CWIMA invites interested O40s players to register online

Jul 01, 2022 Sports

Masters Cricket now extends to over 40s

Masters cricket continues to grow exponentially and it is a tribute to those cricketers who are still active and still possess that deep love for the game that a private group of individuals has since established structures for the efficient administration of these masters’ series and world cups. Presently there are 2 different bodies that have undertaken the responsibility for the administration of Masters’ cricket. There is a governing body headed by Stirling Hamman, an attorney based out of Sydney, Australia that has taken on the responsibility for firstly, Over 50s cricket and more recently Over 40s cricket. Their website is www.over50scricket.com. Another body headed by Rod Rice out of Queensland, Australia has undertaken the smooth administration of Over 60s cricket with its website being www.over60scricket.com.
The O50s body has been existence since 2018 when the first ever O50s World Cup was hosted in Sydney, Australia where 8 teams participated – Australia, Canada, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Pakistan & Wales. Australia defeated Pakistan in the final of that tournament. Due to the tremendous success of this inaugural World Cup, it was agreed to have this World Cup held at different venues every 2 years and to encourage more countries, especially India and the West Indies, to join the band wagon.
As fate would have it, 4 countries were added to the above 8 for the 2nd World Cup held in Cape Town, South Africa during March 2020, namely: India, Namibia, West Indies & Zimbabwe. That World Cup started off with a bang but came to a screeching halt half way through the 3rd round matches when the deadly COVID virus begun to wreak havoc around the world. As could have been expected there was a mad scramble for everyone to get back home with airlines cancelling flights, airlines filing bankruptcy and several countries closing off their borders.
Since the relaxing of the COVID restrictions around the world earlier this year the organizers have now rescheduled this 2nd World Cup to be held in March 2023 at the same venue. USA & UAE have now been added to the growing list of countries making it 14 countries in competition.
The O60s body will be hosting its first ever World Cup in the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia in September 2022 where 12 countries will be vying for championship honors- Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Rest of the World, South Africa, Sri Lanka, USA, Wales, West Indies and Zimbabwe. Some of the teams have already announced their squads with West Indies expected to name theirs in the next week or so.
Realizing that there was a vacuum in the administration of O40s cricket, the O50s body has since decided to extend its mandate to now incorporate this age group level of masters’ cricket. A competitive bidding process was held earlier this year where Pakistan earned the right to host the first ever O40s World Cup in September/October 2023. This World Cup is expected to be most competitive but do present some challenges to most of the countries that are in the fledgling stages of masters’ cricket development.
Masters cricket is at various stages of development around the world. Most major cricket-playing countries around the world such as England, Australia, Wales, South Africa, Canada, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan have established masters’ leagues for the various age groups in their home countries whilst other countries such as the USA, India and the West Indies have had to play catch up with the rest of the world.
However, West Indies have had and will have it much tougher than other countries due to the geography of its territories. Players can come mostly from all parts of the Caribbean and North America and this in itself makes it very difficult to have trials and such like, bearing in mind, that players are usually self-sponsored and Cricket West Indies Masters Association (CWIMA) does not own nor have ready access to any grounds. In this regard, CWIMA is inviting interested O40s players to register on its website if they are interested in representing the West Indies at the O40s level-http://www.windiesmasters.org/cwima/registerUser.do?clubId=30679.

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