PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Cricket fans across the Caribbean, and possibly North America, could see more matches in the 2014 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 Tournament. Commercial Director of the CPL, Jamie Stewart said that given the extra time available for planning, the organisers want to increase the number of matches. “We had three months to put together the 2013 event. We could have waited until 2014 but we wanted to put out what we had immediately to signal that we were here and will be here to stay for a very long time,” Stewart was quoted in the Trinidad Guardian.
“This short time, allowed only a certain number of matches but with 10 months to plan the 2014 event from the last day of the 2013 event, we decided to bring more parity to the event in terms of having each team play others the same number of times.” He said that with extra matches being played, some of the other territories would now get a chance to bid for matches. “If these countries feel that they can host three successive days of cricket, then they can make a bid to host matches.” He also added that matches being played outside the region could become a reality. “We cannot rule out anything at this point in time. We have been having consultation with authorities in the US and it is possible that matches could be played there as well.” “The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is the only full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in this half of the world and we see spreading the game to the other parts as important, although we remain the Caribbean Premier League.”
Stewart also added that the tournament may start earlier in 2014 to prevent running into the rain. “We may be looking to start the 2014 tournament in mid-July, as opposed to the end of July as we did in 2013. This would allow for us to finish the tournament before the rain comes down. “We will be looking to attract some of the top players in the world, and around this time we have about five international teams that are idle; so we are hoping to get some top men coming to play in the CPL. So far, a number of players have expressed interest in coming to the region to play.” Jamaica’s Tallawahs won the inaugural tournament when they defeated the Guyana Amazon Warriors by seven wickets in the final in Trinidad and Tobago on August 24.
