By Neto Baptiste
President of the Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association (ABCA), Leon Rodney, has shared the body’s concerns over recent developments regarding the impasse between local teams and organisers of the annual Cool & Smooth T20 Explosion and the initial cancelling of the lucrative tournament.
Rodney, while speaking on the Good Morning Jojo sports show, said he has not personally been involved in any negotiations with the either the teams or the organisers of the tournament but reminded of the potential benefits to all involved.
“We have to take into consideration that this Cool & Smooth tournament this year is falling just in front of the CPL when Antigua also has a franchise. Could somebody be coming out of the Cool & Smooth tournament getting a bligh in the franchise? Maybe it may not happen for this year but they would have seen the person,” he said.
Last week, chief organiser of the tournament, Dario Barthley, announced that this year’s edition has been cancelled due to failed negotiations with teams regarding payment for players.
Rodney said that although the cricket association is considering a request from the teams to put on a new T20 tournament in it’s absence, the Cool and Smooth has become a staple on the cricket calendar.
“That is something the finance committee and so forth have to sit down and determine what is the possibility. To be honest, I would have liked to have had an opportunity to have a discussion both with the clubs and Cool & Smooth because right now, it is not about who is right and who is wrong. It is about that the Cool & Smooth tournament has been establishing itself over a few years and like any other business, it takes time for that business to grow and so I don’t want to sit back and believe that Cool & Smooth is making this great amount of money that I hear people talking about,” the cricket boss said.
He urged all parties to reconsider, adding that Cool and Smooth has been a friend to all sports.
“Consideration should be given that Cool & Smooth in terms of the company and Amer Hourani, they support every sport in the nation of Antigua and Barbuda and if you’re going to have a marble tournament tomorrow and you go down by Cool & Smooth and tell him you want 10 shirts that he might give you five and tell you to pay for five even still at a discount price so I think that maybe we can still have a sit down,” Rodney said.
Reports are that teams had initially asked for EC$12,000 each which they would distribute to players as payment throughout the tournament. Organizers however informed the clubs that based on sponsorship, they could only afford to give each club EC$4,000. The clubs then returned with a proposal requesting EC$8,000 each. Negotiations have since broken down.
This year’s tournament was slated to bowl off on July 3 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.
