West Indies cricket in big trouble over financial mismanagement despite ICC funds: Report

Cricket West Indies’ finances recently underwent an audit from an accounting and financial management consulting firm PKF. As per a report by ESPNCricinfo, the audit indicate that Cricket West Indies is currently suffering from excessive revenue projections. The news of the recent audit report comes on the backdrop of the West Indies board’s continuous struggle to pay match fees to their players.

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Cricket West Indies audit indicate financial troubles

Cricket West Indies President Ricky Skerritt recently expressed his concerns over the financial future of the game. Skerritt was appointed as the man for the top job in 2019 after the six-tenure of previous chief Dave Cameron. While speaking with ESPNCricinfo, Ricky Skerritt said that the review by the PKF was an “internal alarm bell” for Cricket West Indies. He also said in order to improve the financial conditions, the board will be carrying out assessments accordingly.

Meanwhile, the worrying factors from the audit figures all point towards the workings of the previous administration, i.e. the one headed by Dave Cameron between 2013 and 2019. In his defence, Cameron said that he is been made a victim of a “smeer campaign” and called for the questioning of the recent findings.

Cricket West Indies were reported to receive US$128 million from 2018 until the next eight years from the International Cricket Council (ICC). However, the amount is likely to drop in case the ongoing coronavirus crisis continues to impact international cricketing activities.

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West Indies cricketers, including Dwayne Bravo, have not received their match fees since January 2020. Since then, the team hosted Ireland in a short limited-overs home series and then toured Sri Lanka between February and March. In April, Cricket West Indies CEO Johnny Grave assured that while the board is facing a tough time financially, their priority is still to pay all of their contracted players.

Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and other West Indians in IPL 2020

Several West Indies top stars like Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell were expected to represent their respective Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises in the 2020 season of the tournament. While IPL 2020 was scheduled to commence on March 29, the T20 event got indefinitely postponed by the Indian cricket officials due to the coronavirus pandemic. Should the tournament not take place this year at all, West Indies cricketers will not be paid by their respective IPL franchises.

CPL 2020

The 2020 season of Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is currently slated to be played between August and September. While the Vincy T10 League was recently green-lit by Cricket West Indies for May, the CPL 2020 may also proceed as per its schedule.

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