By VINODE MAMCHAN
President of Cricket West Indies (CWI) Ricky Skerritt has labelled chairman of Cricket Council USA (CCUSA) as ‘the action man’ when it comes to getting cricket played.
Qureshi and his association CCUSA will be hosting their 13th annual US Open T20 tournament at the Central Broward Regional Park in Fort Lauderdale. Skerritt endorsed the valiant efforts of Qureshi in promoting cricket in the USA, and welcomed the ongoing opportunity for West Indian players to participate in the well-established annual tournament.
The well respected Skerritt said: “I want to thank Cricket Council USA (CCUSA) for always being there for West Indian players, through thick or thin. The annual December T20 tournament is a welcome opportunity for cricketers and match officials to enjoy much needed competitive cricket. The Covid-19 Pandemic has robbed many West Indian players of valuable months of organized local and regional cricket. This has badly set back the implementation of development plans at all levels across our region. Improvement in cricket skills, and growth in individual confidence, is impossible for young players to achieve without the opportunity to put it all into use in a quality cricket environment such as the one created by the upcoming US Open. Maq Qureshi is an action man who has always found the necessary investment, much of it from his own pockets, to keep this annual tournament alive and growing. Especially in the face of Covid challenges, ongoing investment in this US Open T20 tournament has been to the benefit of numerous local USA stars as well as several international players from the West Indies and elsewhere. I again say thank you to Maq and Cricket Council USA for keeping the US Open cricket flame burning, no matter how difficult.”
CCUSA and CWI has always shared a close relationship and the latter has assisted by readily granting No Objection Certificates for a host of West Indians to take part in the tournament.
