THE Trinidad and Tobago Women’s Cricket Association (TTWCA) is more than a little ticked off that the government of the twin-island Republic will not be backing a bid for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup which will be held in the Caribbean.

“We are disappointed and we are hurt,” said TTWCA boss Jocelyn Francois-Opadeyi.
There was a 16.00hrsdeadline for each Caribbean territory to put in a bid to host games for the World Cup but a story had broken earlier, that SPORTT chairman, Dinanath Ramnarine had questions about the feasibility of hosting the tournament, and that the minister of sport and youth affairs, Daryl Smith, was not offering support to the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board in their bid for games.
Smith had said earlier, that the government had financial constraints that would prohibit it from backing the venture.

The TTCB, however, had said there were more benefits to be earned than losses to be made from the venture and so there was uncertainty if a bid would have continued even without government backing.
According to TTCB president, Azim Bassarath, up to two hours after the deadline for bidding had passed, he had received no word from the government or the SPORTT Company about declining to bid.
Windies spinner, Anisa Mohammed was also left disappointed by T&T’s no show during the bidding process.

“I honestly thought they would have at least bid for a couple of games at the Brian Lara Stadium. It is disappointing to not play a World Cup match at home. As an athlete, you want to perform at home in front of your family and friends, and in front of all the fans you are representing. To know that we will not be given that opportunity to play in a World Cup at home is disappointing,” said Mohammed.

The TTWCA boss called government’s decision not to back a bid from the TTCB a missed opportunity and more than that, a step backward for the women’s game in the country.
“It is a backward step. For the past 14 to 15 years, we have toiled and we have struggled. The players have done their bit in terms of sacrificing so that would have been a culmination of all the years of hard work for us,” said Francois-Opadeyi.