Trinbago Knight Riders’ quest for their second successive Caribbean Premier League (CPL) triumph was handed an unwanted distraction with reports confirming that the team’s left-handed opening batsman and part-time wicketkeeper William Perkins has been suspended with immediate effect from the CPL after he was found guilty of handing over his players’ access pass to a third party – a serious breach of the ICC’s player contract.
Having featured in only four matches in the competition so far, scoring 75 runs at a less than impressive average of 18.75, Perkins was far from being a guaranteed starter for the second playoff match in Basseterre on Thursday which will see Knight Riders facing off against St Lucia Zouks.
However, having scored an unbeaten half-century for Trinidad and Tobago in the 2008 final of the now-defunct Stanford 20/20 competition, Perkins might have been hoping to at least relive the experience of the latter stages of a premier T20 competition from the sidelines, but with the suspension coming into effect on an immediate basis, he will not be allowed into the players' dressing room as his teammates fight out for a spot in the final on Thursday night.
The incident in question happened on Sunday during the clash between Knight Riders and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots played at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Lauderhill. Perkins, opening the innings for his side alongside South Africa’s Hashim Amla, made a 24-ball 29 which gave the likes of Brendon McCullum and Denesh Ramdin the platform to finish off the chase of 137 - something they managed with eight wickets in hand.
However, during the match, the CPL security team and Richard Reynols, the ICC Anti-Corruption Manager, during a random search operation conducted at the venue as part of its rigorous drive against corruption, obtained Perkin’s Player/Match Official Access pass from a third party.
The charge may not seem that serious at first sight but with the ICC continuously making it a point to educate the players about the perils of match-fixing and spot-fixing, the CPL was left with no other alternative than to take action against the 29-year-old.
The breach of the ICC's Minimum Standards for Players and clauses 10.1.1 and 10.1.2 of the player contract was accepted by Perkins who has been handed suspension from the remainder of the current CPL campaign as the immediate punishment.
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