BASSETERRE, ST. Kitts - THE start of the series between West Indies and Pakistan has been pushed back by a few days owing to the COVID-19 positive case that delayed the last two matches in the Australia series.
Shortly before the start of the second One-Day International between Australia and the West Indies, a non-playing personnel in the West Indies camp returned a positive test, which caused a delay in the final two matches.
That delay prompted CWI to hold discussions with the Pakistan Cricket Board, since the third one-day would have finished last evening (July 26) evening and the T20 against Pakistan would have played this morning.
A statement from CWI confirmed that the start has been delayed by one day, and the T20 series has been shortened by one game.
The initial fixture list saw the teams scheduled to compete in five matches across the shorter format, but that will now be four, beginning tomorrow.
“Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today announced a revised match schedule for the upcoming ‘Osaka Presents PSO Carient T20 Cup’ between the West Indies and Pakistan in the Caribbean.
“A four-match T20 International (T20I) series has been agreed, scheduled to start on Wednesday, July 28 at Kensington Oval, Barbados. The first ball is 10am (9am Jamaica Time) for the first match, with the final three to be played at the Guyana National Stadium on Saturday, July 31; Sunday, August 1 and Tuesday, August 3 at 11am (10am Jamaica Time),” CWI disclosed in a media statement.
CWI President, Ricky Skerritt said: “Together with the PCB, CWI have examined various scenarios, and we jointly agreed that the best solution in the present circumstances is to cancel the first T20I and play a four-match T20I series starting on Wednesday and keep the rest of the tour schedule unchanged. We want to express our gratitude to the PCB Chairman, Ehsan Mani and CEO, Wasim Khan, and the Pakistan team for their understanding in this situation and for agreeing to the revised match schedule.
“Both teams are in the final stages of preparing for the ICC T20 World Cup, so we anticipate an exciting and entertaining series of games as both teams compete for Osaka Presents PSO Carient T20 Cup.”
Following the Osaka Presents PSO Carient T20 Cup, West Indies and Pakistan will then play two Betway Test matches at Sabina Park in Jamaica from August 12-16 and then from August 20-24.
This will be the first test series for the West Indies in the new 2021-2023 ICC World Test Championship.
