West Indies became the first team to travel to England and to play in a series post-COVID19.
Despite losing the series, West Indies team did put on a fight to keep it interesting. They also managed to win the first Test to put the pressure on the England team. However, the brilliance of Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad in particular helped the team to bounce back and seal the series.
Both the teams were applauded for pulling off a beautiful series in bio-bubble conditions.
Talking after the end of the series, Jason Holder said that he wanted the personnel to sit and discuss regarding the financial issues post-COVID19.
He added that not every single country can afford to conduct matches in bio-bubble environment.
“If something doesn’t happen soon we’ll see less international cricket being played by smaller countries because we simply can’t afford it. We’ve gone from having four, five-match series, down to two and three,” Holder said after the conclusion of the third Test here.
“And it’s very difficult to host any more than that for us, particularly the Caribbean. So yeah, it is a serious dilemma that we’re faced with. I think the relevant personnel really need to sit down and have a look at it,” he added.
He also added that it would be great if England return the favour by touring to the West Indies by the end of the year.
“We only really make money from England, and I think India. We break even with Pakistan and Australia, and all the rest of the series we play are losses. But in these trying times only England, Australia and India can probably host cricket,” he said.
“Outside of that, the smaller territories are struggling financially to get cricket on…if there’s an opportunity for England to come over to the Caribbean before the end of the year, I’m sure that would help significantly for Cricket West Indies’ financial records.”
“It’s been a tough couple of years in West Indies cricket financially. We’ve pretty much had to take a pay cut, so if it’s possible to host a tour before the end of 2020, it would probably keep us afloat as an organisation,” Holder said when asked about the current situation.
Despite the challenges posed by this tour, Holder said it was enjoyable.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It’s the first time I’ve had the opportunity to mingle with, more or less, the A-team players, because I haven’t played much first-class cricket in the last couple of years.
“I’m not sure right now if Cricket West Indies could afford to have an academy, or something similar to Loughborough here in England, but that is definitely something that would help CWI,” he added.
