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Newly-appointed Barbados captain Sherwin Campbell feels not enough limited-overs cricket is played in the region.

"There is a need for more One-Day cricket in the Caribbean, but I don’t know how they are going to work it out," Campbell told Nationsport yesterday shortly after returning from Kenya with the West Indies team that took part in the International Cricket Council’s Mini World Cup.

In the absence of the injured Jimmy Adams, Campbell led a new-look West Indies team that were soundly beaten in their only match against Sri Lanka.

"More One-Day cricket is better for the youngsters," he said against the background that four West Indians went to Nairobi without the experience of a regional limited-overs match.

"They will get more exposure in preparing for One-Day tournaments. When you go and play for the West Indies, you play against a lot of guys who have played a lot of One-Day games and are more experienced than us."

This season’s Red Stripe Bowl, which starts on Wednesday, has been expanded to include ten teams, but each side will play a maximum of six matches and a minimum of four.

Campbell, who is due to leave for Jamaica this morning with the Barbados team, is looking forward to the challenge of leading his country.

He believes the experience of being Adams’ deputy for the last eight months has prepared him for the job.

"When you’re vice-captain of the West Indies, you’re involved in a lot of decision-making, on and off the field," the former Barbados and West Indies youth skipper said.

"It has been a kind of a process leading up to the captaincy. It has helped me a lot."

The 29-year-old opening batsman is optimistic that Barbados could clinch their first regional limited-overs title since 1988, a record which he believes is misleading.

"For the last three to four years we have been playing good cricket in the One-Day tournament," Campbell said.

"It’s just that we have been a bit unlucky in terms of rain."

He pointed to the fact that Barbados were cruelly eliminated in 1998 and 1999 after their semifinal matches were affected by the weather and failed to produce a result.

Consistency, he said, was the key to winning the October 11 to 22 tournament.

"We must bowl the right line and length and we must get scores on the board for the bowlers to defend," he said.

"We must field well also. We’ve got to try to be consistent in everything that we do."

The task has been made even more difficult by the absence of retired left-arm spinner Winston Reid and the unavailability of the experienced batsman Roland Holder, but Campbell was still happy with the make-up of the 14-man squad.

"There is a mix of experience and youth. Most of the guys have been around for a while, so they’ve got a basic idea what is to be done," the captain said.

"We have a few youngsters in the side and with experienced guys like (Courtney) Browne, (Floyd) Reifer, Philo (Wallace) and myself, we can lead the youngsters in the right direction and try to play a leading role."

Barbados have been grouped in Zone "A" with hosts Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada and the United States.

Their first match is against Canada on Wednesday at the Kensington Club ground in east Kingston.

© The Barbados Nation