Bridgetown.
Manager of the Barbados Cricket team Hartley Reid has written the The Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) board of management asking them to determine if the national team has enough grounds to lodge a protest with the West Indies Cricket Board after they were eliminated from the semi-finals from WICB Super 50 tournament following Barbados elimination after a series of dramatic events beyond the boundary on Sunday night.
Half-hour after Jamaica won a sensational last-ball victory with a six against Guyana in the final preliminary match at the Providence Stadium, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) issued an advisory stating that Barbados had advanced to the semi-finals to face Trinidad and Tobago.
An updated advisory was issued later with the news that Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) would contest the semi-finals ahead of Barbados on account of having won the head-to-head contest between the two teams earlier in the tournament.
Both Barbados and CCC finished the preliminaries on ten points in joint fourth place behind Trinidad and Tobago (25), Jamaica (23) and Windward Islands (12) and when the initial announcement was made, it was felt that Barbados gained the nod ahead of CCC by virtue of a superior net run-rate.
Barbados, who had lost to Trinidad and Tobago at Queen’s Park Oval earlier in the day, ended with a net run-rate of -0.013 compared to CCC’s -0.055.
Section 21.9.1 of the tournament’s playing conditions says: In the event of teams finishing on equal points, the right to play in the next round will be determined as follows:
• The team with the most number of wins
• If still equal, the team with the most number of wins over the other team(s) who are equal on points and have the same number of wins
• If still equal, the team with the highest number of bonus points
• If still equal, the team with the highest net run rate.
Reid expressed disappointment at the turn of events, pointing to contrary information they had been provided with.
“Throughout this competition, we were updated by the officials of the WICB, the positions were by virtue of run-rate. Today (yesterday), they are telling us to disregard that. They are saying it now has to do with Section 21.9.1 Paragraph 2. I cannot understand it,” Reid told journalists.
He has written the BCA board for guidance on the matter.
“I have written to members of the board – as a board member in my own right. I have also informed the acting BCA chief executive. They will look at it and we will act accordingly,” Reid said.
“I’ve told WICB officials that from the beginning they were identifying the placings by run-rate, so much so that up to the end of Round 6 Barbados were placed ahead of CCC by virtue on run-rate. At the end of Round 7, we are still ahead of them on run-rate.
“How can you tell us that it is no longer applicable? I don’t understand it. When I heard it, I was amused.”
The semi -finalist were comfirmed by the WICB yesterday. In the first match Trinidad and Tobago face CCC on April 18 and Jamaica would meet Windwards the following day with the winners meeting in the final on April 21.
The semi-finals and the finals will be day/night matches at Kensington Oval.
