Sports
Jonathan Ramnanansingh
Trinidad and Tobago’s T20 Festival will be televised throughout the Caribbean courtesy communications provider Flow, and will also be live streamed in India.
Both platforms will provide players with the opportunity to showcase their skills to a wider regional and international audience, with the intention of attracting scouts to TT’s diverse cricket talent pool.
The nine-day, eight-team tournament bowls off from April 26 to May 4, with all matches at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain.
This is the first time a domestic T20 competition will be televised live across the region, and in India. For 2024, the T20 Festival is sponsored by the Caribbean Premier League T20 tournament and its TT franchise Trinbago Knight Riders.
TKR manager Colin Borde hailed the partnership as “brilliant” and said the franchise felt it necessary, “to get closer to the people that create the players, the clubs, and by extension, TTCB.”
“It’s not only about TT but West Indies cricket. This is where we look for and scout players. It is important players get the opportunity and ensure they give their best.
“We have scouts in India and around the planet that are looking. Some of them are in Trinidad and will be here to continue to unearth new talent,” Borde said at the National Cricket Centre in Couva on Wednesday.
Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC) president Nigel Camacho said the partnership was a “tremendous win-win for everybody involved”.
He believes the Oval was the ideal venue considering its rich history of hosting over 60 Test and One-Day Internationals.
TTCB president Azim Bassarath lauded the partnership.
“The TTCB is optimistic about the model created by the CPLT20 and TKR for a hugely successful cricket franchise around the world to translate into the biggest and most entertaining TTCB T20 Festival to date,” he said.
This year’s National League Premier I winners Central Sports are defending champions. The other competing teams are last year’s runners-up PowerGen, Clarke Road United, Profilbau Victoria United, QPCC, Preysal United, Merry Boys and Bess Motors Marchin Patriots.
The Premier II semi-finals bowl off on May 2 and Premier I on May 3. Both divisional finals get under way on May 4 from 3pm and 7pm respectively.
T20 Festival First Round Fixtures – All Matches at Queen’s Park Oval
April 26 – QPCC vs Merry Boys 3pm; Central Sports vs Marchin Patriots 7pm
April 27 – Victoria United vs Preysal 3pm; PowerGen vs Clarke Road
