TTCB – News

Top 16 clash in Carib Shield T20 Cricket Festival
April 9, 2010

DUDNATH RAMKESSOON, centre, first vice-president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board, shares a joke yesterday with Colin Murray, right, of Carib Brewery, and Anil Kamal, left, secretary of the National League at yesterday’s media conference at Champs Fleurs

OVER THE next two weeks there will be local cricket at its highest level in a Twenty/20 format, as the top 16 teams battle for a whopping $100,000 cash prize in the Carib Shield T20 Tournament, under lights at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain

And Colin Murray, Sponsorship and Events Manager at Carib Brewery is advising the cricketers to go out and take advantage of the opportunity to shine.

At a press conference at the Brewery’s Hospitality Suite, Champs Fleurs yesterday, Murray said since Trinidad and Tobago have been producing the best cricketers in the shorter format of the game, the tournament will be extremely competitive.

He based his prediction on TT’s runner-up performance at the Airtel Champions League in India last year and the fact that several local players have been chosen to play in the current IPL Championship. Murray described the tournament as a representation of the “cream of the crop” which will feature the top 16 local teams.

He advised the cricketers that good T20 performances could land them a place on the national and West Indies team.

Murray, who played for the national team, explained that Carib Brewery is planning a two-week festival that will be attractive to players and fans.

After a favourable crowd response to matches in the championship at the Oval last year, Murray said a decision was taken to do the same this year, but from the round of 16, although he initially wanted the entire Twenty20 play-off to be held at the Oval.

And for the first time there will be an international flavour to the tournament as warm-up matches between Afghanistan and Ireland will be played during the quarter-final rounds (April 20 and 22).

Dudnath Ramkessoon, chairman of the National League said they are awaiting word from the world governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC) to set the dates for the warm-up matches here.

He explained that those matches will be “filtered” in as part of the T20 Championship and therefore fans will be allowed to see the matches, on days with other T20 matches.

Action begins as early as Tuesday with defending champions PowerGen Sports Club taking on Munroe Road and newcomers Central Sports playing Evergreen between the hours of 4:30 pm to 11:30 pm in the preliminaries.

A day later (Wednesday) T&TEC and Defence Force will tangle in the day’s first match to be followed by a mouth-watering clash between last year’s finalists W Connection Wanderers and giants Ceramic Merry Boys.

On Thursday, Comets will meet Aranguez and Queen’s Park will come up against Moosai’s while there are pending decisions to determine the team to face-off on Friday.

This is because an earlier postponed match between Clico Preysal and Canaan Bon Accord has been rescheduled for Monday to decide the team that will qualify among the 16, while a decision will be made this weekend on an abandoned match between Diamond United and Renown to confirm which team will progress.

Another rescheduled match between Esmeralda and Canaan Bon Accord will determine who will take on Clarke Road in game two on Friday also.

The final of the play-off is carded for April 30 and will be preceded, for the first time, by a third and fourth play-off. The champion team will walk away with the $100, 000 cash award, trophy and bragging rights from the Carib’s whopping $400, 000 sponsorship, while the runner-up will receive $60, 000 and third place $30, 000.

The team that finishes fourth will pocket $20, 000 while cash incentives will be given out to the losers in the other rounds of competition.

Meanwhile Murray is promising a festival at the Oval venue for the next two weeks, revealing that fans will be afforded beers at hugely reduced prices for the semifinal and finals. He advised fans to walk with a designated driver or to drink responsibly.

According to Murray attempts are still being made to get the tournament televised live by either of the television station as broadcast on radio as well.

“Popular local artistes will also drop in on different nights during the tournament to provide entertainment,” Murray said.

There is also to be special prizes for the “Man of the Match” during matches while door prizes of hampers will be given out during the “semis” and final Murray also announced that there will be beer prizes for the team with the best rhythm section.