By Neto Baptiste
The Liberta Sports Club has renewed its call for the Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association (ABCA) to make a decision on the stalled Two Day Cricket
Competition and make a statement on the remainder of the 2020 domestic season.
President of the club and former West Indies fast bowler, Kenneth Benjamin, made the call following a pronouncement by the association head Leon Rodney that the body’s cricket committee recently indicated that priority is not being given to making a decision on the competition at the moment.
“Kuma [Leon Rodney] came on the radio and he spoke indepth about the golf and so forth, but Kuma is the cricket association president and not to address that [the cricket], I don’t think that is what the cricket fraternity wants at the moment, Mr Rodney, because you actually came and spoke about golf in detail and golf has a chairman and a president. You were voted in by the clubs overwhelmingly and as a matter of a fact nobody even challenged you, and we were expecting you to come and say ‘well gentlemen, we are going to hold on a little longer and see whatever the situation is’, but do not come and make the statement or make it sound like it’s not priority,” he said.
In March, the country’s sports ministry had stopped all sporting activities following the first laboratory confirmed case of the coronavirus.
The initial suspension was for 30 days after which, the country was placed under a state of emergency and curfews introduced.
Benjamin said teams are still confused as what is next step.
“Believe it or not, you may not know but the clubs out there are wondering what is going to happen and what is going on and you need to come and bring some closure because it is quite clear that the Two Day competition finals would have gone a week ago, so you can come and say we will give it a next month and see what happens, or we will cancel the Two Day or whatever the situation is. When you are elected to lead, you have to lead,” he said.
Jennings lead the Two Day completion with 48 points with Pigotts following closely on 43. Liberta are third with 37 and Empire, also on 37, lay fourth. Bethesda are fifth with 23 points, New Winthorpes seventh with 22,
All Saints eighth with 16, Combined Schools ninth with eight points, and Bolans are at the bottom of the standings with four points.