The Georgetown Softball Cricket League (GSCL) Inc. will be hosting their third edition of the Prime Minister’s T20 Cup from November 1-3 in Georgetown, with several top local teams battling for supremacy against their counterparts from New York, Canada and Florida.
The tournament, which was launched recently at GNIC SC, does not require an entrance fee, but the participating teams must make a deposit of G$60,000 as collateral which will be refunded after the preliminary round matches on the second day of the competition.
According to GSCL Inc. President Ian John, the fee is a guarantee that the teams registered will be participating fully. John said there were issues where teams that were listed on the fixtures, pulled out at the last moment which caused some hiccups, since it is difficult to find a replacement at the last moment.
The teams listed to participate are asked to make this deposit on or before September 27 to the organisers at GSCL Inc. at 69 Seaforth Street, Campbellville.
The drawing of the tournament, which is being held in collaboration with the National Sports Commission and The Ministry of the Presidency Department of Social Cohesion, Culture, Youth and Sport, will be held on October 13.
The competition will consist of three categories, namely the Over-45, Over-50 and Open, and matches will be played at venues in Georgetown. For the Over-50 division, three players at the age of 49 will be accepted, while two players at the age of 43 will be accommodated in the playing XI in the Over-45 category. Matches will be played at Police SC, YMCA, ECC, GYO, GNIC SC, MSC and DCC.
The GSCL Inc. indicated that both off-break and round-arm bowling will be allowed, but ‘chucking’ will not be accepted and the umpires will be very strict on this rule as well as reports on match fixing and teams turning up late for matches.
Off-field entertainment, which includes cheerleaders will be provided. Regal Masters and Speedboat are the defending champions in the Over-45 and Open categories respectively.
Following the semi-finals on November 2, the finals will be held on November 3 at Everest CC, commencing with the Over-50 category from 10:00h; this will be followed by the Over-45 final from 13:30h, while the Open final will be played under lights from 18:00h. There will be lots of giveaways for the fans.
The winning team in the Open segment will take home a trophy and $500,000, while the runner-up will receive a trophy and $100,000. The Man-of-the-Match in the final will receive a trophy and $10,000 and the MVP will be given one Hero motorcycle.
The champions in the Over-45 segment will pocket a trophy and $500,000, and the runner-up a trophy and $100,000. The Man-of-the-Match in the final will take home a trophy and $10,000 and the MVP one 55” Smart TV.
The Over-50 division, dubbed the Legends category, will see the winners getting a trophy and $300,000 and the runner-up a trophy and $50,000. The Man-of-the-Match will collect a trophy and $10,000 and the MVP one gold bracelet.
Among the sponsors are Banks DIH Limited, Regal Stationery and Computer Centre and Regal Sports, Crown Mining, Rajiv Gandhi University, Green Heart University, Star Party Rentals, Supreme Venture, Elegance Jewellery, Cyber Sports Pakistan, Ink Plus- the computer store, Dyna’s Embroidery, USA Cricket Zone, Krsna and Balram Printery and Hero Motorcyle- Rose Ramdehol.
