With the start of the West Indies first-class season just two weeks away, the West Indies Cricket Board will be conducting two match referee seminars in the coming weeks.

"The WICB is making an attempt to upgrade the knowledge and skills of all the regional match referees prior to the start of our domestic season, so that things will flow smoothly," said Michael Hall, chief operations officer of the WICB.

The first of the two seminars will be for match referees from Jamaica, Leeward Islands, St. Lucia and Dominica will take place at the Cortsland Hotel in St. John's, Antigua, on Sunday, January 13th.

The second seminar is scheduled for Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, and will involve participants from Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Guyana, Grenada and St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

Neither a date nor a venue for the second seminar has been finalised, but it will be completed prior to the opening day of this year's Busta Cricket Series that begins on January 25.

Jackie Hendriks, the former Jamaica captain and West Indies wicketkeeper/batsman, who is now an International Cricket Council match referee, will conduct the two seminars.

Some of the topics with which Hendriks will deal are the ICC Playing Conditions, new rules and regulations and the role of the match referee.

© CricInfo Ltd.