Barbados has confirmed its full venue operations team for the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and is already moving into high gear for the tournament which runs from July 30 to August 24 in six countries.
The experienced team is comprised of event operations officer Paul Skinner; media and accreditation officer Kevin Pile; ticketing coordinator Charmaine Hamilton and volunteer coordinator Nisha Burke, all of whom will work alongside the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA)for matches here.
Skinner has almost ten years of experience, having served as commercial manager of the West Indies Cricket Board, and worked over the last five years with the Indian Premier League, first as venue operations manager and then later as team manager for IPL franchise team Deccan Chargers.
“I am thrilled to be taking on this new role in the inaugural Limacol Caribbean Premier League where we will be dealing with the opening ceremony and the first games of the tournament, in what promises to be a fun Caribbean-style tournament,” Skinner said.
“Passion and flair have always been the hallmark of West Indies cricket and the CPL will deliver all this and more. It therefore means that the Caribbean is an ideal place for such a tournament to take shape.”
The BCA will assume responsibility for cricket operations and logistics as well as security.
“These are exciting new times in West Indies cricket and the BCA is certainly looking forward to working with CPL to ensure a smoothly run tournament on the Barbados leg of the competition,” said Rollins Howard, BCA’s acting chief executive officer.
Pile, meanwhile, is a seasoned Caribbean journalist who has covered major cricket tournaments such as Cricket World Cup 2007 in the Caribbean and the 2009 World Twenty20 in England, while Hamilton has been involved in ticketing operations for the last five years, having worked on several major West Indies home series.
Burke, a devoted West Indies cricket fan, has been involved in volunteerism for the last five years, working with several NGOs and local charity events.
The venue operations team has already held a series of meetings in preparation for the Limacol CPL Twenty20 and Skinner emphazised it was important the Barbados leg was seamlessly executed as it would set the tone for the rest of the tournament.
“Barbados will face the challenge of hosting the first game and therefore, in many ways, we see ourselves as the standard-bearer and consequently, need to hold ourselves to the high standards laid down by the Limacol Caribbean Premier League,” he stressed.
Following the opening ceremony on July 30, the Barbados Tridents will face the St Lucia Zouks in the tournament’s first game at the historic Kensington Oval. (PR)
