SPORTS
Jonathan Ramnansingh
Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) PRESIDENT Azim Bassarath has defended his National League committee’s decisions to have three of its Premier League I matches start on Friday, as well as the ongoing decision to have two Queen’s Cricket Clubs Park (QPCC). ) teams compete in the same tournament, with only one foreign player allowed.
This comes after newly appointed Clarke Road coach Dinesh Mahabir questioned the fixtures presented by the committee at the board’s last executive meeting in mid-December.
Mahabir said a club fielding two teams in the same competition is “unprecedented in cricket anywhere in the world” and could lead to “unfair competition and a monopoly on talent”, which could make it “completely unfair to other clubs in the league”.
QPCC II won Premiership I qualification in 2016, after winning the Premiership II crown. This meant, for the 2017 season, they would have two teams – QPCC I and QPCC II – competing in the same tournament.
Bassarath however, said QPCC deserved their promotion as they battled through every lower ranked competition to earn their place in the domestic top flight.
“QPCC have a number of players, probably the most cricketers in the country, who are in the line or are members of their club. They have developed their players over the years. While they have a team in the senior TT cricket team, they had teams playing in the zonal competitions.
“They would have won these zonal competitions going forward and kept winning until two teams finished in the first division. It’s really commendable for any club to achieve.
“It is not prohibited in the composition of the board or its regulations. This is allowed. There is nothing wrong with that,” Bassarath said.
Mahabir added that QPCC I and II do not play each other in the first match of any format and suggested that it should be so to prevent the possibility of collusion being left open when they play each other.
“Would you like QPCC I and II to play each other in the last game of a season when it determines their final finish and standings? For this reason, they should play with each other first”, he said.
However, Bassarath confirmed that every team received a copy of the 2023 fixtures from the beginning of December and it clearly states that the two QPCC teams play each other in the second leg of the Premiership I league (two and three-day matches). and tour with 50 years. .
“They (QPCC teams) are playing each other in the second match (of each format). The board is not so irresponsible as to have two teams from the same club playing in the final match of the tournament. This is completely unacceptable and the board will never do such a thing,” said the local cricket president.
Mahabir said he hopes this rule will stand if another club climbs the ranks and comes out on top.
Furthermore, QPCC executive member Jeffrey Guillen said the club deserves to have two teams in the league and defended the club’s ethos.
“He is questioning our ethics and the league’s. QPCC doesn’t play cricket like that. We do not sell games. I think the last time the teams met in the league it was a draw.
“QPCC does not play cricket this way. We have very high standards that we maintain on and off the field and that will continue. “QPCC deserves to have two teams in the league because we won the championship eventually,” he said.
Mahabir also pointed out that three of the seven Premier League I matches will be contested over three days, while the remaining four will be contested over two days.
The three three-day rounds are the first, fourth and seventh rounds. These matches start on Friday and run every day until Sunday.
The Clarke Road coach said the TTCB set matches on Fridays, “without regard for players who have to work for a living and young players who are still at school”.
He said this rule was designed to suit bigger clubs who can afford to pay their players full-time. He described this decision as one-sided.
In this regard, Bassarath chimed in, saying, “During 2022, we had three T10 tournaments and no player had a problem playing on a weekday. That’s only three Fridays for the year. So we don’t accept any lame excuses from any club.
“We want cricket to be played for three consecutive days. If you don’t want to play, don’t play. We will continue to do whatever we need to do for the interest of cricket in TT and for the youth.
“The executive gives the first league committee the responsibility to run cricket. We expect them to end in the best interests of TT cricket and not to the benefit of any club.”
Last Wednesday, the TTCB chairman’s committee sent a correspondence to all member clubs, on matters arising from the December meeting, that Premier League I cricket remains the same for the new season.
The first round of Premiership I League fixtures will take place on February 3 and will see QPCC I take on Preysal, Central Sports take on Victoria, Comets take on QPCC II and Powergen take on Clarke Road.
The same matches will be used for the 50-over format, scheduled to start on April 1.
