NewsMax60 Caribbean’s second season has unravelled in a hurry, with players downing tools over unpaid wages and several fixtures wiped off the schedule.
Five matches slated for Tuesday never got going after most squad members – including high-profile names such as David Warner, Shakib Al Hasan, Alex Hales and Carlos Brathwaite – refused to take the field. According to contracts, a significant portion of their fees should have cleared 30 days before the first ball. That money has not arrived.
Late on Tuesday the tournament’s organisers announced on Instagram that “all games” were scrapped and that a final between league leaders Caribbean Tigers and third-placed Vegas Vikings would be squeezed in on Thursday afternoon. By Wednesday morning even that plan had shifted: the so-called final was now a “runner-up play-off” featuring fifth-placed Grand Cayman Falcons against the Vikings, with a trophy ceremony tagged on for good measure. The post confirming the change replaced the earlier message, and the previous statement vanished.
Behind the scenes the World Cricketers’ Association (WCA) has backed the players, calling the episode yet another reminder that paperwork alone does not guarantee payment. “It’s disappointing to hear that players still haven’t been paid what they’re owed under their contracts,” said Tom Moffat, the WCA chief executive. “Players have fulfilled their commitments in good faith the whole way along, but it’s unreasonable for anyone to expect them to continue to turn up and put on the show if the terms of their contracts have flagrantly been breached.
“This isn’t an isolated or new issue. It’s another example of an officially sanctioned cricket event treating player contracts like worthless pieces of paper, and of the lack of protections for players who compete in events that have been sanctioned by the ICC or its members.
“There are simple solutions to these issues and the game’s global leadership and regulations should protect the whole sport, and people within it.”
The tournament is run by BMP Sports, a Dubai-based company that also operates several ‘Braves’ franchises on the global T10 circuit. Its website bills the firm as a “global market leader in cricket league ownership, sponsorships, franchising and more”. BMP has so far remained silent, declining to respond to repeated requests for comment.
For the Cayman Islands, losing a fledgling event casts an awkward light on the region’s push to host franchise cricket. The island has decent facilities and access to North American television markets, yet those advantages count for little if wages stall.
Short-form tournaments do run on tight margins: prize money is compressed into a few weeks, sponsorships can be hand-to-mouth, and international stars expect prompt settlement before recommitting. But the most basic ingredient – paying players on time – is non-negotiable. Without it, professionalism nosedives and fans are left with social-media updates instead of cricket.
At the time of writing it remains unclear whether any more cricket will be played this season, or if the hastily-arranged “runner-up play-off” will even go ahead. What is clear is that the Max60 brand, trumpeted as a Caribbean showcase, now has to repair trust with the very people it relies on to draw crowds and broadcasters alike.
