Curtly Ambrose.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – History will be created Friday when the million-dollar West Indies Players Association Twenty20 Club Championship, bowls off at Guaracara Park in Pointe-a-Pierre.

 

This will mark the first occasion that a Caribbean Club Championships will be held in the West Indies. The 12 teams carded to take part in the tournament over the next week and a half, will vie for a top prize of TT$1 million (US$160 000).

 

The first game of the series takes place at 2.30 pm Friday with the WIPA Masters coming up against a youthful UWI/Barbados team. It will be a case of experience versus youth but the Masters think they are up to the task.

 

“We may not be as fast and agile as before but we are still up to the task. At the end of the day, it is just another cricket competition and we will be looking to do the basics right,” WIPA Masters captain Stuart Williams told CMC Sports Thursday.

 

He said in a three-team group it was very important to get a win in the opening game.

“When you are zoned with three teams, it is important to get a win early and get your head above water.”

 

Included in Williams’ team are a number of stars of yesteryear with fast bowler Curtly Ambrose being the headline act. He is expected in the country Friday morning.

Roland Butcher, coach of the UWI team, said he was also confident his team could topple the Masters.

 

“In Twenty20 cricket, fitness is very important and I have told my players that they must use their youth against the experience of these guys,” Butcher said.

 

“We have some good young players who played first class cricket earlier this season and did well and we will be looking to them to come good in this series for us.”

 

The tournament has created keen interest in Trinidad and Tobago and the ground in Southern Trinidad is expected to be packed for the matches.

 

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