Windies vs England: CWI to lose money over broadcast dispute

The Windies have shown a marked improvement in their performance in the ongoing home series against England but the financial fortunes of their cricket board – Cricket West Indies (CWI) – failed to witness better times. The CWI is set to take a substantial financial blow for the broadcaster Sky has refused to pay for two T20I matches scheduled in Basseterre, St Kitts.

The price of such games is usually around US$1 million each though neither of those two games was part of the package that was agreed upon when the broadcast deal was made years ago. As a result, the Sky was reluctant to pay anywhere near the whopping amount, according to ESPNcricinfo.

The broadcaster has said that it has already paid a hefty sum for the rest of the tour which originally featured only one T20I. The matches will still be broadcast in the UK. CWI could refuse to permit Sky to have access to their pictures.

The West Indian board is providing cameras, crew and feed and they also agree to compromise their relationship with either their sponsors or the St Kitts government which means Sky could broadcast the matches for free. In that case, the board could live stream the games on their own website and social media channels like YouTube.

Windies retain ODI side for T20Is

The reigning world champions in T20s though are currently ranked two places below England but their performance in the recent Test and ODI series will encourage their fans to hope for more. The hosts have also retained their ODI side for the T20Is and it will be led by Jason Holder, the ODI skipper, for the selectors feel it will be beneficial to continue with the same team in all games ahead of the World Cup so that bond better as a unit.

The Windies defeated England 2-1 in the Test series and then drew the visitors 2-2 in the ODIs, thanks to super-human batting from Chris Gayle who belted two centuries and two fifties.

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