St. Kitts and Nevis has won the bid to host the semifinals and finals of the 2016 CPL T20 matches scheduled for August 3 to 7 at Warner Park.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Sport Shawn Richards had indicated during the recent WICB matches held in St. Kitts that the local government would be bidding for the finals. He made the big announcement on Sunday evening at Carambola’s White Sands Fete.
“We are expecting the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots to be in the finals this year which will be held in St. Kitts and Nevis, from the third to the fifth of August and also on August 7th.
Pete Russell
Pete Russell, one of the CPL directors, said it is exciting to be having CPL playoffs in St. Kitts.
“It’s fantastic to announce the semifinals and finals back in St. Kitts. You are by a long way the best fans in the Caribbean and we can’t wait to be here again in August, so come and support the team. We look forward to seeing you and them in the finals which starts on August 3rd.”
Beginning Thursday, June 30th, St. Kitts will host four matches during the regular season. The other matches are scheduled for July 2nd, 3rd and 5th. The Minister called on cricket fans to support their franchise team, the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots.
“On Thursday of this week we have the first of the series in the CPL games and I want to take this opportunity to invite all of you to come out and support the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots.”
St. Kitt’s and Nevis hosted the 2014 finals week which ended with Barbados Tridents being declared winners after the rain interrupted match against the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
The final in the inaugural CPL was hosted by Trinidad and Tobago. That year, the championship went to the Jamaica Tallawahs who defeated the Guyana Amazon Warriors by seven wickets in the low scoring final.
In 2015 the final went back to the land of the hummingbirds and saw the home franchise, the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel (now Trinbago Knight Riders) lifting the crown.
In April of this year, there were speculations about which country will host CPL finals 2016 with Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago listed as front runners. News first broke that the T&T government had made an offer to CPL following which it was reported that the Government of Guyana also made a proposal. It was then reported that there was a counter-offer from Trinidad and Tobago that pretty much outbid Guyana. CPL officials then cleared the air stating that no nation has been awarded the final at that point. The first official announcement came from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Sport Shawn Richards at Carambola’s White Sands Fete.
Six teams will compete in the fourth edition of Caribbean Premier League Twenty Twenty matches- Trinbago Knight Riders; Jamaica Tallawahs; Barbados Tridents; Guyana Amazon Warriors; St. Lucia Zouks; and St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots.
St. Kitts and Nevis Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Sport Shawn Richards
The matches will be played across six Caribbean venues and for the first time in CPL T20 history, matches will also be played in Fort Lauderdale, USA.
The league kicks off Wednesday, June 29 with Trinbago Knight Riders opening their title defense against the St. Lucia Zouks in Port of Spain from 21:00 hrs.
