Tobago, South share Courts Interzone

TOBAGO and South were declared joint winners of the 2004 Courts Interzone Cricket Championships, after rain affected two days put aside for the final. The issue surrounding the finalists was settled and Tobago were to face South in the final on May 31 at the National Cricket Centre (NCC),  Couva. However rain prevented any play and the teams were declared joint champs according to Trinidad and  Tobago Cricket Board of Control (TTCBC) administrative manager Rambhai Patel. The problems arose when North, with one win and three washed out matches thought they had the right to contest the final with five points.

This would have placed them one point ahead of Tobago who had four points from two wins. North were going by the rule which awarded two points for a win and one point for a no-result. However the TTCBC awarded  Tobago ahead of the Northerners according to the Carib Sunday League, which gave three points for a win, and one for a no-result. Under this format Tobago ended the tournament with six points, while North finished on five. Patel told Newsday yesterday: “On page 174 of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board of Control (TTCBC) fixture booklet the rules of the tournament are printed. “In the footnote you will see that the games will be of 40 overs duration and that all other rules will be the same as the Carib Sunday League except that there will be no inner circles.

“The Sunday League rules which are stated in the said book says that three points are awarded for a win and one point for a no-result.” Patel added: “Books were sent out since January to the zones and the tournament was played in May, so zone officials had enough time to familiarise themselves with the rules. Next time around we hope this unfortunate situation doesn’t arise.” North team manager Claude Phillip said his team has no problem with the ruling but are a bit disappointed to miss out on the final. “We whipped Tobago and under the Sonneberg system, if two points were given for a win we would have been placed ahead of them and into the final. “The guys worked very hard leading up to the series and are a bit disappointed but when the weather intervenes you really cannot do anything,” Phillip ended.