CRICKET West Indies (CWI) has announced that annual retainer contracts have been offered to all 13 members of the existing Senior Panel of Umpires for the new contract period which runs from April 1, 2021-March 31, 2022.

On Wednesday, a CWI media release said, “The significant reduction in regional cricket in the last contracting period, due to the impact of covid19, has resulted in no changes being made to the list of umpires to be offered contracts.”

CWI invests annually in the panel of umpires due to their fundamental role in ensuring that the spirit and integrity of cricket is preserved, and that the highest possible quality fair play is upheld on the field. Investing in a broader pool of umpires who can be rewarded for their hard work and application in developing their skills is vital for the health of cricket at all levels.

CWI’s director of cricket Jimmy Adams, said, “I am pleased that even in the midst of our financial constraints, CWI will be re-engaging our senior panel of umpires as we recognize and appreciate their important role within the game. We all hope that there will be increasing amounts of cricket within the region in the months ahead to allow our best umpires to continue their ongoing development.”

During the recent international home series between West Indies and Sri Lanka, for the first time, all match officials were of Caribbean origin, due to the International Cricket Council (ICC) temporarily permitting the appointment of locally-based match officials from the Emirates Elite Panel of Match Officials and the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Officials. This was due to the logistics challenges caused by the pandemic. One very positive outcome was for Barbadian and West Indies umpire Gregory Brathwaite to officiate in his first Test match.

Umpires offered retainer contracts

Zahid Bassarath, Johnathan Blades, Gregory Brathwaite, Deighton Butler, Nigel Duguid, Patrick Gustard, Danesh Ramdhanie, Leslie Reifer, Verdayne Smith, Christopher Taylor, Carl Tuckett, Jacqueline Williams, Christopher Wright

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