Arnos Vale to host its first pink ball cricket match

The Arnos Vale Cricket Ground in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), will once again be hosting two regional cricket matches, one of them being a day/night game during the Regional Men’s 4-Day Cricket Championships that bowls off on January 29, 2025.

From January 29 – February 1, 2025, the Windward Islands Volcanoes will take on the Jamaica Scorpions at Arnos Vale; followed by the Windward Islands Volcanoes versus Trinidad and Tobago Red Force also at the Arnos Vale Cricket Ground from February 5 – 8, 2025. This second game will be a pink ball match, commencing at 1:00 p.m. daily.

It will be the first pink ball match to be hosted at the Arnos Vale Cricket Ground, marking a return to pink ball regional cricket since the first outing of pink ball cricket in the Caribbean in the early to mid-2000s.

Miles Bascombe, Cricket West Indies’ Director of Cricket said, “The return of the West Indies Championship is a crucial pillar in our cricket development pathway. Having eight teams competing across the region, reinforces our commitment to first-class cricket, which remains the foundation for developing Test cricketers.

Bascombe told SEARCHLGHT that this year they have introduced several initiatives geared at broadening the experience of regional players by exposing them to many of the challenges they would otherwise only experience on tour.

“We are happy to be taking the championship around the region again ensuring that players are tested in the various conditions our region serves up. This can only add to the resilience needed by our players to excel at the international level.”

The West Indies Championship 2025 continues the eight-team format introduced in 2024, with several innovations in the 2025 edition. There will be the return of first innings points in drawn matches, the use of Kookaburra balls for two rounds, and at least one pink ball day/night fixture per team.

Teams will be battling for the prestigious Headley/Weekes trophy and an attractive prize purse of US$250,000 for the champions, and US$100,000 for the runners-up.

The teams will compete over seven rounds of matches, involving the defending champions, Guyana Harpy Eagles, along with the Barbados Pride, Combined Campuses and Colleges, Jamaica Scorpions, Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force, the West Indies Academy, and Windward Islands Volcanoes.

Both the West Indies Academy and the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC), have retained their places as permanent fixtures in the championship following their impressive debut seasons in 2024.

The full schedule for the 2025 Regional 4-Day championship as follows:

1st Round Fixtures January, 29-February 1 February:

Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Barbados Pride – Providence, Guyana.

(P) Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs CCC – BLCA, Trinidad.

West Indies Academy vs Leeward Island Hurricanes – CCG, Antigua.

Windward Islands Volcanoes vs Jamaica Scorpions – Arnos Vale St. Vincent.

2nd Round Fixtures February 5 – 8:

Guyana Harpy Eagles vs CCC – Providence, Guyana.

(P) Barbados Pride vs West Indies Academy – Kensington Oval, Barbados.

(P) Windward Islands Volcanoes vs Trinidad & Tobago Red Force – Arnos Vale, St. Vincent.

Leeward Island Hurricanes vs Jamaica Scorpions – SVRS, Antigua.

3rd Round Fixtures February 12 – 15:

(P) Guyana Harpy Eagles vs West Indies Academy – Providence, Guyana.

Windward Islands Volcanoes vs CCC – Windsor Park, Dominica.

Barbados Pride vs Jamaica Scorpions – Kensington Oval Barbados.

Leeward Island Hurricanes vs Trinidad & Tobago Red Force – Warner Park, St. Kitts.

4th Round Fixtures March 5 – 8:

(P) Jamaica Scorpions vs Guyana Harpy Eagles – Sabina Park, Jamaica.

Windward Islands Volcanoes vs Leeward Islands Hurricanes – Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia.

West Indies Academy vs Trinidad & Tobago Red Force – CCG, Antigua.

Barbados Pride vs CCC – Kensington Oval, Barbados.

5th Round Fixtures March 12 – 15:

Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Windward Islands Volcanoes – Providence, Guyana.

West Indies Academy vs Jamaica Scorpions – CCG, Antigua.

(P) Leeward Island Hurricanes vs CCC – SVRS, Antigua.

Barbados Pride vs Trinidad & Tobago Red Force – Kensington Oval, Barbados.

6th Round Fixtures April 2 – 5:

Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Guyana Harpy Eagles – Warner Park, St. Kitts.

(P) Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Jamaica Scorpions – BLCA, Trinidad.

Windward Islands Volcanoes vs Barbados Pride – Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Saint Lucia.

CCC vs West Indies Academy – UWISPEC, Trinidad.

7th Round Fixtures April 9 – 12:

Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Guyana Harpy Eagles – QPO, Trinidad.

(P) Leeward Island Hurricanes vs Barbados Pride – Warner Park, St. Kitts.

CCC vs Jamaica Scorpions – UWISPEC, Trinidad.

(P) West Indies Academy vs Windward Islands Volcanoes – SVRS, Antigua.