Appeals committee to meet with PowerGen on Tuesday

THE winner of this year’s National League Premiership I hangs in the balance of the TT Cricket Board appeals committee’s decision on Tuesday.

This was announced after the final round of matches was played on Sunday, despite Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC) topping the eight-team table on 143 points.

The delay in crowning the Parkites champions came after PowerGen Sports Club appealed a decision made by the cricket board’s disciplinary committee regarding a drawn result after a shortened round-two match against Victoria United.

That match played on the weekend of February 11-12, was scheduled to bowl off at GP Grounds in Barrackpore.

According to PowerGen head coach Gibran Mohammed, on the first day, the pitch was waterlogged and umpires called off the game at around 2pm. Teams were told the match would begin on the next day, from 9.30am.

Victoria batted first on the second day and were dismissed before PowerGen came to the middle. At the close of play, the visiting team was still batting. With no additional days to play, the match ended in a drawn result.

However, Mohammed said they took this result to the disciplinary committee because the game should have been abandoned owing to pitch conditions, and they receive a full 24 points. They were denied and PowerGen appealed the decision.

He said the committee was supposed to meet before last weekend’s final-round matches but did not do so.

Now, PowerGen representatives and the appeals committee have an 8pm virtual meeting on Tuesday to discuss a way forward.

If PowerGen are awarded the full complement of points, they leapfrog QPCC at the top and will be crowned champions.

PowerGen won the last National League tournament in 2019 before the pandemic hit.