BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) -  Manager (Cricket Operations) of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Roland Holder, said there will be benefits to the game with the change of tournament formats for the next regional season.Holder said the WICB was fulfilling its mandate to provide its players with more cricket with the change of format to the Regional Super50 tournament.
“We have returned to what happened in the past,” said Holder during a brief explanation given at the media conference on Monday at Kensington Oval to formally introduce new WICB chief executive Michael Muirhead.“In the last two or three seasons, by virtue of us playing the RS50 in

October/November, we have had several matches rained

out. We were in an unwelcome situation where a team made it into the semi-finals having played one match, which severely affected the competitiveness of the tournament.”
The WICB agreed at a recent directors’ meeting to play next year’s RS50 simultaneously with the Regional 4-Day Tournament.
Next year’s RS50 is set to begin on Thursday, February 7, with the R4D, starting two days later.
“By moving it out of the hurricane season and into the traditional cricket season, we have increased the number of matches and each team will now play a minimum of six matches as opposed to the three matches they played in the two or three previous seasons, which increases the amount of cricket they will have to play,” Holder explained.
“It gives us those benefits and allows us to provide more cricket for the fans, more One-day cricket for our players, and gives us the benefit of good weather in which to play the tournament.”
Holder, a former Barbados captain and West Indies batsman, said the format and playing conditions would also allow territories that have floodlit stadiums to contest matches under lights.
He said the regional governing body had also made provision to allow teams to change their playing squads between the four-day and 50-overs competitions.
“They can bring players in to adjust to the different forms of the game,” he said.
“We have recognised that there is still specialist cricket around and the directors in their wisdom have made the decision that territories will be allowed to replace up to three players at the WICB’s cost.”
Territorial boards may however, make additional changes at their cost.
Fixtures for the two tournaments will be released at a later date.