Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) president Azim Bassarath says he is bitterly disappointed the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) decided to move the first leg of the Caribbean Twenty from the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain to Antigua.

Bassarath is also still of the opinion that something could have been worked out to have the tournament take place in T&T.

"I am disappointed as president, just as the fans would have been disappointed, not to see the Caribbean T20 champions start their title defence here in T&T," Bassarath told the Express yesterday.

"What should have happened was that the WICB should have negotiated with the Queen's Park Oval before announcing Trinidad and Tobago as hosts for the tournament. It would have been prudent to negotiate that before," he insisted.

After receiving all the information on the course of events leading up to the WICB's last-minute change of venue, Bassarath said: "It shows that no planning was done by the WICB, causing the Trinidad and Tobago public to be deprived of seeing our champions in action.

"We must let the public know that it was the responsibility of the WICB to negotiate with the Oval for use of the venue," Bassarath revealed.

According to a letter dated December 2, the WICB directors took the decision based on "untenable conditions" under which the Oval was to be rented to the WICB.

The letter also stated that the primary concerns were the US$60,000 rental fee and the unavailability of the Oval at the time requested on January 14.

Bassarath also believes that had the TTCB negotiated with the Oval from the onset, things could have turned out differently.

"I would not say it was a hasty decision by the WICB. It would appear as though the WICB panicked a bit in reaching this decision. We had enough time to work something out. The tournament could have still taken place. I believe that something could have been worked out instead of shifting the venues," he added.

He also insisted that the WICB was made aware of the Oval's January 14 commitment even before T&T were named hosts of the first leg of the T20 tournament.

By Roger Seepersad

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com