St John’s, Antigua – The Board of Directors of the West Indies Cricket Board, at its last meeting in Barbados, approved an annual development grant for the Combined Campuses and Colleges Programme.
The grant, to the tune of US$50,000, is similar to what is received by the six Territorial Boards on an annual basis from the WICB for the purposes of aiding the development of cricket in the various territories.
The CCC programme has become integral to the development of West Indies cricket since it was conceived in 2007. The CCC participates in the WICB senior men’s tournaments – Regional 4 Day, Super50 and Caribbean Twenty20.
"The CCC programme, in a very significant way, aids us in ensuring that some of our best talents do not have to compromise their education for cricket or vice versa," WICB President, Dr. Julian Hunte said.
"The programme has become one which is at the forefront of global cricket as successfully merging formal higher education with cricket," Dr. Hunte added.
"We have seen a number of players spend time in the CCC programme and then graduate to international level or return to their regional teams where they continue to compete at a very high level, and after they would have achieved academically as well. Most notably among them is Miles Bascombe," observed Dr Hunte.
"We have seen too the professionalism and strong competition offered by the CCC in our various tournaments where they are quickly developing into a force to be reckoned with and can no longer be treated lightly by the other regional sides," Dr. Hunte noted.
"I wish to commend CCC for calling on some of the best talent in the region to assist in refining the skills of the players, most notably their recruitment of the legendary Curtly Ambrose as their Bowling Consultant," Dr. Hunte said.
"It is because we recognize the value that the CCC programme lends to regional cricket that the Board has agreed to lend financial support and we are certain that West Indies cricket will reap the rewards in years to come," Dr. Hunte concluded.