P.M.’s Cup – $10,000 for Winner of New Cricket Contest

LOCAL cricketers will have a lot to smile about when the inaugural Prime Minister’s T20 Cricket Tournament bowls off on Saturday February 6 at the new La Resource Playing Field in Mabouya Valley.

The announcement was made on Thursday morning at a launch in the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports Conference Room.

The tournament will commence with an opening ceremony from 3.00 p.m.; followed by two matches: Central Castries against Gros Islet, and Dennery against Mabouya Valley.

St. Lucia Cricket Association Operations Manager Brian Calixte reacted: “What a way to start the cricket season. At stake will be $10,000.00 for the champion team. The second place $7000.00, third place $4500.00 and fourth place $2500.00. It’s a far cry from what we are used to in our local league. All the teams will be fully outfitted, while most of the matches will be played under lights”.

He continued, “From the SLNCA stand-point we are pleased to have such an injection in the game and hope that is a start for things to come. We are hoping to partner with our various officials throughout the year.

The tournament will be played at three venues namely Gros Islet, Piaye and La Resource (Dennery).

Fans coming to games will be in for a treat as the organizers have put aside a number of exciting side attractions such as “Catch it if you can”, “Longest Six”, “Legend Challenge” and “Guess the final score at the 15th over for the team batting first.”

Thirteen out of the 16 districts have already confirmed their participation and are placed in three groups. The deadline for registration is Monday, but it’s too early to say who will represent the various district teams as a number of players are expected to move across districts this season.

The groups are: Group A – Central Castries, South Castries, Anse la Raye, Gros Islet and Babonneau; Group B Mon Repos, Mabouya Valley, Dennery and Micoud and Group C Soufriere, Vieux Fort North and Choiseul.

Minister for Youth Development and Sports Shawn Edward in addressing the gathering said, “In observance of Independence celebrations the government of St. Lucia would stage a number of sporting activities. Like the Athletics and Netball Associations, the Cricket Association was invited to host a competition and hence the reason we are launching the Prime Minister’s Cup”

He noted: “We try as much to schedule matches on evenings; we do not want this competition to be an ordinary competition, we want to ensure we establish some very hard standards in terms of how we go about to executing this competition. As administrators we have done our best to ensure we give you the best possible venues in the country at the moment. We will make the best possible gear available to you, but we want you to make your contribution to the success of this competition”.