gmsports@guardian.co.tt
Massy Group has confirmed that they will be the title sponsor for the inaugural Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) which gets underway on August 31 in St Kitts and Nevis.
The Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) will feature three teams, the Barbados Royals, Guyana Amazon Warriors and the Trinbago Knight Riders. The teams will play each other in four exciting Twenty20 matches at Warner Park, one of the fastest-scoring grounds in world cricket. The teams will be captained by Hayley Matthews (Barbados Royals), Stafanie Taylor (Guyana Amazon Warriors) and Deandra Dottin (Trinbago Knight Riders).
The announcement was made at a press Conference held at the President’s Box at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain, yesterday.
Each of the three Massy WCPL teams will have the best players from the region as well as exciting overseas players to round out their squads as women’s cricket is given huge exposure across the Caribbean and around the world.
“As one of the largest employers in the region, a significant percentage of our workforce is comprised of women. For some companies such as Massy Stores which operates from 59 locations across the English-speaking Caribbean, the workforce is on average 70 per cent female. That means that creating opportunities for women to grow and develop is integral to our business and inherent to our purpose. With sponsorship support which we hope will continue to grow for years to come, we believe that CPL will continue to develop this tournament to create opportunities for professional, Caribbean, female athletes,” commented Marc Rostant, Senior Vice President, Massy Motors who spoke on behalf of the Massy Group to announce the sponsorship.
Jamie Stewart, CPL’s Commercial Director, said: “When we set out to create the Women’s CPL, it was important to find a partner that would help build the profile and stature of the game and players around the region, with the ultimate goal of making them household faces. In Massy, one of the region’s great companies, we feel the WCPL has the perfect partner. Massy Group, via their stories spanning the eastern Caribbean, touches more people each day than any other company in the region. We thank the Group and the Stores and Auto divisions for believing in the vision, and look forward to working with them to give the region’s female stars the support and exposure they deserve.”
With Matthews and Taylor rated in the top 10 T20 all-rounders in the world and Dottin one of the most destructive batters in the women’s game, all three players have shown their quality for the West Indies and in domestic competitions around the globe.
The teams have been drafted from a pool of players that was put together by the Cricket West Indies selection committee and the 33 cricketers picked to represent the best talent from across the region with the squads full of experienced internationals as well as the next generation of female players.
Each team will also sign three exciting overseas players bringing the total squad size to 14 and further bolstering the quality of cricketers on show in this exciting new event. These overseas signings will be announced in the coming weeks.
Ricky Skerritt, Cricket West Indies President, said, “This inaugural Women’s version of the CPL represents a huge upward step for West Indies cricket. I am grateful to all those in CPL and CWI who made it happen, especially the three pioneering franchises who have so willingly got on board.”
Pete Russell, Hero CPL’s CEO, said: “A Women’s CPL is the next logical step as we grow the brand, and we are very pleased that we have been able to make this a reality in 2022. We are grateful to the CWI, the Barbados Royals, the Guyana Amazon Warriors and the Trinbago Knight Riders for working with us on this groundbreaking tournament and we look forward to showcasing the tremendous skills of all these talented players.”