The inaugural Chief Secretary Bago T10 Blast will get off this coming Friday with a double-header at the Cyd Gray Complex in Roxborough, Tobago. The tournament which carries a first prize of $20,000 is the first-ever franchise tournament to be held in the Sister Isle.
The tournament is being sponsored in the main by the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) and will see four franchise teams taking part in the round-robin tournament before the knockout stages.
President of the Tobago Cricket Association (TCA) Kerwin John has been behind the staging of this tournament for a while and has gotten approval from the THA Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis, a former national youth cricketer.
Dennis has remarked that the investment in the tournament is more than for cricket development.
"We see this as more than helping just the cricketers develop. While we are very concerned about the development of our cricketers right here in Tobago, we also see cricket as a tool to expose the wonderful things that Tobago has to offer the tourist. So we are selling Tobago during the tournament. It will be a unique opportunity to market the destination."
John and his executive have been working feverishly to get the Cyd Gray Complex up to scratch for the tournament that has all of Tobago talking. "This tournament comes as big news for Tobago cricket," said John. "We are happy to have this level of cricket here where the youngsters can come to take in the talent of Tobago."
The opening match takes place at 5 pm on Friday evening with Little Tobago Islanders coming up against Fort King George Gunners, while two hours later the action will be Buccoo Reef Divers against Rain Forest Rangers.
Action will continue every day until the final on the following Friday. On the day of the final, there will be an All-Star clash featuring a number of local cricket stars headed by West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard, Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) captain Dwayne Bravo and West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran.