Red Stripe Bowl: Decision overturned, Leewards now in Final (19 October 1998)

19 October 1998

Red Stripe Bowl: Decision overturned, Leewards now in Final

by Haydn Gill

Two teams could turn up at the Discovery Bay Ground, Jamaica this morning to face Guyana in the final of the Red Stripe Bowl.

This follows a dramatic decision yesterday by the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA), acting on behalf of the West Indies Cricket Board, to reverse the result of Saturday's semifinal to give the Leeward Islands a place in today's final against Guyana.

The unprecedented change was triggered by match referee Hugh Perry's erroneous ruling to award the rain-hit match to Trinidad and Tobago.

Perry, a middle-aged financial controller at a five-star resort on the east coast of Jamaica, used the incorrect formula in arriving at his decision.

Sources in the Trinidad camp told the Daily Nation last night they would be turning up for the final. Their bone of contention was that the JCA did not have the right to reverse a decision by the match referee.

Leeward Islands manager Carlisle Powell forwarded a protest to the WICB late Saturday night and after an emergency meeting at the Portside Villa yesterday afternoon, JCA president Jackie Hendriks made the official announcement.

"It is apparent that the wrong condition was applied. The umpires have agreed that the correct condition makes the Leewards a winner," Hendricks told waiting reporters after the meeting which was also attended by the managers of both teams, the three umpires, JCA secretary Roy Paul and assistant secretary Brian Breese.

Perry, who has also been appointed match referee for today's final, was unavoidably absent, having already made his way back to his Port Antonio home, 60 miles east of Discovery Bay.

Hendricks, however, made contact with him yesterday morning.

"He ultimately accepted the fact that the incorrect formula was applied. It's very unfortunate," Hendricks said.

When the match was brought to a premature end at 5 p.m., Trinidad and Tobago were 137 for five off 31.3 overs. Their target was 172 in a match that was reduced to 41 overs because of a two-hour delay caused by rain.

The various complicated formulas that are outlined in the playing conditions do take some explaining.

The bottom-line is that the one used by Perry determined that Trinidad and Tobago would have had to score 136 to win the match, while calculations using the correct formula gave them a target of 148.

In short, defending champions Leewards won by 10 runs to set up a repeat of last season's final.

Trinidad and Tobago manager Ranjie Nanan refused to accept the decision by the committee and hurried back to his team's hotel to have discussions with captain Brian Lara and coach Bryan Davis.

"All along we were guided by the umpires as regards our target score. The three umpires, match referee and match co-ordinator all met and worked out that Trinidad and Tobago were winners by one run," Nanan said.

The former West Indies off-spinner suggested that the match be declared null and void and be replayed today, but his proposal did not find favour with organisers.

Yesterday morning the Leewards refused to leave their hotel for their scheduled flight back home, insisting instead that the protest be heard.

Powell, the Leewards manager, said he did not have much of a problem in putting forward his case yesterday.

"When the match referee indicated to me that Trinidad and Tobago had been declared winners of the game, I took my Playing Conditions and pointed him to Illustration (b) of Appendix B which, to my mind, is the only formula which can be applicable in this situation," he said.

"It is even simplified if you use the norms. I tried to get him to use that and he declined."

The formula Powell was referring to is to be used in "a situation where the team batting first (Leewards) had to bat lesser number of overs (41) and the team batting second (Trinidad and Tobago) would have had to bat even lesser number of overs (31.3)."

That was the condition to be applied, but Perry used the "percentage factor" formula which is used only in matches that were started as 50-overs-a-side contests.

Meantime, the fickle weather that affected both semifinals is also threatening to ruin the final at the Kaiser Sports Club. Tomorrow, however, has been set aside as a reserve day.

Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)