CASTRIES, St Lucia (CMC) — West Indies Women’s Captain Hayley Matthews and West Indies Men’s white-ball Head Coach Daren Sammy said they were looking forward to making purposeful contributions to a new health, fitness and well-being advisory board being established by the organisers of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Matthews and Sammy, as well as the league’s joint chief medical officer Dr Akshai Mansingh and the principal medical officer of the Trinidad & Tobago Ministry of Health Dr Maryam Abdool-Richards will form the new advisory board.

“I am passionate about women and girls across the Caribbean being involved in sport and fitness, and I am looking forward to working with the health and well-being advisory board and CPL to create initiatives that will encourage participation,” Matthew said in a CPL news release.

“As someone who manages a sporting career while suffering with diabetes, I hope that I can add a unique perspective to the discussions.”

Sammy added: “The health and well-being of Caribbean people is hugely important to me, especially our young people who we work very hard through my foundation.

“I am excited to be involved in this great initiative from CPL, and I look forward to being involved in creating meaningful programmes that come from this new collaboration.”

The CPL news release said the advisory board will meet quarterly with senior CPL staff to advise the tournament on how best it can use its platform to promote healthy living and wellness.

“Health, fitness and well-being are very important issues across the Caribbean and around the world, and we want to use cricket and our platform as a force for good in this area,” CPL Chief Executive Officer Pete Russell said.

“We are looking forward to working with the advisory board to create meaningful and long-lasting programmes that have a positive impact on health and well-being across the region.

“Starting this season, there will be activities at the games that will create a fun vibe around health and fitness — allowing everyone to join in and be part of the fun.”

This year’s CPL tournament will be played from August 29 to October 6, with Guyana Amazon Warriors looking to defend their title.

They will face challenges from Barbados Royals, St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, St Lucia Kings, Trinbago Knight Riders and the newly formed, Antigua & Barbuda Falcons, which replaces the Jamaica Tallawahs franchise.