RBCPL24: How the CPL took wing to become dominant regional sport event

Allen Stanford, remember that name? No? Not a surprise really.

When West Indians are focused on the biggest party in sport, who has time to remember a man who was a party to the biggest fraud ever perpetrated on West Indian sport?

Fraudster Allen Stanford (centre) celebrates with then Trinidad and Tobago T20 captain Daren Ganga during the short-lived Stanford 20/20 cricket tournament.

On Republic Day, a lady who lives on my street went to the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) in Tarouba to watch Kieron Pollard’s Trinbago Knight Riders take on the eventual 2024 CPL champions, Saint Lucia Kings.

She did not have the slightest idea who Stanford was. But she did not know any more about Johnson Charles or Faf du Plessis.


She was completely in the dark about what the Kings’ victory meant for the home side’s position in the standings. She didn’t care.

“The lime was real nice!” she gushed. “I don’t know when last I had so much fun! Yuh know who not missing CPL next year!”

A patron enjoys the atmosphere at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba during a Republic Bank CPL contest between the Trinbago Knight Riders and the Saint Kitts and Nevis Patriots at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on 22 September 2024.
Photo: Ashley Allen – CPL T20/CPL T20 via Getty Images

So, spare a thought for the American investor who was arrested, charged and sentenced for fraud in 2009. Had he not seized upon the opportunity to cash in early on the T20 craze then sweeping the world of cricket, we’d certainly not have been talking about Aaron Jones all last week.

And there were hundreds of women and children present for the Barbadian/American batsman’s match-winning innings, although they don’t know the difference between second slip and a half-slip!

Stanford’s Legends tournament, which began in 2006, was short-lived. His idea was to use the renown of the numerous living West Indian cricketing legends and, perhaps by osmosis, raise the profile of each of the participating teams to which he attached these worthy, high-profile gentlemen.

Hell, he went so far as to build his own ground in Antigua, which has now been added to the pool of cricket resources in the region.

contest between the Barbados Royals and the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons at Bridgetown on 11 September 2024.
Photo: Randy Brooks/ CPL T20 via Getty Images

For the first time, the West Indian public was exposed to the American-style franchise model in sport with all its razzle-dazzle and glamour and glitter! And eventually, as we now see every year in the CPL, massive merchandising and fan-based paraphernalia galore.

To fill the gap left by the collapse of Stanford’s initiative, in 2013, the WICB launched the CPL to replace the Caribbean T20 League as the major T20 competition in the region.


Suddenly, players found themselves earning serious money. For young and upcoming players, present and past players alike, there were opportunities for contracts as players, coaches, consultants, commentators and so on.

Since then, franchise cricket has grown exponentially (as Ian Bishop might say) and taken over the world. There are franchise tournaments in all the established Test-playing nations and then some—such as Dubai, Sharjah, the USA and Canada.

Saint Lucia Kings batsman Tim Seifert (below) collides with Guyana Amazon Warriors wicketkeeper Azam Khan during Republic Bank CPL action at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia on 7 September 2024.
Photo: Ashley Allen/ CPL T20 via Getty Images

Republic Bank Limited (RBL), headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago, has officially adopted the CPL. It’s a dream marriage since RBL has operations in AnguillaBarbados, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Ghana, Grenada, GuyanaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint MaartenSaint Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname.

New Zealand’s Danny Morrison and Barbados’ Alex Jordan never cease to loudly remind televiewers—as each franchise-hosting entity competes to outdo all others and grab television attention and its moment in the sun or under the lights—that the CPL is the biggest party in sport.

After 12 editions, they insist, the CPL is now (barring India’s mega-IPL) the most popular and attractive franchise cricket tournament in the world.

Presenter Grace Hayden takes in her surroundings at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on a Republic Bank CPL assignment on 24 September 2024.
Photo: Ashley Allen – CPL T20/CPL T20 via Getty Images

Fan participation has already grown tremendously. And continues to grow. Team support is now assuming cult-like dimensions, as Guyana Warriors (chicken curry) and Trinbago Knight Riders (curry chicken) in particular have taken their rivalry beyond the boundary and into the stands and streets.

West Indians in the diaspora now plan and book vacations around CPL time—more and more are following their team through the islands as the competition progresses.

Many fans based in the region island-hop to support their team, gladdening government hearts (do governments have hearts?) with the influx of visitors the tournament brings to their shores.

Saint Lucia Kings supporters cheer on their team during the Republic Bank CPL final against the Guyana Amazon Warriors at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence on 6 October 2024.
Photo: Ashley Allen – CPL T20/CPL T20 via Getty Images

During the early phases of this year’s tournament in Antigua and Saint Kitts/Nevis, there were many spaces visible in the stands, especially for mid-week fixtures. But later on, the crowds came out, even when the home franchise was not playing.

In Trinidad and in Guyana, there were many full houses. But the games were not without their hiccups.

In Port-of-Spain, everyone knows, parking spaces in and around the Queen’s Park Oval are limited. Patrons complained about having had their vehicles towed while they partied inside.

A Trinbago Knight Riders supporter cheers on her team during Republic Bank CPL action against the Guyana Amazon Warriors at the Queen’s Park Oval, POS, Trinidad on 18 September 2024.
Photo: Ashley Allen – CPL T20/CPL T20 via Getty Images)

In Tarouba, traffic congestion and access and egress issues continue to plague games played at that venue.

In Providence in October, there was the spectacle of the lights going out in a crucial playoff game. The S-word surfaced. No surprise. But not me and the conspiracy, not me and the bacchanal. For me, age is just a number, whether it’s wearing a shoe, a slipper or a sabot!

But the CPL needs to ensure that justice also appears to be done!

Barbados Royals batsmen David Miller (centre) and Rovman Powell (right) console Trinbago Knight Riders star Nicholas Pooran after the Royals’ controversial win in the Republic Bank CPL Eliminator at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence on 1 October 2024.
Photo: Ashley Allen – CPL T20/CPL T20 via Getty Images

All in all, though, the sponsors can’t complain about the mileage they got from their continuing support of the tournament.

Its Caribbean nature gets pride of place in its official name but on the field it certainly retains a strong international flavour.  Although all but two of the franchises are owned by Indian business interests, each team features top international players and coaches from around the world.

Maybe with time, more West Indian business interests will follow the example of the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons and the Guyana Amazon Warriors, both of which are owned by wealthy Guyanese businessmen.

Guyana Amazon Warriors fielder Shimron Hetmyer celebrates the dismissal of Saint Lucia Kings batsman Tim Seifert during the Republic Bank CPL final at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence on 6 October 2024.
Photo: Ashley Allen – CPL T20/CPL T20 via Getty Images

We can now hope for more good things from the CPL in the near future. A recent CWI announcement says that the way is now open for leading players such as Nicholas Pooran, Brandon King and Shai Hope to be selected, once available, on the Test squad without having to participate in the domestic red ball season.

Their CPL efforts will qualify them for red ball selection.

“CWI has committed to maintaining open and honest dialogue about the realities of the modern game,” CWI director of cricket Miles Bascombe told the media. “The players have responded in kind…”

Trinbago Knight Riders batsman Nicholas Pooran flashes his blade at a delivery during Republic Bank CPL action against the Barbados Royals at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on 27 September 2024.
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868

It is a development for which die-hard West Indies cricket fans the world over have long been yearning. Let us hope that before long it brings the kind of red ball results which the fans have long craved.

And that the scores of young and impressionable fans for whom the leading white ball players have become superheroes will find heroes too in the Test arena.

Thanks to the CPL.

More from Wired868
Vaneisa: Heroes and deities—uncovering Frank Worrell (Part One)

There’s an immediate challenge in compiling a biography of someone who was a legend during his lifetime. Inevitably, myths spring Read more

Dear Editor: WI’s struggles against spin are well known; so why isn’t CWI helping?!

“[…] For the last 30 years, we in the Caribbean have been producing pitches that are more suitable to spin Read more

Vaneisa: Making a case for mixed-sex cricket

How about mixing it up a bit? Two West Indies cricket T20 encounters last Tuesday. The men played their second Read more

RBCPL24: Are WI being served? Wired868 looks back at CPL24

“Yuh tink is so de ting does work?” Calypso History Month has just begun and the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Read more

Vaneisa: Under the crescent moon—the good, the bad and the ugly of the CPL

The day after the end of the T20 World Cup, my daughter and a friend of ours were at my Read more

RBCPL24: Roger that, Coachman! Chase and Jones flip final script for SLK after warning

Five overs to go, six wickets intact and 66 runs still needed for victory. Saint Lucia Kings (SLK) are chasing Read more

Check Also

Vaneisa: Heroes and deities—uncovering Frank Worrell (Part One)

There’s an immediate challenge in compiling a biography of someone who was a legend during …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.