Windies to face ICC World XI for charity in T20

Cricket West Indies (CWI), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) have joined hands to hold a Twenty20 International at Lord’s on Thursday, May 31, to help raise funds for two stadia in the Caribbean that were damaged following the passage of Hurricanes Irma and Maria last year.

The match will be played between the Windies, the defending ICC World Twenty20 champions, and an ICC Rest of the World XI, and the ICC have confirmed their full support by granting the match Twenty20 International status.

Giles Clarke, the ECB President and ICC Director, will assist in co-ordinating the match.

Windsor Park Stadium in Dominica and James Ronald Webster Park in Anguilla were damaged by the hurricanes – Irma in August/September and Maria in September/October – and the proceeds from the fundraising match will go towards their restoration, the MCC said in a statement.

“Hurricanes Irma and Maria have devastated parts of the Eastern Caribbean and we have been considering how CWI can best show support for our region in the most impactful way,” said Dave Cameron, the CWI president. 

“I would like personally to thank MCC for agreeing to host the match at Lord’s, and ECB, especially their president Giles Clarke, for their kind and generous support of this initiative. I am sure the match will be highly entertaining and competitive, as well as a great platform for us to raise much-needed funds.”

Guy Lavender, the Chief Executive & Secretary of MCC, pointed to the relationship the club, which owns Lord’s and is the guardian of the Laws of Cricket, has shared with the people of the Caribbean for many years.

“MCC is delighted to be able to host this very special match.  The last time that a match between the Windies and Rest of the World was held at Lord’s was in 1966,” he said. 

Colin Graves, Chairman of the ECB, said: “To have two category five hurricanes in the space of two weeks was unprecedented and everyone around the world was shocked by the destruction which was caused.