After their nation’s tour of India was prematurely ended due to pay dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), five West Indies stars have signed up for this winter’s Ram Slam T20, the domestic competition in South Africa, as overseas players. The six franchises have each been allocated one overseas player, with England and Somerset wicket-keeper Craig Kieswetter making up the numbers. The five West Indians are all-rounder Kieron Pollard, who will appear for Cape Cobras, Dolphins’ Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, who has been snapped up by the Knights, Darren Sammy of the Titans, and Chris Gayle, who signs for the Lions having twice previously signed for the Dolphins, in 2011/12 and 2013/14, only to withdraw due to injuries.
Between the five ODI regulars, only Bravo will miss a game; he is unavailable for the curtain-raiser against the Lions on Sunday. Unfortunately for the tournament’s organisers, Kumar Sangakkara was a late withdrawal, due to Sri Lanka’s recently-scheduled tour of India. Another exclusion on the press release was the name of Kevin Pietersen; having spent some time in the country with his family after the release of his controversial autobiography, it had been rumoured that he would sign for a franchise. Clearly, this did not turn out to be the case.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat expressed his delight at the quality of the overseas signings, saying:
“We are determined to raise the standard and profile of our domestic cricket and there is no doubt that these top class international players will entertain our fans over the next six weeks; with our Proteas stars coming into the competition during the latter stages when they return from Australia the Ram Slam will be a competition to follow keenly.”
There may be some surprise that the WICB has allowed five of its star players to appear in the tournament, with Bravo especially having spoken out recently against them after the withdrawal from the India tour. However, having signed the players’ Certificates of No Objection, the WICB are entitled to a small share in their players’ wages, and, due to their well-documented financial difficulties, the small sum of money that they gain from the Ram Slam will definitely make a difference to the country.
The only possible clash for the West Indians is if they are required to play in a tour match or take part in a training camp before their side’s tour of South Africa, which starts as the Ram Slam ends. However, other than that, they will be free for the tournament’s entirety. Craig Kieswetter, who missed much of the English Domestic T20 competition, the NatWest T20 Blast, due to a facial injury suffered whilst batting against Northamptonshire’s David Willey, will also be available for the whole tournament, with his only other commitment this winter being the Big Bash in Australia, where he played last year for Andrew Flintoff’s new side, Brisbane Heat.
Despite their knowledge of Chris Gayle’s previous withdrawals, Highveld Lions’ CEO Greg Fredericks remains confident that he will be at his brilliant best during the competition, saying “It looks very promising that Gayle will play for us. We have sent him the contract and we hope to finalise things in the next 24 hours. We know that if he is firing on all cylinders, he could be a game-changer. We were obviously a bit concerned about what happened last time with the injuries and we made sure to check that he is fit and ready to play, and he is.”
Kieswetter is fully available/Images99
Having fallen behind the IPL, Big Bash and even the CPL (Caribbean Premier League) in terms of stature of a T20 competition, the Ram Slam’s popularity will undoubtedly be measured on crowds and TV viewing figures in this edition. Tournament director Graeme Smith said that was pleased to see the level of interest in the South African event; “In my discussions with all the superstars, it has been satisfying to note their eagerness to play in here, as they regard South Africa as one of the best cricket leagues in the world,” he said.
The tournament opens next Sunday, with three mouth-watering games being played at the Wanderers
TRIPLE HEADER FIXTURES – 02 NOVEMBER 2014 (all times GMT)
1000 – Knights vs Warriors
1400 – Cape Cobras vs Titans
1800 – Lions vs Dolphins
The Cape Cobras start the tournament as favourites, with odds of 13/5, with Warriors and Knights both 6/1 outsiders. However, reigning champions Dolphins will undoubtedly be out to retain their title, and the Lions looking to recover from their disastrous 2013 tournament, in which they managed only one win.
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