THE hosting of the Caribbean Premier League T20 games has largely been considered a successful venture for Guyana over the years with figures from 2017 showing that US$14M or G$2.8B was made while hosting four matches.

The figures could grow this time around with the Guyana Amazon Warriors scheduled to host five matches and the possibility of nine should the country manage to host the finals week.

However, Minister responsible for Sport, Dr George Norton, insists that the government will have to be careful about its financial commitments before making a final decision with regard bidding for finals.

“As I said before cricket is so important in the culture of the Caribbean and West Indies and, wherever it is possible we certainly will want to support, and to provide the Guyanese nation with that opportunity to see good competitive cricket.
“We saw what happened the last time with sold-out crowds but we have to be careful with our financial commitments. We might not be in a position to do so now or I might not be in a position to pronounce on it, which is much more a situation where the Ministry of Finance can pronounce on,” Dr Norton said.

The minister added, “As a Guyanese, as a West Indian, I will love to see cricket played here whenever the opportunities arise I would want every effort for that to happen, but at the moment I am not in a position to say if the government will make a bid to CPL for the finals,” Dr Norton revealed.

Guyana was expected to be in the running to host the finals last year, but no public bid was made to the CPL. The tournament was then hosted in Trinidad and Tobago who won the competition.
The league will enter its sixth year and the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago has hosted three finals with St Kitts and Nevis being the other benefactor in 2014 and 2016. The Amazon Warriors have played in three of the five finals to date but are yet to lift the title.

Meanwhile, for the first time ever, the draft for the 2018 CPL will take place outside of the Caribbean. This year, the draft takes place on March 1 in London.

The Hero CPL will have some of the best cricketers taking part in the tournament, from around the world as well as from across the Caribbean. The window for this year’s event means that there are no West Indies fixtures that clash with the Hero CPL so the very best West Indian players will be available for selection.

This year, the draft shifts to Europe, which organisers say is a reflection of the global nature of the tournament which will take place between August 8 and September 16 this year.