The Fyre Festival of cricket: Warner among 16 Australians left in lurch as Caymans league collapses

David Warner is among 16 Australian cricketers caught up in the collapse of a T10 league in the Cayman Islands, after players refused to take the field due to non-payment.

Warner and the other players have been left fuming by the turn of events, which started with individual players refusing to play in games before entire teams began to take strike action.

David Warner is still playing white-ball cricket around the world, and is the Sydney Thunder captain when he’s playing in the Big Bash League.Credit: Getty Images

“It’s very disappointing, what’s happened,” Warner told this masthead from Miami, where numerous players are in transit home from the failed league.

Angry and disillusioned players in the Cayman Islands have compared the event to the infamous Fyre Festival in 2017, which left “luxury festival” goers stranded in the Bahamas.

After attempts over several days for players to have their contracts paid, the Australian and global players’ associations are now exploring legal action against tournament organisers BMP Sports, which calls itself a “professional franchise cricket agency” and is based in the UAE.

“It’s good that the players took a stance over there because this has happened too much in cricket,” Australian Cricketers’ Association chief executive Paul Marsh said. “This is a signal that these are the types of actions players will take if they’re not paid.

“There have been letters exchanged about the lack of payment and putting organisers on notice, and the players have been communicating consistently with us, and it’s got to where it is now off the back of trying every avenue to get the players’ contracts honoured, and it’s got to a point where it hasn’t been resolved, so the players were not going to keep turning up and playing.

“A lot of the contracts will say they need to pay 50 per cent before the tournament starts ... but that’s a signal that if you’re not getting paid before you get on a plane the players won’t play. It’s not good for the sport when an event ends up in this position, so there needs to be stronger regulation around these types of things, and the sanctioning process. We will obviously explore legal options as well.”

Players have been advised to concentrate on getting their return flights booked and paid for by the league, but one player – speaking anonymously – said they had to pay for their own flights and accommodation to get out of the Cayman Islands.

Warner’s former Test opening partner Joe Burns, former Australian white-ball seamer Andrew Tye and domestic cricketers including Josh Brown, Ben Manenti and Jordan Silk are some of the Australian cricketers who were contracted to the Max 60 T10 league. It was played for the first time last year, and raised some eyebrows at the time.

“I absolutely love it. The venue is fantastic. I think it’s great, we talk about entertainment and that’s exactly what this format brings, a lot of fours and sixes, but also you are going to see some high skill from bowlers,” Warner said in a quote on the BMP Sports website after the first edition.

Ben Manenti and David Warner.Credit: @davidwarner31 / Instagram

West Indian Carlos Brathwaite, another high-profile participant in the tournament, had said about the first event: “Playing T10 cricket in the Cayman Islands has been like hitting sixes in paradise, with the sun, sea, and spirited competition making it a true cricketing haven.”

Contracted players had been entitled to be paid 50 per cent of their fees 30 days before the start of the tournament, and then the other 50 per cent to be paid within 15 days of the event’s conclusion.

After players began to take issue with their non-payment, the tournament cancelled all games due to take place on Wednesday morning (Australian time) citing “off-field issues” in an Instagram post that has since been deleted.

The tournament was then described as concluding with a “runner-up play-off” between Grand Cayman Falcons and Vegas Vikings.

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