ST JOHN’S, Antigua  CMC – It will cost the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) less than US$300 000 to host Hampshire and Somerset for the upcoming Caribbean Twenty20 Championship which opens on January 10 in Antigua.
The WICB has responded to concerns from the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) director Michael Hall that the regional governing body was spending over US$1 million to lure the two English county sides for the premier regional T20 competition.
“WICB will spend less than US$300 000 for all airfares and appearance fees for the two English teams to participate in the CT20,” said a WICB media release yesterday. Contrary to public attempts at misinformation, the two English teams will not pocket US$1 million from CT20.”
The media release added: “All invited teams will share the same hotels and hotel arrangements as the regional teams.
“An increase from eight to 10 teams, and 16 to 24 matches from the 2010 CT20 (means) increased match operating and logistics costs, accommodation and travel expenses, and television production costs.”
The WICB also reiterated that the CT20 was its marquee tournament, and required a larger investment than other regional tournaments, noting earlier comments from Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ernest Hilaire.
“CT20 is not yet a profit-making venture and is still in the investment phase,” he said in an earlier interview. WICB has put the necessary plans in place to ensure that the tournament shows a long-term return on investment.”
The WICB also outlined that it was currently investing in player and cricket development more than ever before, including junior development programmes, women’s cricket, its high-performance centre, the A-Team, and elite players’ training camps.
On Wednesday, WIPA expressed great concern about the US$3M price tag, which the WICB had placed on the CT20.
The Regional players’ body noted that the WICB would have spent over US$6M in the past seven months on two CT20 tournaments, and they are yet to find a sponsor for this and other regional and international tournaments, despite WIPA’s willingness to assist.
“Now our imaginations are being stretched even more. This massive spend on the CT20 is in direct contrast to a statement made by the CEO in January 2010, when the number of first-class domestic matches in a season was reduced to among the world’s lowest number in any Test-playing country,” said Hall.
Hall insisted that the WICB was courting financial disaster by spending what seems to be more than its capacity to earn.
He felt that the needs of regional players who provide “the entertainment” and on whom the possibilities for increasing the WICB’s revenue depend were again being relegated to the back burner, but he was glad to hear Hilaire speak of giving players “maximum global coverage to allow them to be attractive to other T20 leagues around the World”.
“With that being said we would now fully expect the WICB to support all players who have obtained, and who will in future obtain contracts to play overseas in this format of the game without any issues as has been the case in the past,” he concluded.