The Cricketer runs down the who, what, where, when and why for the first tournament played in an ICC full member country since the coronavirus outbreak
The Vincy Premier League is a franchise-led T10 competition based in St Vincent and the Grenadines at the Arnos Vale Sporting Complex. It will be the first cricket to be played in an ICC full member nation since the coronavirus outbreak brought cricket to a halt. The game has already resumed in Vanuatu.
It will also be the first tournament at which players are unable to use saliva on the ball. The games will not be played behind closed doors and will be open to fans; there are no government restrictions in place, with just 17 recorded cases in the country.
Six teams have been put together. Botanic Gardens Rangers have Kesrick Williams as their marquee player, with Nixon McLean as coach.
Grenadines Divers have West Indies seamer Obed McCoy as their marquee player, with Ian Allen as coach.
Salt Bond Breakers have signed up opening batsman Sunil Ambris as their marquee player, with Olanzo Jackson as coach.
La Soufriere Hikers will have Desron Maloney as their marquee player and Irvin Warrican as coach.
Dark View Explorers have Lindon James as their marquee signing and Bertram Stapleton as coach.
For Fort Charlotte Srikers, Keron Cottoy has been signed as their marquee player and Kenroy Martin as coach.
The tournament is the product of Dream 11, the sports-tech company. According to ESPNcricinfo, they approached Kishore Shallow, president of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Cricket Association (SVGA) and vice-president at Cricket West Indies (CWI), with the idea.
The VPL will feature 30 matches, spanning from May 22 to May 31. Curiously, games will start at 8.30am local time in order to maximise Dream 11’s Indian audience. That time equates to 6pm in India and 1.30pm in the UK. There will be three games per day.
All games will be streamed live.
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