West Indies: Regional Final Out Of Barbados' Reach (6 December 1998)

6 December 1998

West Indies: Regional Final Out Of Barbados' Reach

By Haydn Gill

It seems almost certain that Barbados will not host the 1999 Busta Cup cricket final even if they earn the right to do so.

That's because the dates of the final clash with the match between Australia and the West Indies "A" at Kensington Oval from March 20-23.

When asked by the SUN On Saturday what would happen if Barbados earned home advantage for the final, West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) chief executive officer Stephen Camacho and chief marketing officer Chris Dehring were both non-committal in their responses.

"That bridge will have to be crossed when it comes," Dehring told reporters following the official launch of the tournament on Thursday at the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce Building in West Moorings, just outside Port-of-Spain.

"The idea behind hosting semifinals and the final was which ever team finishes highest in the preliminary rounds would always have the home advantage."

"We're going to deal with that. We realise that it is a problem and we'll inform you very shortly" Camacho said.

What is certain is that players from the semifinalists and finalists will not be considered for selection to the West Indies 'A' team or the representative teams that oppose Australia.

For the first time ever, Guyana will play every single match away from home.

With the knowledge that the weather has ruined several regional matches in Guyana for many years, the Guyana Cricket Board has made a request to have all five of their preliminary matches in the territory of the opposition.

"We are going to be very sympathetic to that request. The tournament is going to be played in their traditional rainy season and they have realised it," Camacho said. "They have been very honest about it, and the most important thing is to get the cricket played, no matter where it is played."

Under the sponsorship from the Trinidadian soft drink manufacturing company S. M. Jaleel, US$725 000 will be poured into the tournament over four years and the inaugural addition will be US$42 000 in prize money - the biggest ever in regional cricket.

The tournament opens on January 15 with the preliminary rounds which will run for five successive weekends. Semifinals are set for the following two weekends, but the final will not be played until a month later.

During the last two first-class seasons, there were complaints from team officials and players about interruptions, but Dehring said the break between the semifinals and final was difficult to avoid.

"One of the major elements of our cricket season is the international tour. You have to work with that international tour as best as you can in scheduling games," he said.

"There is never going to be a perfect fit, especially next year when we have a very tight cricket calendar."

The chief marketing executive cited the current tour of South Africa, next year's tour by Australia to the Caribbean and the World Cup that immediately follows as the reasons for the scheduling.

"But I'm sure the administrators have done their best in scheduling the tournament and every year it is going to be different, depending on when the international teams can come."

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