From Caribbean News Now

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — A historic gathering will take place on Friday in Barbados, when the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Professional Cricket League Coaches Conference is convened featuring coaches from each of the six franchises.

For the first time, regional coaches will meet with three key WICB officials – director of cricket Richard Pybus, convenor of the West Indies Selection Panel Clive Lloyd and head coach of the West Indies team Phil Simmons – to discuss matters of common interest in the further development of the game at the professional level in the Caribbean.

The coaches attending are: Hendy Springer and Dexter Toppin (Barbados Pride), Esuan Crandon and Rayon Griffith (Guyana Jaguars), Junior Bennett (Jamaica Scorpions), Reginald Benjamin (Leeward Islands Hurricanes), Gus Logie (Trinidad & Tobago Red Force) and Ian Allen (Windward Islands Volcanoes).

“It’s the first sitting of the franchise coaches with us and to get them all aware of what are our common goals as we approach the second season of operation of the PCL,” said Pybus, who will chair the meeting.

“It is very important that they also have the opportunity to share the challenges which they face at the franchise level, as we work together to build a World-class cricket performance system.

Pybus added: “At the end of the day, the goal is for us to be producing international quality players for the West Indies and we need to be able to identify what challenges we face and streamline the system, so that it works efficiently.

“It’s also an opportunity for the coaches to network with fellow coaches and take practical examples back to their franchises, so that we are able to advance West Indies cricket.”

The PCL was introduced last year and ushered in a new era of franchise play drawn from the six territories of the WICB, with the specific goal of giving players the opportunity to produce consistently throughout the season.

Two of the important features of the new league are a longer 4-Day Tournament with each franchise playing ten matches, the transfer of player talent from territory to territory and the introduction of retainer payments for 15 core players in each of the six franchises.

Simmons said he was looking forward to the conference, where issues of training methodologies, fitness standards and player evaluations will be discussed.

“This is one of the first things for which I asked when I was appointed West Indies head coach, so that we can outline to everybody where we want them to be and where we want the players to be,” said Simmons.

The new PCL 4-Day season is scheduled to start in early November and conclude next March, with the NAGICO Super50 set for next January.

For more on this story go to: http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/topstory-WICB-stages-historic-coaches-conference-in-Barbados-27482.html