East Africa Premier League and Cup
Introduction
Cricket Kenya is committed to improving the standard of our National representative sides, primarily Senior, ‘A’ and Under 19, and there is a necessity to provide as strong a domestic competition as possible. At present the NPCA Super League is the highest standard of competition played in Kenya and features current and former international players and several of our Under 19 squad.
The Super League is based around a strong club culture in Nairobi with the majority of grounds being of a good standard. In Mombasa and Nakuru the senior leagues are far smaller and the standard not as high due to lower player numbers and the better quality players being spread across the competing teams.
The standard of league cricket in our neighbours Uganda is again unlikely to provide the level of intense competition necessary to ensure players develop the skills needed in international cricket.
In order to bridge the gap between the current domestic structure and the international teams it is essential to have another tier of competition where the focus is on the highest possible playing standards at the best playing facilities. To do this on a regional level with regular fixtures played in Nakuru , Mombasa, and Uganda as well as Nairobi will help showcase the game, engender local support from both the cricket and commercial communities and provide a pathway for talented players to progress and compete for international honours.
Format
Six teams will compete in both 20 over and 50 over formats. Four new franchise teams will be from Kenya (two from Nairobi, one Rift, one Coast) and two from Uganda.
The six competing teams will play in a round robin format both home and away resulting in ten pool fixtures per competition. The schedule would see a 20 over game on a Saturday afternoon followed by the 50 over match on a Sunday in order to reduce the number of away trips and subsequent costs.
To summarise:
· 50 over and 20 over competitions run concurrently
· Six teams
· Each team plays home and away (ten fixtures per competition)
· Top two in each competition will compete in a live televised final staged in Nairobi
· Total of six match weekends required for pool stages
· Competition launches 2nd July
· Finals on 1st and 2nd October
Competing Teams/Players
In Kenya 12 nationally contracted players are divided between the four teams, three per team. This ensures all national players are allocated teams and playing strength is more evenly distributed.
CK will also provide a coach/player coach from our panel of Elite Coaches and is looking at securing one overseas player per team. The maximum allocation of overseas players per squad is three.
The competition is geared towards players of elite standard who have ambitions to play international cricket for Kenya. There will be 18 players in each squad with players allocated to franchise teams by the competition board in conjunction with CK National Selectors and coaching staff.
Every player selected by his franchise for the match squad will be paid a match fee for each game.
CK is looking for interest in staging fixtures from the NPCA clubs and the possibility of awarding the franchise teams to interested parties. Expressions of interest can be made to the competition board via the NPCA. Hosting grounds and potential franchise holders would need to meet certain requirements in terms of home ground facilities and commitment to developing the game at junior level.
CK will provide substantial prize money for both competitions for winners, runners up and finals man of the match, player of the tournament etc.
Tom Sears
Chief Executive
Cricket Kenya
May 2011
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