Barbados Cricket Association article.
Bridgetown, Barbados - In a dramatic twist, CGI Maple are now the new champions of the 2013 BCA LIME Elite division after winning a protest over an unsuitable pitch for their fourth series match against Carlton, who have now been relegated instead of Barbados Defence Force Sports Programme (BDFSP).
The outcome means that joy for Sagicor Life UWI in claiming what would have been a record-equalling fifth consecutive title last Sunday after ironically beating BDFSP by nine wickets at Paragon on the final day of the season, has been short-lived.
Maple were awarded the full 20 points for winning their protest and, therefore, finished with 111 points in the ten-team championship, leaving UWI in second position on 102 points.
And Carlton had all of their points earned against Maple taken away as they crashed to 49 points, which placed them rock-bottom - two points less than Guardian General Barbados Youth who have the luxury of exemption from demotion.
BDFSP earned 56 points.
As fate would have it in the Carlton-Maple clash, the pitch at Desmond Haynes Oval came under the microscope on the second day after Carlton, who won the toss, had scored 311 for nine off 75 overs on the opening day.
Carlton then declared at the same score on the second day when play did not start before 3 p.m. because of a "damp pitch".
Maple closed on 132 for five off 48.1 overs and were eventually bowled out for 234 off 83.3 overs (they were 207 for eight after 75 overs - the cut off point for awarding batting and bowling points) on the third and final day of what turned out to be a draw with Carlton scoring 129 for six in their second innings.
The points then awarded were ten for Carlton and seven for the Renaldo Parris-led Maple.
In a release this evening, the BCA noted that "the Complaints & Disputes Committee examined the evidence placed before it and found that Carlton breached the Special Conditions and Regulations of Play in providing a pitch which was unsuitable for play".
"The protest by Maple has therefore been upheld and the Committee has ruled that Carlton must forfeit the match and receive zero points and Maple be awarded full points (20)."
The umpires were Earl Collymore and Tunley Franklyn with Waide Bascombe as match referee.
It would be only the second title success for Maple in the island's top domestic championship. They tasted silverware in 1992 under the captaincy of Pedro Agard, who is still a key member of the team at the age of 43 and now president of the Trents, St. James club.
There is still, however, an outstanding arbitration involving ICBL Empire and Carlton relating to a controversial Series 1 match which was abandoned on the second day at Desmond Haynes Oval.
Empire ended third on 96 points and can mathematically move to 113 points if they are awarded full points for the match.
The opening series started May 4 but play - apart from the Carlton-Empire match which both teams asked to remain on the original dates - was rescheduled from May 11 and 12 to September 28 and 29 because of the regional first-class final between Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago at Kensington Oval.
The BCA today also released decisions on two other complaints lodged by clubs and officials.
LIME won their protest against Super Centre Spartan, who were unable to provide a new ball for the start of the second innings on the first day of a ninth series Elite division match at Queen's Park, while new Division 1 champions CounterPoint Wanderers had their case against Police citing the pitch and facilities not being in a state of readiness for an eighth round match at Weymouth dismissed.
In relation to the match at Queen's Park, the BCA stated that "after hearing the evidence from both teams as well as the Umpires, the Committee found that Spartan was in breach of Law 5.3 and thus constituted a refusal to play within the meaning of Regulation 12".
"The Committee has therefore awarded the match and full points (20) to LIME and Spartan will lose the game but retain the points (7) which they had earned in the first innings."
With reference to the match at Weymouth, it was revealed that "Wanderers protested that Police did not have the pitch and facilities in a state of readiness for play on August 31 and September 1, 2013, the second and third days of the match respectively".
"The Committee entertained evidence from representatives of the two teams as well as the Umpires and Match Referee and found that even though there had been some damage done to the field, apparently by motor vehicles, the amount of rain which had fallen had caused the field to be water-logged to such an extent that no play would have been possible.
"The Committee has therefore dismissed the complaint and the status quo of the match at the end of the first day remains - ie Wanderers 1 match point; Police 2 bowling points, 1 match point."