KINGSTON – St Kitts and Nevis will host the newest Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise for the 2015 edition of the Twenty20 cricket tournament, organisers have announced.
The venue, only added to the roster for last year’s campaign, will become the seventh franchise holder, joining Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago and St Lucia.
“We have had a wonderful relationship with the government since we first started planning for CPL games in 2014 and we are now able to bring a team to St Kitts and Nevis,” said CPL’s chief executive officer Pete Russell.
St Kitts did not feature in the inaugural tournament in 2013 but was surprisingly handed nine games last year, including the semi-finals and the final at Warner Park, which will now host ten CPL matches this year.
Minister of Sports Glenn Phillip described the move as a hugely successful one for the country economically and said hosting a franchise would be an even more significant boost for businesses.
“That partnership reaped great rewards as St Kitts and Nevis enjoyed a significant return on investment. Overall, the economy benefited to the tune of EC$26 million, which comfortably exceeded our expectations.” (CMC)
