Pigotts Crushers earned an all-expenses paid trip to Trinidad for the final leg of the Caribbean Village Cricket 2025 T10 tournament slated for early next month, after emerging the last team standing in the Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association’s (ABCA) qualifier on Sunday.
Playing at the historic Antigua Recreation Grounds (ARG) Crushers defeated Jennings Tigers by 36 runs in Sunday’s final, earning the chance to battle other teams from across the region for a grand prize of US$30,000. The tournament was a one-day affair with four teams taking part.
Coach of the Crushers team and former West Indies fast bowler, Winston Benjamin, said the qualifiers allowed him to see another side of his players.
“I never had any doubt about their ability; it’s just their mental state as to how you go about preparing yourself and being calm under stress. I think for the entire season, we keep giving away our games because we weren’t calm under stress but yesterday [Sunday] the only good thing that I take from it is that in both games that we played the fight was there and you could see the commitment. You could see the calmness I keep talking about throughout the entire season,” he said.
Benjamin, who made it clear he is not a huge fan of the shorter format of the game, said he is nonetheless, happy for the players, adding that the format could gain popularity amongst bigger territories.
“Ther players are excited and I am happy for them too but when you have to use your brain and really play cricket, that is what fascinates me and not when you just shut your eyes and play. It [the format] will catch on and especially in places like the US and so on because we are accustomed to the longer version and the Americans like everything quick and fast. We know that once money dominates anything that it is going to take precedence,” he said.
Meanwhile, President of the cricket association, Leon ‘Kuma’ Rodney, congratulated the Pigotts men, adding that in short order, they will receive instructions as to the way forward.
“They will just await the flight details and I think, if my memory serves me right, the flight will be on the 6th [of June] because the tournament is on the weekend of the 7th and the 8th [of June] so the travel date would be on the Friday and returning on the 9th so they will just await the travel details for 14 players and two officials,” the cricket boss said.
Guyana’s Demerara cricket team won the inaugural installation of the Caribbean Village Cricket following wins over Berbice and Essequibo, both of Guyana. They then South East (Trinidad) and St Elizabeth (Jamaica) in their two final encounters in Trinidad.
