Players from Carlton and ICBL Empire were disappointed yesterday after the second day of the LIME Elite Division match failed to get going because of the absence of umpires.
While the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) had postponed matches in all of its competitions this weekend because of the WICB four-day final between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago at Kensington Oval, Carlton and Empire, with approval from the BCA, agreed to proceed with their match.
After both teams did their pre-game warm-up exercises at the Desmond Haynes Oval, it was learnt that no official umpires from the Barbados Cricket Umpires Association were at the ground.
It was, however noticeable that the match referee Carleon Brome and two teams were present long before the scheduled start and ready to play.
“No umpires turned up and I contacted the BCA office about five minutes before play,” Brome said.
“The rules allowed for both captains to appoint their own (stand-in) umpires but the captains could not agree, so play was called off.”
Carlton and Empire wanted to finish the match this weekend because of the unavailability of players later in the season.
Carlton all-rounder Kyle Mayers is expected to enroll at the Sagicor High Peformance Centre, while Empire all-rounder Justin Greaves is scheduled to travel to England shortly on a cricket attachment.
Both teams plan to submit reports to the BCA on the matter.
When contacted, secretary of the BCUA Andrew Corbin said he was unaware why no umpires were present.
Empire had the better of the exchanges on last Saturday’s opening day, closing on 256 for five on the strength of captain Jamal Smith’s 82 and a half-century from Kodi Phillips.
