ST JOHN’S, Antigua – With Cricket West Indies (CWI) continuing to face financial hardship, the cash-strapped entity has taken the decision to significantly reduce its international and regional contracts while also cancelling this year’s men’s and women’s Super-50 tournaments along with the women’s T20 Blaze.
This was revealed by CWI’s chief executive officer, Chris Dehring, who announced the sweeping changes in a statement issued on Thursday night.
He said while the ICC had approved a US$16 million loan facility to CWI to provide temporary relief to its cashflow challenge – available in three tranches over the next year – the loan came with terms of repayment and conditions that requires the organisation to attain critical metrics in order to access those funds starting this month.
As a result, Dehring said players on international retainer contracts would see their retainer fees cut by 25 per cent, while retainer contracts for domestic players would be reduced from 12 months to seven months.
He said CWI had met with the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), who had agreed to the changes.
“Our domestic franchise programme is also being reviewed in the context of the limited resources available, with retainer contracts for domestic players reduced to seven months. International retainer contracts will remain at 12 months, but there will be a 25 per cent reduction on the retainer fees.
“We appreciate the spirit of cooperation of the West Indies Players Association and the players who have demonstrated their understanding of the circumstances we all face. While not ideal, it is a necessary step towards financial stability,” Dehring said.
Additionally, this year’s planned Super50 tournaments, which were slated to be held later this year, have now been squashed.
Dehring explained that the monies used to host those tournaments would be redirected to more meaningful areas.
“Faced with this reality, we have taken the decision to redirect scarce resources to programmes that are more impactful and cost effective, with longer lasting benefits to West Indies cricket in the medium and long term, while concurrently reshaping our domestic season to incorporate the new elements of Pan Am Games and Olympic qualification.
“This includes the suspension of this year’s Men’s Super 50 tournament, utilizing those resources to better prepare the core of West Indies ODI players under consideration, for the all-important and imminent ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in February, followed by the ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa in October of next year,” Dehring said.
“…Similarly, this year’s Women’s T20 Blaze is also suspended, with the top four finishers in the tournament earlier this year, qualifying for the Pan Am Games.”
However, the CEO disclosed that in place of those tournaments, new Olympic qualification tournaments for men and women’s Olympic qualification will be staged next year.
