President of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) Conde Riley says he will try to persuade his Board to pay the match fees of the Barbados Pride franchise cricketers as a gesture of goodwill toward the players.
The members of the Barbados Pride franchise, along with the other cricketers of the five other franchises that took part in in the 2020 West Indies Cricket Championship, have not received their match fees from Cricket West Indies (CWI) thus far.
Riley told Barbados TODAY that while he had no problem with the BCA paying the match fees of the Barbados Pride players, it was up to the Board to make the decision.
“These are tough financial times but the BCA is always willing to look after its players. I don’t like to see our cricketers being placed at a disadvantage. If CWI are unable at this time to pay the match fees of our cricketers, I will take the matter to my Board and we make a decision on the situation. These are tough financial times and I don’t want to see any of our cricketers being placed in a position that creates a disadvantage for them. I will speak to my Board and we will reach a consensus on whether we should pay the match fees of our players. I believe that we should pay our cricketers if CWI cannot do so at this time, but it is not a decision that I can make alone, it is a matter for the members of my Board do decide on,” Riley explained.
The president said only one cricketer in the Barbados Pride team (Kevin Stoute ) played as a play-for-pay contract player during the season and he had already received his salary. Riley acknowledged that the players had received their salaries and it was the match fees that were outstanding. He pointed out that in the current rough economic times the cricketers needed their money.
“Our cricketers performed well during the season. After the tournament ended because of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the Pride were declared champions by CWI. The members of the team are young men with families and have financial commitments. Therefore they will need their match fees. I will do my utmost to assist them to get it,” the veteran sports administrator said.
In March, CWI discontinued the season due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic after eight of the scheduled ten rounds were completed. Barbados Pride were declared winners of the Headley-Weekes Trophy.
The cricketers that played in the West Indies Cricket Championship are on monthly retainers with the Barbados Pride, Guyana Jaguars, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force, Jamaica Scorpions, the Windward Islands Volcanoes and the Leeward Islands Hurricanes.
They are contracted under two categories: 90 players are on monthly contracts that are divided into A, B, C and Development. Cricketers in Category A are paid US$2,666 monthly, those in Category B earn $2000, while the remuneration of those in Category C is $1500 and development players are paid $1000.
The second contracted category is the play-for-pay, where players are paid on a per-match basis. All regional players, across both categories are paid a fee of $1600 per match which is separate from all the allowances including per diem.
According to chief executive officer of CWI Johnny Grave, the governing body of cricket in the region is facing a tough time financially and while all of its contracted players have received their salaries and allowances and others have been given prize money and match fees, there are still some outstanding emoluments to players which CWI is trying to settle as a matter of urgency.
