President of the Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association (ABCA), Leon “Kuma” Rodney, has suggested that ongoing discussions with a group of clubs has been somewhat confusing. He stated that the body had previously asked for the association to ‘sanction’ a new T20 tournament before later signalling they wanted the venture to be done in ‘partnership’ with the local governing body.
His statement comes on the heels of a fresh proposal where clubs are now asking that the association allot each of the competing teams EC$9000 for preparation and compensation for players.
“I don’t know if it’s partnership or they want to sanction because I think the last meeting that we had with the clubs … and if you read the first letter you would see it is talking about sanction and at the same time, it’s saying partnership and requesting certain things to be done by the association. After the meeting, I don’t know what happened but we eventually got this last letter revoking the first recommendation so the reality is, at the present moment, we were considering how we were going to approach the first recommendation by the clubs,” he said.
Reports are that nine of the 10 ABCA clubs had originally asked the association to partner with them in putting on a T20 tournament following failed negotiations with organizers of the popular Cool & Smooth T20 Explosion. Since that request, reports are that the ABCA announced that it would stage a T20 tournament with graphics published by the body indicating the tournament will follow the Super 40 competition.
“We have already written to CWI [Cricket West Indies] and there is no secret that CWI has some pennies for us and if we could utilize the CCG [Coolidge Cricket Ground] and have it written off; but I can’t get too deep into that because it is up for discussion. But we will definitely find a way to make sure that the T20 tournament takes place but I am not in the position to tell you if we can afford to give each club $9000,” Rodney said.
The cricket boss went on to suggest that the clubs may have erred in their recent decision to boycott a meeting requested by Minister of Sports, Daryll Matthew, to discuss the recent fallout between the clubs and the organizers of the Cool & Smooth T20 Explosion.
“I know that the clubs have issues with a Cool & Smooth-run tournament and I can even say that based on my understanding, the clubs don’t really have an issue with Cool & Smooth. The clubs have an issue with the representatives of Cool & Smooth and the clubs felt they don’t want to go down that road,” he said.
“Pertaining to the meeting, everybody functions differently because for me, once the minister wants to speak with me or have dialog then I am going to show up to the meeting … even it’s when I get there I know what the agenda is. So at the end of the day some level of respect could be shown to the minister by the clubs. It’s just to hear him out on what he has to say and then if when you turn up to the meeting and you feel like he is chatting night soil [human excrement] then you just tell him that he is chatting some night soil,” Rodney added.
According to sources, the clubs had originally intended, in a partnership arrangement with the ABCA, to raise the funds via sponsorship, to offset the cost of preparations and compensate players. The ABCA would have been responsible for compensating umpires and other match officials while also providing a venue for the tournament.
Clubs reportedly decided to request the EC$9000 injection following the ABCA’s publication of its calendar featuring a T20 tournament.
