Anil left red-faced over Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel

It turns out that it might be a good idea after all to attach the brand “Trinidad and Tobago” to a competition which attracted, according to the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL), over 250,000 spectators and a global television audience of 36 million last year.

So, the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel is officially up and running once more.

Photo: Howzat?! Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel captain Dwayne Bravo celebrates a big scalp. (Courtesy Allan V Crane/Wired868)
Photo: Howzat?! Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel captain Dwayne Bravo celebrates a big scalp.
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/Wired868)

And what of Sport Minister Anil Roberts? He is probably kicking his dog.

In a release today, the CPL said it was: “pleased that the matter regarding the naming of the Red Steel franchise has been resolved and that the team will once again proudly bear the name of Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel.”

“We would particularly like to thank Minister Gary Griffith,” the release continued, “for his timely intervention in this matter and for his support in bringing it to a positive conclusion.”

It would leave Roberts especially red-faced after, two weeks ago, Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel captain and West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo described whoever removed Trinidad and Tobago’s name from the team as “a bunch of jokers.”

Roberts, the bully of local sporting bodies for the past four years, cannot even make athletes quiver these days?! Whaaaaaaat?!

Roberts had accused the CPL of breaking the law by referring to the team as the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel.

Mr Live Wire cannot confirm whether or not Minister Two Pull was in Room 201 at the time of his lecture on law-breaking and the importance of the country’s brand.

Photo: Sport Minister Anil Roberts.
Photo: Sport Minister Anil Roberts.

Griffith and his Cabinet colleagues overruled the Sport Minister.

The Government and, in particular, the Ministry of National Security must be getting used to walking behind Roberts with a doggie scoop.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar stepped in to offer financial relief to the 2006 “Soca Warriors” in a long-standing legal battle that never interested Roberts. And the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) has taken to sending requests for funding directly to National Security Minister Gary Griffith.

Roberts’ multi-million dollar Life Sport programme, which was accused of siphoning money to criminal gangs, has also been turned over to Griffith. Hopefully, the Sport Minister is putting his free time to good use.

Idle hands sometimes end up rolling joints in hotel rooms.

So, the Sport Minister is sitting on his hands while the National Security Minister looks after the nation’s sport teams and the Prime Minister handles World Cup affairs.

Ahem, one question please: Who is in charge of the soldiers?

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About Mr. Live Wire

Mr. Live Wire is an avid news reader who translates media reports for persons who can handle the truth. And satire. Unlike Jack Nicholson, he rarely yells.

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99 comments

  1. Champions league is crap tournament, just filling up the international cricket calendar with unnecessary T20 cricket. I don’t want Windies to be marketed via no T20 franchise team – but rather via our test results. This is why I say it really should not matter whether you use the country names or not.

    People should not that our 4-day & one-day regional teams was suppose to copy the CPL franchise model for next year. But WICB decided to keep inter-island rivalry alive & just keep the franchise cricket for T20 cricket.

    That in itself should tell where priority lies & why discussion is more boring that watching paint dry ha..

  2. so u saying Port of Spain the business capital in d caribbean an one of the leading markets in Latin America~ is a wasted name and no one knows about it…….let me ask u dis……..: if you have a central business~ in a central area in a country~ and you want people 2no about it u going an market the whole country?????? sad that people look down on there own capital city~ and …….just to justify the use of TNT name~~ smh

  3. T&T is a dot on the map and can only be marketed as a country. Nobody will care about a team named Port of Spain Red Steel. The country benefits from the CPL by way of taxation, exposure of young talent that otherwise may not have been in the mix were our top players to be in the team, etc. What good does it do us to remove the name from the team?

  4. Both of them tackling the same MP…….

  5. Anil and Gary appears to have a hard on for each other, but I’ll go with Gary on this one …

  6. but then again~ yes it is a franchise oriented but the point is Trinidad and Tobago is not a franchise~ its a country. so you saying removing the country name is a disservice doesn’t make sense.people don’t market countries as clubs or franchise…………we are the only ppl in the world who will do crap like dis just for money………………….yes everywhere is going towards homegrown talent that why those competition go by there area’s name.u think England or France or Germany will have there name in a club competition where any tom dick an harry will be playing for them.no~! if so just now Real Madrid will change it name 2 Spain real Madrid and Spain Barcelona~~ smh

  7. The Champions League which is the premier T20 tournament in the world is a franchise competition. The Caribbean tournament needs to be franchise-oriented in order to reduce complications re contracts, etc. The CL is therefore not a showcase of homegrown talent anymore in the same way that the BPL is not a showcase of the homegrown talent at Manchester City. We are doing ourselves a disservice if we remove the name T&T from the CPL which is being viewed by over $30 million people worldwide.

  8. but you see thats the problem~ ~~~ and also that is the point~ Manchester in England~ and Madrid in Spain~ <<>> country<< difference~ Trinidad and Tobago is not a club~ and the only way you will be able to market individual cities is if u market them instead of saying we not at a level to!~ sad TNT hve to sell it self just for ah few fete jumpers 2bawl red steel yaaaaaa~ steups.....

  9. That isn’t necessarily the point. The point is if you can get free advertising. Why not take it?
    Trinidad and Tobago is a dot on the map. The city of Madrid is almost certainly bigger than Trinidad and Tobago.
    We sell Trinidad and Tobago as a tourist destination. We are not at the level where we market individual cities.

  10. Lasana Liburd where is Manchester and the Two Madrid teams located?

  11. There are two clubs from Manchester with Manchester in their names. Same for two Madrid teams.
    That bridge can be easily crossed when we get to it.
    Passing up on the chance to get a marketing push from Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel was dumb in my opinion.
    Say Sachin Tendulkar was to sign up. Wouldn’t we prefer Indian fans to say Sachin was representing Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel as opposed to Red Steel?

  12. Anil doing what he does best,make an ass of himself!

  13. “The Sports Minister is adamant that the name “Red Steel” stays without the ‘T&T’. He says Gary Griffith has no authority to change it.”

    CNC3 News

  14. Colin Benjamin doh try explaining~! people just want the name 2 associate so they cud feel included in d party fete cricket limes~~thats all…………i doh even waste my time on cpl…cause its franchise teams not country teams~

  15. I don’t want to defend Roberts ha, but I think the basic point of his argument was right. Just like how he was right last month to criticize the WICB for axing Narine from the test series for playing in the IPL final.

    It doesn’t make sense to name a franchise team by a country name. Lets say CPL gets bigger & Trinidad gets a 2nd franchise in San Fernando @ Guaracara Park or Jamaica in Montego Bay @ Trelawney Stadium, it would be better to name the teams after the cities. In Australia in the Big Bash league, Melbourne & Sydney have two franchises & they use the city names.

    However I don’t think Roberts needed to create a tirade publicly about this, he could have discussed it privately with the CPL organizers. Listening to him, I get the feeling he has some resentment that the “Redforce” T20 team which was clearly the best in the Caribbean, was now broken up due to CPL.

    After all just a few years ago Roberts tried very hard to get money from TT government, so that he could buy out Bravo, Pollard, Narine’s contracts so that they could represent TT in the T20 champions league, instead of their IPL teams.

    Overall though, this little debate has sort of exposed that people forget what the CPL is here for.

    WICB has no money. For years they have struggled to get major co-operate sponsors since the team declined other than cable & wireless/digicel & a few others. When last did a domestic cricket competition get a sponsor? Internationally they only make money due to certain dynamics, when they play India or England.

    Thus, CPL is here for the WICB to get that much needed extra cash so that it can further invest in grassroots cricket the regional 4-day system so that Windies can become a better “test team” again.

    T20 cricket/CPL is not important. Just enjoy the hit and giggle, Yuma/tribe girls dancing cricket for what is: entertainment. It the larger vision of improving windies cricket what/how these franchises are named isn’t worth any elaborated discussion.

  16. Haha it’s funny that this is a hot topic for the man, who should be laying low. I don’t hear another Caribbean island fussing about the name eh!

  17. It seems a battle is brewing between Kamla two yap yap men. Well we go see who could yap the best.

  18. Good grief this man hasn’t left office yet? Wake me when it’s all over

  19. Thank God good sense prevailed in the end and this foolishness from Anil Roberts was not allowed to continue. It is T&T Red Steel, end of story

  20. Based on his utterings on Lifesport and now this,it seems that Griffith was given the job to anhilate Roberts.

  21. Its looking like GG has added MSYA to his portfolio now, AR is in the naughty corner until 2015?

  22. stupid move to remove it in the first place did not think

  23. If Kamla survived Jack, she would easily survive Anil.
    Time for that loud mouth to declare and go back to whence he came.
    And he would be lucky if the FIU doesn’t follow him.

  24. Hahahahahahhaa. Damn, Cramps, Warnher, Anal and Ruthy…ting nice…room 201 all over again

  25. Anil is a bully so this will really sting his pride. The fact that the Government did this without him is ominous.
    He looks like a lame duck now and probably is. He best declare his pathetic innings one time!

  26. This is the end of Anil and Kamla better be careful, his mouth could be the end of her.

  27. Ruth Marchan rooming by Jack. Not sure if Oliver Camps is a roommate yet. And they best save a bunk for Anil.

    • Save a bunk for Two Pull?. Ent is Two Pull faddah dem who going an repossess (S)Camps house? Two Pull go have ah whole big house tuh ramajay heself in … plenty rooms to try different rolling techniques!

  28. But wait…where is Ruth Marchan ?

  29. How much more can we tolerate from these jokers? Geez!

  30. Seeing some role-playing here. There should be a theatre for these Ministers !

  31. So who to support now ? This thing have cuff dong invoved .

  32. The writing appears to be on the wall for Minister 2 pull lol

  33. Say it after me:
    “Not my circus, not my monkeys”

  34. steupsssssssss~ what the hell do dis dotish man Gary jed

  35. Better late than never…good sense has prevailed. Go Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel!

  36. am i missing something? how come the Minister of National Security presiding over this issue and why not the PM?

  37. boy or boy how sometimes we can save ourselves from looking like idiots if we will just stop to think before we speak

  38. Memo to Gary… Don’t forget the soldiers eh!

  39. “The Government and, in particular, the Ministry of National Security must be getting used to walking behind Roberts with a doggie scoop.” Lol

  40. Wait nah. So Gary is the PM? Why is that even on the agenda for the Minister of National Security? Ah shame for Anil. Keep on embarassing Trinis eh. T&T Red Steel do us proud!

  41. NOICE!!! From the beginning, it seemed like a petty, personal issue between AR and the CPL. The other option is to apply precedent as is the case with the Hawkbills. The country is Antigua & Barbuda, but Antigua alone is used for whatever purposes. Seeing that no games will be played in Tobago, maybe that can be taken into consideration for using “Trinidad” alone……

  42. Finally one idiot stands up to another….

  43. …that half-baked reason wasn’t sitting well with me at all!

  44. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

  45. Said the big bad wolf to the little pig…I’ve got more power/clout than you….lol

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