The Urban Development Corporation of T&T has introduced T10 cricket to T&T with the launch of a tournament for the shortest format of the game set to take place from June 7-9.
At the launch on Wednesday in the Siparia Room at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port-of-Spain, it was revealed that the tournament will take place in its entirety at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, San Fernando. According to organisers, it has attracted and promises to show off some of limited over cricket’s best local and regional stars.
Having either missed or opted out of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup taking place in England and Wales, West Indies stars, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine will instead occupy their time in the UDECOTT competition.
They will line up alongside fellow T&T stars, Rayad Emrit, Denesh Ramdin, Khary Pierre, Jason Mohammed, Imran Khan and others, while regional players such as Guyana’s Leon Johnson and Christopher Barnwell, Grenada’s Andre Fletcher, Jamaican Kesrick Williams are all expected to participate.
The new league features four teams, all battling for more the $75,000 first prize purse. In addition to a North Trinidad/Tobago as well as a South/Central team, one team from Guyana and one from the Windward Islands will contest the tournament, which is the first of its kind in the Caribbean.
“It has been dubbed the new evolution in cricket,” said former West Indies manager Omar Khan who is a key figure behind this tournament.
“The whole cricketing landscape has changed. It's now big business and from T20, as you can see, all over the world leagues are popping up.”
Khan also added, “Last year came the next evolution of cricket, the new kid on the block – T10 cricket – the first T10 league played in Dubai. Thinking about bringing that to the Caribbean and starting that here, we are very happy.”
Khan was referring to the groundbreaking and inaugural T10 League, which was played in Dubai and also featured several West Indians including Emrit and Narine.
Emrit endorsed the version of the game saying, that because of its nature, it generates a lot of tense and high-pressure situations, which in turn results in exciting and explosive moments throughout.
Emrit said, “There is no room for any relaxing. I urge the public to come out and see good, exciting cricket.”
The competition begins with a doubleheader on Friday with another doubleheader on each of the following two days. The price of admission on each day of the competition is $100.