‘Antigua believes, Jamaica didn’t’
FOLLOWING their departure from the Jamaica-based franchise due to insufficient support, former Tallawahs Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jeff Miller believes the overall support from Antigua and Barbuda will exceed what the ownership received previously, as they embark on their new venture in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
After acquiring the team in 2017, Guyanese businessman Kris Persaud sold the Tallawahs back to the CPL ahead of the 2024 season because he said he was unable to sustain the team given a lack of support from the Jamaican Government.
Persaud and Miller will lead the new Antigua-based franchise which will be part of next year’s competition, replacing the Tallawahs in the six-team Twenty20 tournament. The CPL is in search of new owners for the Jamaica-based franchise.
Speaking with the Jamaica Observer, Miller said the level of dedication they received from the various stakeholders in Antigua and Barbuda made their decision to leave the Tallawahs straightforward.
“Before we got here we got commitments that the Government in Antigua were willing to provide some in-kind sponsorship and other amenities to the franchise. Whatever we get in Antigua is a lot more than what we were getting in Jamaica. We looked at the equation and the numbers [and] we said ‘Look, we’re bleeding [losing money] but at least we won’t bleed in the kind of manner that we were in Jamaica. We see some light at the end of the tunnel in Antigua so let’s take a chance.’
They have some passionate fans here, some legendary cricketers in Antigua, and we believe this is the right time, right opportunity, and we decided that we’d grab it and move forward,” he said.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Sports Daryll Matthew said the CPL is “the biggest thing in regional cricket”, and added that the new franchise could generate in excess of US $5.5 million ($852,500,000) in annual revenue.
Miller, who will be the CEO of the Antigua franchise, clarifies that he bears no ill will towards Jamaica’s Minister of Sport Olivia “Babsy” Grange and the Government, but he believes they had no genuine intention of providing substantial support to the Tallawahs.
“I’ve met with the honourable minister on numerous occasions and she’s a fantastic lady. She’s verbally provided support over and over but again, it takes funding to operate the franchise — whether that be in cash or in kind,” he said.
“Jamaica is a big brand, a global brand. From what I understand, the Government doesn’t need CPL or the Tallawahs to showcase their brand; maybe Antigua will want that global exposure and Jamaica doesn’t need it. We were told on more than one occasion that the other sports bring more to Jamaica but for the biggest Caribbean island to have iconic stadiums, have some of the world’s greatest cricketers and [yet] not have cricket in Jamaica is bad,” Miller added.
Though moving on to seemingly greener pastures, Miller is concerned about the state of cricket on the island.
“You have a franchise that 80 to 90 per cent [of the personnel] comes from Jamaica, you have a support staff that are also from Jamaica and these folks weren’t able to have the opportunity to play in Jamaica — that was a major disappointment. It’s not just CPL. Look, it’s the [2024 T20] World Cup. Look at England who just toured [the Caribbean], India was there earlier. These games are being aren’t being played in Jamaica so the Jamaican fans need to ask some questions. I don’t know what the answers are. We have tried but, unfortunately, it didn’t work out,” he said.
Moving forward, Persaud leads the return of a CPL franchise to Antigua after almost a decade as the Hawksbills, who started the competition in 2013, were made defunct after the 2014 season.
Miller says the supporters will be key in the branding and success of the team.
“We’re engaging fans in Antigua and Barbuda; we want them to be part of the franchise. We’re starting a contest to submit names they would like to see for the team, and providing USD $1000 to the winner and season tickets. We are also doing it with the logo because we want the fans to be part of it.
“We’re hoping that we’ll have a competitive team in 2024 and we look forward to it. Most importantly is to engage Government, corporate Antigua and the fans, and to have the biggest party in sport back in Antigua,” he said.
While Antigua makes a return for the 2024 season, CPL, who now owns the Jamaica Tallawahs, says they’re hoping the franchise can return in 2025.
The Observer has learnt that interested parties have reached out to the CPL to purchase the franchise but talks have yet to even reach a preliminary stage.