TORONTO, Canada, CMC-West Indians Tino Best and Devon Smith are among 16 players who have started legal proceedings against the organisers of the Cricket All Star T20 match in Toronto in May claiming they have yet to be paid.
Ontario-based Kat Rose Custom Designs Inc (Kat Rose), which organised the Cricket Canada-approved event, has been served notices at the Toronto Small Claims Court regarding unpaid match fees and expenses totalling approximately $113,000.
Apart from Best and Smith, some of the other affected players include Sanath Jayasariya, Saqlain Mushtaq, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Mark Boucher, Brendan Taylor and Bangladesh allrounder Nasir Hossain.
“We are incredibly disappointed and distressed by the lack of professionalism of the Kat Rose organisation,” said Tim May, the chief executive officer of Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA).
“The players fulfilled their contractual obligations and are now each left out-of-pocket to the tune of several thousand dollars of their own money.
The match, which saw the Asia/ Canada X1 defeat the International X1 squad by three wickets, was said to be entertaining despite the absence of several players with star power.
Smith was eventually named man of the match.
“How can anyone in good conscience conduct business this way” questioned May.
“It is unacceptable that the players have yet to be compensated and reimbursed for their time and costs.”
Kat Rose, which contracted individually with all of the players, claimed the absence of some of the cricketers from Pakistan, because of last minute visa issues, meant the event was financially unsuccessful.
