CWI cost cutting forces Scorpions changes

The Jamaica Scorpions cricket franchise officially resumed their post-COVID-19 training on Monday after more than two months of inactivity due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With their 15-man squad now contracted and finalised with the acquisition of Odean Smith and Alwyn Williams after the Cricket West Indies Professional Players Draft yesterday, Scorpions Chief Executive Officer Courtney Francis has outlined several changes brought on by the 50 per cent monetary cut implemented by CWI at the start of the month.

With immediate effect, the Scorpions have been forced to cut down the number of persons who would practise daily from 20 to four, with training time also reduced to just three hours per day, as opposed to the all-day training session of the past.

Francis says the latest move is to help in reducing the overhead, to which the franchise is obligated.

"It is a serious challenge we are facing because the franchise has some fixed cost," he said. "So when your revenue is reduced by 50 per cent, that is not to say that activities are scaled down to 50 per cent. So we have had to speak with our suppliers, such as Sabina Park Holdings, to agree on some fixed rates so that we can remain viable right through to December."

New measures

Another measure that the franchise has implemented is to allocate hydration products to players every month, as they will be responsible for their hydration during training sessions.

Francis lamented that the new measures, while not adequate, are necessary, but is optimistic that normality will soon return.

"For now, we are just preparing ourselves as best as we can," he said. "We are not sure when cricket will return, but the reality is that everybody is struggling and everything is getting cut. So it is something that might bring us back down to a level where we get more prudent and then we try to build from there as soon as things pick up, because things will not remain this way indefinitely."