The WICB and Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) have been given a financial boost by signing an agreement with the ICC under the Targeted Assistance and Performance Programme (TAPP), which is aimed at developing more competitive teams in international cricket. Under this programme, the WICB will be awarded US$3 million and Zimbabwe Cricket $1.5 million over the next three years.
The funding will aim to provide enhanced support to the current elite West Indian players and future generations. “We are delighted to be signing a TAPP agreement with the ICC, and are grateful for this enhanced support to help WICB achieve our high performance objectives,” Julian Hunte, the WICB President, said. “We have started to make progress on the field over the past year and this support will allow us to build on that by investing more resources than ever in the development of emerging talent in the West Indies.”
For Zimbabwe, on the other hand, the amount would be used to support an expansive schedule of their ‘A’ team and identify and support future international players. Wilfred Mukondiwa, the ZC managing director, said the funding would help them become more competitive at international level. “Zimbabwe Cricket is grateful for this support and looking forward to being able to strengthen our high performance pathway with this investment,” he said. “We believe the TAPP award will help us become more competitive in the international arena and facilitate the continued growth of the game in our country.”
David Richardson, ICC chief executive, said he was eager to see the impact of the funding on the two teams. “It is very important to the long-term prosperity of international cricket that we have competitive teams at the highest level and both the West Indies and Zimbabwe have been very clear in identifying the factors that will support improved performance,” Richardson said. “The TAPP agreements provide an opportunity for both Members to increase their investment in high performance and we look forward to witnessing the impact of these programmes.”
The agreements with the two boards were similar to the ones signed by the ICC with Ireland, Netherlands and Scotland.
