ST JOHN'S, Antigua:

This year's inaugural season of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will be played between July 29 and August 26.

The 2013 window was announced yesterday by the regional governing body, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), yesterday.

The West Indies team has no engagements during this period and the WICB will not schedule any senior male domestic cricket competitions at this time. The schedule will therefore allow for all regional players including top stars such as Jamaica's Chris Gayle and Trinidad and Tobago's Kieron Pollard to be fully available for participation in the CPL.

extravaganza

Chief executive officer of the WICB, Michael Muirhead, commented: "We are pleased to be able to confirm the window during which the CPL will be played and will take centre stage. The inaugural season promises to be packed with excitement and showcases an extravaganza of cricketing entertainment. After a successful run of the Caribbean Twenty20, we hand the baton over to Verus International as they take charge and establish the CPL."

Muirhead added: "The WICB is excited about the prospects that the CPL will bring for the players, the fans, sponsors and the economies of the Caribbean. We look forward to an explosion of cricket and all the attendant benefits for all stakeholders."

The WICB had announced in December last that it had granted a licence to Verus International to host and manage the CPL.

The league will provide financial benefits for participating players with the majority of players being West Indians. In addition, as part of the arrangement, WICB will receive annual funding to allow for new retainer contracts for regional players (above and beyond the 20 Central Annual Retainer Contracts currently offered by the WICB).

The league is expected to comprise of up to six privately owned Caribbean city-based teams. All matches in the league will be televised throughout the Caribbean and across the globe, allowing for wide exposure of participating players.