GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — Caribbean Twenty20 champions Guyana are yet to be fully paid for their participation in the Champions League Twenty20 last year.

An official source has disclosed that teams were to be paid 21 days after the last match of the competition, but disbursements from the event’s organisers were held-up because of the tardiness of three of the other teams.

“We are as disappointed as the players, since we have already sent in the invoices to CLT20 for the participation fee,” the source said.

“We were told that three teams are yet to submit their invoices, and that invoices of all of the teams which participated must be submitted before payments are made.”

Invoices had to be submitted for prize money earned in the competition and other expenses, and this was done for a Man-of-the-Match prize earned by national captain and West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan for his 70 in the final match against the Highveld Lions.

The source added that when Trinidad & Tobago reached the Final of the competition two years ago, there was also a long delay in them receiving their money.

Guyana’s Minister of Sport Dr Frank Anthony also confirmed that a portion of the US$10,000 government sponsorship of the team for the CLT20 was paid to the Guyana Cricket Board, but he could not provide an exact date on which the balance would be handed over.

The Guyana government of President Bharrat Jagdeo was the main sponsor of the team to the CLT20.

Dubbed the Amazon Conquerors, the Guyanese lost all four of their matches in South Africa, after qualifying for the competition by winning the inaugural Caribbean T20 last year.

Meanwhile, there was good news for the Guyanese, who depart today morning for this year’s CT20 to be contested in Antigua and Barbados.

The Guyana National Stadium, which was staging a local football competition in recent weeks, was made fully available to the players to do fielding sessions under lights.

Manager Carl Moore had complained that the unavailability of the stadium for practice matches would have hampered the team’s preparations.

Efforts were also being made to have the stadium pitch prepared for a possible practice match on Friday, as the team winds down their preparations.

Guyana open the CT20 against Jamaica on Monday at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua.

They also face Combined Campuses & Colleges, Windward Islands, and English county side Somerset in the preliminary round of the competition.