Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) have expressed disappointment over a late decision to be pulled from the Barbados Twenty20 Cup.
Less than 24 hours before their scheduled opening match on Saturday morning, CCC were informed by tournament officials they would be taken out of the tournament following an earlier decision that a representative Barbados team would no longer be playing in the two-day event.
The tournament, organized by the Barbados Tourism Authority, went ahead on Saturday at the 3Ws Oval and climaxed last night at Kensington Oval.
With the non-participation of CCC and Barbados, the event was restricted to six English county teams – Warwickshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Hampshire and Northamptonshire.
While expressing regret at the turn of events, cricket co-ordinator at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies Steven Leslie empathized with the challenges facing organizers following the last minute withdrawal of the Barbados team.
“It was disappointing,” Leslie told NATIONSPORT yesterday. “We saw the opportunity to play in this tournament as additional practice in the middle of the break for the WICB competitions. The guys were really looking forward to participating in this tournament.
“The tournament director suggested it would have been a fixturing issue and we respect the fact that an even number of teams would make it easier for them to complete their fixtures. We are disappointed but respectful of their position.”
CCC, whose players were looking to catch the eyes of some of the English counties, were scheduled to play Northamptonshire in the opening match of the tournament on Saturday at 9 a.m. and were informed of the officials’ decision around 4:30 p.m on Friday.
Asked if he reckoned that the schedule could have been re-adjusted to accommodate seven teams, Leslie conceded it would have presented challenges to the organizers.
“Fixtures require some thought and effort in ensuring that it flows well. With the short time, it probably would have been too much of a burden and as result it caused the decision to revert to the even number of teams,” he said.
“Our players have put it behind them and are looking forward to the continuation of the WICB tournaments.”
In Saturday’s matches, Yorkshire defeated Hampshire by seven wickets, Warwickshire beat Derbyshire by four wickets and Nottinghamshire won over Northamptonshire by 92 runs.
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire qualified for last night’s final after winning semi-final matches earlier in the day.
Derbyshire edged out Warwickshire by two runs, while Nottinghamshire defeated Yorkshire by five wickets.
In the plate final that preceded the Cup final, Hampshire beat Northamptonshire by three wickets.
