BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Organisers of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League say they are pleased with the second edition of the regional Twenty20 tournament, despite a lukewarm start two weeks ago.
The showpiece got off to a slow start, with noticeably empty stands at the first match in Grenada earlier this month and moderate attendances in Antigua but CPL CEO Damien OD’onohoe said it was encouraging to see increased numbers of spectators attending the matches around the region since.
“We’re really delighted, it’s hard to believe we’re only three weeks in, and I think everyone will agree that the cricket’s been absolutely first class and the crowds that have come out, it’s very exciting,” O’Donohoe told CMC Sports.
“And we’re rolling into two big weeks next week with Jamaica and St Lucia, before we go to the finals in St Kitts.”
For the first time, Grenada’s National Stadium hosted the opening ceremony and the first three games before action moved onto Antigua and Guyana, the latter of which featured full houses for each match.
The Barbados leg, which bowled off last Wednesday, saw a capacity crowd for Saturday’s final game while matches in Trinidad and Tobago were played before a packed Queen’s Park Oval.
O’Donohoe said the sparse crowds for the opening matches had not impacted the tournament negatively.
“You see here in Barbados this week a sold out stadium, three sold-out games in Trinidad this week, ticket sales are flying for both Jamaica and St Lucia so I really don’t see that being an issue,” he said.
“Grenada to start was disappointing and I will say Antigua was slightly disappointing but on a whole the ticket sales have been really good and the crowds have flocked in their thousands again.”
One of the major changes to this year’s tournament has been the start time for games. Last year, virtually all games were played at 7 pm, but the current campaign has seen some games bowl off as early as 10 am and midday, with the bulk scheduled for 4 pm.
Only a handful of night fixtures have been carded.
O’Donohoe told CMC Sports some adjustments were necessary to this year’s schedule because of the growing popularity of the tournament.
“Well obviously last year all the games were at 7 pm and this year it’s been a challenge because of the worldwide international TV audience,” he pointed out.
“We’ve had to schedule some games during the day and that has been a challenge from a crowd perspective but overall we sold over 75 per cent of the tickets so it’s been a great success.”
The CPL, which was inaugurated in 2013, replaced the West Indies Cricket Board-run Caribbean T20 which followed on from the Stanford Twenty20, created by now disgraced Antigua-based Texan investor Allen Stanford. He is serving a 104-year jail sentence in the US for fraud.
While the Twenty20 version of the game is gaining momentum in the region and worldwide, cricket enthusiasts have raised concerns that it may be to the detriment of the traditional Test matches.
However, O’Donohoe said the T20 has had a major role to play in renewing interest in the game, especially among children.
“It’s been great in terms of bringing in a new audience to cricket and also bringing people to the game, especially kids, bringing them back to the game,” O’Donohoe said.
“And that’s one thing we noticed, even speaking to the WICB, they’ve told us that the numbers of kids participating in cricket have really dramatically increased as a result of the Caribbean Premier League.”
Six franchises – Antigua Hawksbills, Barbados Tridents, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Jamaica Tallawahs, T&T Red Steel and St Lucia Zouks – are participating in the CPL.
The final is scheduled for August 17 at Warner Park in St Kitts.
