CWI Slashes International Player Fees by 25% and Suspends Domestic Tournaments
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced a major restructuring aimed at stabilising its finances and refocusing its competitive priorities.
Key Changes
| Area | What’s Changing |
|---|---|
| International player contracts | 12‑month retainer contracts remain, but fees are reduced by 25%. |
| Domestic player contracts | Shift to seven‑month retainer contracts. |
| Domestic tournaments | Men’s Super50 and women’s T20 Blaze for 2024 are suspended. |
| Women’s structure | Next year’s Women’s Super50 will be replaced by a Best‑vs‑Best development tournament. |
| West Indies Championship | Four‑day competition continues in its 2025‑26 format (each side plays a three‑match series, 12 games total; top three advance to playoffs). |
Rationale
- CWI faces a “financial, developmental and competitive crisis,” with high costs for domestic travel, accommodation, and tournament staging.
- Over US$80 million has been spent on domestic airlines in the past 15 years without reciprocal sponsorship.
- The board aims to redirect resources toward preparing the men’s ODI squad for the 2027 World Cup qualifier (February–March 2027).
Upcoming Plans
- White‑ball series against England A in November, followed by an ODI camp, to sharpen the men’s side.
- Replacement qualification tournaments for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will be invitation‑only for the ten CWI member nations. Costs will be borne by the individual national boards, Olympic associations, private sector and governments.
- Winners of these invitational events will advance to the ICC Olympic Qualifying tournaments.
Statements
“International retainer contracts will remain at 12 months but there will be a 25% reduction on the retainer fees,” said CWI chief executive Chris Dehring.
“Our domestic tournaments, as historically structured, are simply unsustainable. We must focus our scarce resources on the direct benefit of our cricket.”
Dehring likened the moment to Carlos Brathwaite’s four consecutive sixes in the 2016 T20 World Cup final, urging West Indian cricket to take bold, calculated risks.
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