Tests a flop, Windies board tunes in for T20 windfall

KINGSTON: The prerequisite to having an interaction with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Dave Cameron on Tuesday was that no questions on the current

KINGSTON: The prerequisite to having an interaction with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Dave Cameron on Tuesday was that no questions on the current Test match could be asked. But so dismal has been the performance of the home team that Cameron had to admit that Test attendance was taking a hit due to that.

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“Part of why we don’t have as much crowds today is the team is not the best team, and when I say the best team, meaning we are not winning at this point in time,” said Cameron on Tuesday. However, he was sure the India-West Indies T20 matches to be held in Florida on August 27 and 28 would witness bigger attendance.

CROWD EXPECTED

“We are expecting a very significant crowd. We contemplate that we will have a number of Indians and diaspora, our Caribbean fans and the entire cricketing world to descend on Fort Lauderdale on those two days. So, the plan is to at least get tickets on the waiver early, price tickets and start to get a good feel for what we need to do. The key for us is to ensure that the fans have a good experience at the stadium, and we can always build on it from there,” he said.

Cameron said the idea to arrange the T20 matches came when BCCI officials were doing a recce of the West Indies for this tour a few months back. “This is, for us and the BCCI, less about a commercial win but more about spreading the game. Just today the BCCI put out the media tender; that will give us an idea of the value of those rights and the commercial success of it. But from the BCCI’s and WICB’s point of view, it’s really about playing cricket in the US, helping develop the market and getting more fans into the game.”

Having suffered major financial losses after West Indies pulled out midway through the India tour in 2014, this T20 series could be seen as another attempt by the WICB to mend relations with BCCI. Cameron said: “There are always different personalities, and personalities have changed in the BCCI, so at this point in time the relationship has never been better. We would like to make it an annual affair from the WICB’s standpoint. Is it going to be with India every year? Not necessarily. But from a strategic standpoint, we would like to be playing cricket in the USA on an annual basis.”