By Neto Baptiste
West Indies fast bowler and a product of the Cool & Smooth T20 Explosion, Alzarri Joseph, is lamenting a decision by organisers to cancel this year’s edition of the tournament following failed negotiations with clubs over the introduction of a payment system for players.
The All Saints Pythons player said the tournament filled an important gap in the cricket calendar where T20 cricket is concerned.
“It is very important to the development of Antigua’s cricketers and, from my experience, I know a lot of players look forward to playing in that tournament. So, whatever the negotiations are that fell out, I think they need to try and resolve that because at the end of the day, cricket loses and not necessarily teams or organisations, but it is the sport that loses out,” he said.
Chief orgainser Dario Barthley announced early in June that the 11th edition of the popular tournament will not be held this year after clubs had requested that all players attached to teams are paid for their service. Barthley said that although the organisers had agreed that players should be compensated, they could not afford to pay the clubs what they had requested in their proposal.
Joseph, who played in several editions of the tournament, said that having rubbed shoulders with several regional and international players during the early stages of the tournament really helped his game and believes it could do the same for others.
“When you look at our local cricket and our sports that we’ve been having, I think that someone playing alongside an international player, watching how they prepare, watching how they play in different scenarios and situations, they can learn from it and try to apply it to their game,” he said.
Empire Nation won the 2023 edition of the tournament, beating the Liberta Blackhawks in the final played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium to claim the EC $23,000 cash prize.
This year’s tournament was slated to bowl off on July 3 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.
