One thing’s for certain. Police won’t be locking up this year’s Sagicor General Shield.
That’s because last year’s champions, having gained promotion to the Barbados Cricket Association’s (BCA) Elite Division, are ineligible to compete.
And since the Shield is comprised of teams from the Intermediate, Second Division and Schools divisions, a new champion will walk away with the $8 000 top prize.
This was revealed during a Press conference at Kensington Oval yesterday, where it was also disclosed that the competition, slated to begin on Sunday and climax on July 22, will feature 44 teams divided into eight zones.
Prize monies remain unchanged, with the runner-up receiving $5 500, the losing semi-finalists, $3 300 and quarter-finalists, $1 500.
Incentive awards will also be on offer to the best players of the tournament, including best batsman, best bowler, best fielder, best wicketkeeper and most valuable player.
BCA cricket operations manager Rollins Howard said an attempt had been made to start the competition at an earlier date, but it was thwarted by late registrations.
He said that initially, clubs had been given an April 17 deadline, and had that timeline been honoured, the competition would have commenced in May.
However, because only a small number of teams had registered by that time, the start date had to be rescheduled.
Howard also noted that in an attempt to make it easier for those teams playing in the competition, there had been a reduction in the number of games being held at neutral venues.
This, he said, was costly for the clubs, and as a result, this year’s fixtures had seen an increased number of games being played at home venues.
