CWI) Chief Executive Officer Johnny Grave says while it is unlikely that fans will return to stadiums for West Indies matches before next year, he has not ruled out the possibility of patrons returning, provided certain conditions are met.
The West Indies are scheduled to host Australia and Pakistan this summer as part of the International Cricket Council’s future tours programme, with South Africa also scheduled to tour the region.
So far, since the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches in the region have been played in biosecure environments, which included the 2020 Caribbean Premier League tournament and the recent West Indies home series against Sri Lanka in Antigua. These matches had no fans in attendance.
The 2021 Caribbean Premier League tournament in St Kitts and Nevis, which begins in late August, will be the first regional tournament to allow fans back into the stadium at a limited capacity, provided they are fully vaccinated.
Grave said the move is being used as a pilot for an eventual return of fans in the future, and while he does not expect that to happen for the upcoming West Indies matches this year, the situation could change should the respective territories provide approval.
“If a ministry of health (for the various countries) said that they were comfortable with fans getting into the stands before then and would allow us to have West Indies games, obviously, we would love that to happen,” Grave told The Sunday Gleaner. “But at this stage, we are certainly not planning for any fans to be in the stands.”
There have been no reported cases of COVID-19 in St Kitts and Nevis since March 18.
CRITICAL HURDLE CLEARED
The Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) recently received the approval from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management to host international matches at Sabina Park, clearing a critical hurdle for CWI to award the nation games for the upcoming tours.
The approval was granted with the stipulation that fans would not be allowed; however, JCA CEO Courtney Francis said a separate application would be made to have fans return, pending approval from the Ministry of Sport.
With the tours scheduled to run from June to August, physician Dr Alfred Dawes says that a possible West Indies match in Jamaica could be the perfect opportunity to have a pilot programme for large gatherings to resume, depending on the number of fully vaccinated persons in the island at that point.
“Most persons who would have had their first dose would have had access to their second dose of these vaccines, and this would be the best way to test and see how well we can function in terms of reopening the economy, as well as incentivising all persons to be fully vaccinated,” Dawes said.
Over 100,000 persons have been given their first dose of the vaccine so far.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States of America recently updated guidelines for fully vaccinated persons. It now includes allowing persons to “participate in outdoor activities and recreation without a mask except in certain crowded settings and venues”.