Photo Credit: Cricket West Indies
On Tuesday 25 July 2023, the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, through the Faculty of Sport, held the 22nd Annual Frank Worrell Memorial Lecture, presented by the Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, under the title; ‘Cricket Lovely Cricket: It Is more than Bat and Ball.’
During her lecture, Prime Minister Mottley commended Cricket West Indies (CWI) President, Dr. Kishore Shallow for his necessary, immediate, and transformational interventions to address the inequalities between men’s and women’s cricket.
Understanding the significance of Caribbean leaders to the development of cricket, it was noted that President Shallow, during his stakeholder engagement prior to assuming office, met with Prime Minister Mottley, to garner her perspective on the future of West Indies Cricket, and concerns pertaining to women’s cricket were highlighted.
Prime Minister Mottley said:
“When he [Dr. Kishore Shallow] met with me, in his tour around the Caribbean, it happened to be International Women’s Day and I mentioned to him the women had to travel last class even while they’re going far and the men travel business and better and he looked and he doubted me, but to his credit Cricket West Indies made the change from immediately he got into office and ensured that the women are not discriminated against in the travel arrangements.”
From May 2023, with immediate effect, the members of the West Indies Women’s Squad travel business class for all long-haul international flights and are now accommodated in single rooms for all international assignments, bringing it in line with the policy for the West Indies Senior Men’s Tours.
President Shallow and the Board of Directors remain committed to discussing and making significant strides in achieving the other necessary interventions to reduce inequality.
In an effort to do so, the recently introduced Women’s Cricket Transformation Committee has been charged with providing support to this strategic initiative. Moreover, the launch of the Women’s Academy on Sunday 30 July at the Coolidge Cricket Ground with the aim of identifying and developing the skillset of our next generation of women, will contribute significantly to this goal.
