Kingston, 17 April 2019 - The Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport has told newly-elected President of Cricket West Indies, Mr Ricky Skerritt, that she has two major concerns that she wishes the regional body to address as priority.

Miss Grange spoke with Mr Skerritt who called on her at her New Kingston offices today.

“First, I wish that CWI pay more attention to developing cricket at the national level “as you strive for the further of the development of West Indies cricket.

“Cricket West Indies should invest more in cricket in the various countries from which the West Indies team is drawn,”

the Sport Minister said,

“and the focus must be more so on cricket at the grass root levels right down to infant and prep schools.”

The Minister said there was also the pressing need for the Region to give more attention to women’s cricket. “There are no real leagues for women’s cricket in the Caribbean. There is the Senior and Junior Cups for male players in Jamaica; where is the Senior and Junior Cups for our females?” the Minister asked.

She said that it was to their great credit that the West Indies women had done so well in world cricket without “adequate supporting structures.”

The Minister also called for more women in the leadership of cricket. 

She assured Mr Skerritt that the Ministry was looking forward to continued collaboration with the new administrations of Cricket West Indies and the Jamaica Cricket Association.  

Mr Skerritt said that CWI was taking the Minister’s concerns on board and in fact had plans to invest more in grass root cricket with emphasis on “kiddies cricket”. 

The new CWI President said also that improvements affecting women’s cricket were coming, noting that the process had already begun with increasing the salaries of West Indies women team to the level of those paid to the men.

Mr Skerritt also informed the Minister that the major objective for his visit to Jamaica was to raise funds. He said, “low inflows of cash in the last financial year because of the sparsity of international cricket in the Caribbean, has affected us.”

Mr Skerritt said that so far his visit had been “reaping fruits.”   

The CWI President was accompanied to his meeting with Minister Grange by Mr Wilfred “Billy” Heaven, President of Jamaica Cricket Association; Mr Johnny Grave, CEO of Cricket West Indies; Mr Jimmy Adams, Director of Cricket; and Mr Barry Thomas, Finance Director of Cricket West Indies.