Welcome to a new-look T10 cricket

Kingstown: No fans allowed, no saliva on the ball and hand sanitisers on the boundary ropes. Welcome to cricket during Coronavirus as it’s being played out in the Caribbean this week.

Six teams are taking part in the Vincy T10 Premier League at the picturesque Arnos Vale venue near Kingstown, the main city on St. Vincent.

Although very low key in the global affairs of international cricket, it’s the first tournament to be staged in a Test-playing region since the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic.

At first it was hoped that spectators would be allowed to attend as the risk of infection was considered to be extremely low in a country with just 18 recorded cases.

“The St. Vincent and Grenadines Cricket Association (SVGCA) would have preferred an option of a limited number of spectators, maybe 300 or 500 max in the stadium,” admitted SVGCA President Kishore Shallow. “However, the experts expressed some initial concerns and advised that we attempt to regularise the management of players before we consider having spectators.”