Former test cricketers Philo Wallace and Roland Butcher believe there is more to be done by the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with regards to the development of West Indies cricket.
The former players appeared on the Mason and Guest radio programme earlier this week where they questioned the relationship between the region and its premier tournament.
According to Wallace, who played seven Tests and 33 One-Day Internationals for the West Indies, “We would just like to know what it is doing for the development of our cricket and players.”
He added, “I don’t think we are getting as much as we can from the CPL. I know Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) people are in discussion trying to see how best they can get more from it when you look at the exposure of some of our local players, not a lot of exposure.”
Wallace feels that the franchises should be giving some sort of financial contribution towards their respective territories in order to fund cricket academies where elite junior players could get the exposure and training they need to develop faster and better.
Butcher shared similar sentiments.
“I think it’s a growing tournament. I think they have a lot to do in the islands and coming to countries like Barbados and play five games. I don’t think they do a great deal; they could do a lot more on the ground for the year not just three or four weeks when they play a couple of matches. I think they need to have a presence right throughout the year where they are contributing something to the islands.”
The former England Test player highlighted that the CPL struggles to attract current top players due to the fact that international series are often played during the same time as the ‘biggest party in sport.’
“I think the CPL at the moment struggles with the fact that it cannot attract the top players from around the world simply because when it happens usually there is international cricket in England, there’s county cricket, usually a lot of the international sides are involved in international cricket so they have never been really able to contribute in terms of getting those top players…So you need those sorts of players to drive the competition….,” Butcher posited.
CPL was birthed in 2013 and has been played every season since with Trinbago Knight Riders winning four titles, Barbados Royals and Jamaica Tallawahs winning two each and current champions, St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots winning one.
