ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC):
Cricket West Indies (CWI) will allow expanded squads for the opening week of the Regional Super50 due to the availability of international players following West Indies’ premature exit from the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia.
The two-time former champions were knocked out in the qualifying series, failing to advance to the Super 12 main draw for the first time.
As a result, the squad – minus those players who will feature in a two-Test series Down Under starting next month – will return to the Caribbean in time for the Super50 campaign, which gets underway on Saturday.
“The players will now be available for the tournament upon their return to the Caribbean on October 25 while some of the Test players will remain in Melbourne to prepare for the upcoming Test Series against Australia,” a CWI release said Sunday.
“Due to the returning T20 World Cup contingent, CWI will allow larger squads from the originally stipulated 14 players,” the board said in a release on Sunday.
“However, this will only be applicable for the period prior to the departure of the West Indies Test team on November 8 when the franchises must revert to 14 players only.”
With the T20 World Cup expected to wrap up on November 13, members of the West Indies squad were not expected to feature in the Super50, which runs until November 19.
However, the Nicholas Pooran-led unit suffered shock defeats to Scotland and Ireland in two of their three qualifiers to finish bottom of Group B and miss out on qualification.
This year’s Super50 Cup will feature six franchises – reigning champions Trinidad and Tobago Red Force, Barbados Pride, Guyana Harpy Eagles, Jamaica Scorpions, Guyana Jaguars, Windward Islands Volcanoes, and Leeward Islands Hurricanes – who will be joined by the West Indies Academy and Combined Campuses & Colleges.