Sagicor General outstanding as major BCA sponsors dwindle

Sponsorship of major local cricket competitions and clubs is becoming increasingly non-existent and must be a worry to all concerned.

For those who follow the game closely from a Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) perspective, there are no longer sponsors for the Elite, Super Cup, Shield and Twenty20 Championships.

And it’s a similar story for the Under-15 Tournament, which has been in existence for over five decades and produced many talented players, who reached international level, dating back to the era when it was known as the Ronald Tree Cup before Barbados External Telecommunications (BET) came into the picture in a big way from 1985.

The First division (rebranded as Elite division in 2012 after more than 100 years) had solid, successive sponsors such as Mount Gay, Courts-Suzuki, Banks, Caribbean Alliance Insurance and LIME from 1992 until 2013.

When it came to limited overs (one-day if you like), Barbados Fire & Commercial, later known as Fire & General and Sagicor General, stood out like a beacon for roughly four-and-a-half decades. In addition, they produced an annual cricket magazine between 1999 and 2009, with reports, features, scores, averages and excellent photographs of the matches leading up to the Finals.

Sagicor General was indeed a very, very special sponsor, pumping thousands of dollars annually into the fastfood version of the game from the mid-1970s and adding the T20 when it came on stream in 2008.

Hard-working individuals such as David Deane, Michael Holder and the late Roger Spencer, along with others, ensured the wonderful sponsorship, which Sagicor General sustained even in a challenging economic climate.

The Sagicor General partnership with the BCA came to an end just two years ago.

In showering praise, BCA president Conde Riley described the company as a “very faithful supporter”.

“Through its predecessors Barbados Fire & Commercial and Barbados Fire & General, Sagicor General has been a very faithful supporter of Barbados’ cricket,” Riley said.

“For almost half a century, the company’s contribution to the development of the game has been a direct investment into the success of numerous successful Barbados teams and individual players alike.

“Beyond the field of play, the sponsorship of cricket reaches into the life of communities and households across the island. The character-building opportunities presented through sports and specifically cricket guaranteed that Sagicor has been a direct contributor to the upliftment and development of modern Barbados.

“The Barbados Cricket Association expresses its sincere appreciation to Sagicor for its generous support over the past decades, and extends best wishes to the company as it continues to forge a bright future,” Riley said.

Now, Barbados Fire took over the sponsorship of the limited overs Cup in 1975 after Derrick Robins had sponsored it for the previous three years.

The prize money for the 1974 Derrick Robins Cup totalled $2 400. It was raised to $3 500 when Barbados Fire took over. The champions then received $1 600, runners-up $800, losing semi-finalists $300 each and losing quarter-finalists $150 each.

In the inaugural tournament, there were 27 teams drawn from the First, Intermediate and Second divisions. Matches were 40 overs a side. Mindful of giving the Intermediate and Division 2 teams a greater opportunity, the Shield competition was started in 1976. Then the losing teams in the first and second rounds of the Cup draw still advanced and competed for the Shield.

The prize money for the Shield competition was $1 200. The winners got $600, runners-up $300 and the losing semi-finalists $150.

In 1980, the knockout format was changed. There was a separate competition for Intermediate and Division 2 teams, replacing the old Shield.

The Shield semi-finalists were then allowed to play in the Cup, joining the 12 Division 1 teams, which included the Combined Schools as one unit.

But in 1989 when Barbados External Telecommunications (Cable & Wireless) were promoted to the First division and the Combined Schools split into North and South, the school teams were not allowed to play in the Cup although their players had the privilege of representing other clubs.

By 1995 the organisers decided to give the teams in the Cup more matches. As a result, all the Division 1 teams, again minus the Schools North and South, were placed in two zones and played five preliminary matches each before the quarter-finalists were determined.

It meant that the Shield semi-finalists were not allowed to play in the Cup but after a couple seasons, there were cries for them to be again included in the Cup.

The Shield semi-finalists returned in 1998 but there was a reduction in the number of preliminary matches from five to three (by way of four zones) before going into the knockout format.

After three seasons, however, it was again decided to have the Cup contested by First division teams only with the Barbados Defence Force Sports Programme (BDFSP) entering the competition and the Schools competing as one with the amalgamation of North and South.

To mark 25 years of sponsorship in 1999, Barbados Fire provided total prize money of $25 500 for the tournament. The Cup champions got $8 000, up by $3 000; the runners-up $5 500, an increase of $1 400; losing semi-finalists $3 000 – a raise of $900 and the beaten quarter-finalists $1 500 – an increase of $500.

Yet, teams in the lower divisions still believed the semi-finalists of the Shield should be part of the Cup as well. They, however, were to get a longer season in 2004 by way of a round robin similar to the Cup before advancing to the quarter-finals.

From 2001, Cup matches were brought to international standard as they were contested on a 50-over format, while the Shield remained 40 overs a side.

In 2004, with the launch of the Sagicor Super Cup, the prize money for the champions was increased to $10 000; runners-up $7 000; losing semi-finalists $3 000; and losing quarter-finalists $2 000.

There were also new individual awards named after outstanding players: The Sir Garfield Sobers award for Most Valuable Player of the Tournament – $1 500 and a Trophy; Seymour Nurse (Most runs); Joel Garner (Most wickets); David Allan (Wicket-keeper with most victims); Collis King (fielder with most catches). Later a sixth award was added: Tony King (Most Outstanding under-19 player) – $750 each and a Trophy.

In 2011, Sagicor General announced at a Press conference at Kensington Oval that they were contributing over $130 000 annually to all three competitions from that season.

Despite a global credit crush, they set aside $55 000 for the T20 Cup, $49 500 for the Super Cup and $28 000 for the Shield, with requisite cash incentives for outstanding players.

While the prize money for the Super Cup and the Shield remained the same, there was an increase for the champions, runners-up and losing semi-finalists of the T20 competition.

The T20 winners pocketed 20 000 – up by $5 000; the runners-up $10 000 – an increase of $2 000; the losing semi-finalists $6 000 – an increment of $1 000; and losing quarter-finalists, $3 000.

There was also prize money for man-of-the-match winners from the knockout stages of all three competitions.

Prize money for the Super Cup was – Champions: $15 000 and Trophy; Runners-up: $8 000; Losing semi-finalists: $5 000.

For the Shield – Champions: $8 000 and Trophy; Runners-up: $5 500; Losing semi-finalists: $3 300 each; Losing quarter-finalists: $1 500 each.

Like the Cup, there were also awards for: Best Batsman; Best bowler; Best Fielder; Best Wicket-keeper – $350 each; and Most Valuable Player – $500.

While browsing through an excellent book published by the BCA in 1992 – 100 Years of Organised Cricket in Barbados, 1882-1992 – I was captivated by a story by Peter Lashley, the former Spartan, Cable & Wireless, Barbados and West Indies batsman, who served with distinction as a BCA Board member and was chairman of the organising committee.

Under the headline “The benefit of sponsorship”, Lashley, now aged 84, wrote:

“The British American Tobacco Co. (Barbados) Ltd (B.A.T) was one of the earliest companies to offer sponsorship of cricket in Barbados and did so in several different ways over a number of years.

“The Bristol B.A.T awards were sponsored for the first time on the performances of the 1961 season to the most outstanding batsmen, bowlers, wicketkeepers and fieldsmen in the three divisions of BCA cricket and the most improved player. There were also awards for two performances in the Barbados Cricket League. The sponsorship continued until 1976.

“In addition, B.A.T. supported several other programmes which aided the development of cricket in Barbados and the West Indies. Among which were: Cash award scheme for seven Barbadians on the West Indies team to tour England in 1963; the sponsorship of the first Youth cricket series in Barbados in 1968 in conjunction with three associate companies in the region; donation of mobile covers to the BCA in the late 1960s; the provision of transport for all touring teams participating in the Shell Series and Test series in the 1970s and early 80s; sponsorship of the 1981, 1983 and 1984 Test series in the West Indies in cooperation with other associate companies in the region.

“The change of the company’s name in 1972 to Benson & Hedges did not affect their interest and concern for the game of cricket and its development in Barbados.”

In that article, Lashley also praised the sponsorship of Barbados Fire & General Insurance Company, Barbados External Telecommunications and Caribbean Home Insurance Company.

As uncertainty surrounds the start of the 2021 domestic season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the hierarchy of the BCA and its marketing department should have plenty to discuss on the matter of sponsorship.   

Keith Holder is a veteran, award-winning freelance sports journalist, who has been covering local, regional and International cricket since 1980 as a writer and commentator. He has compiled statistics on the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) Division 1 (now Elite) Championship for over three-and-a-half decades and is responsible for editing the BCA website (www.bcacricket.org).
Email: Keithfholder@gmail.com