West Indies face Zimbabwe blackout

West Indian fans may not see or hear a ball on the tour of Zimbabwe. Two days before the start of the five-match one-day series, uncertainty surrounds live television coverage and no radio commentary appears to be available.

SportsMax, the Jamaica cable company that holds television rights for West Indies overseas tours, is trying to finalise last-minute arrangements to facilitate the broadcast, and managing director Oliver McIntosh said yesterday a decision would be made today. In his estimation, it stood at a "50-50" chance that the matches would be shown on their channel which is beamed to 18 islands across the Caribbean.

"The issue that we faced is extremely short notice. If we carry it, it will be more for content and less for commercial purposes. It is essentially a cost to carry it," McIntosh told the Nation from his office in Kingston. "There are also issues picking up signals from Zimbabwe that we've experienced in the past and we're trying to make sure that if we do carry it, there are no issues. The video satellite and link-up is not as easy from Zimbabwe as it is from say Australia or South Africa."

While the tour of Zimbabwe was always part of the ICC's calendar, there were doubts over whether it would have proceeded on the grounds of safety, security and food integrity in the African nation. The West Indies Cricket Board finally provided confirmation of the tour on November 6 when it also said it would continue to monitor the situation in Zimbabwe.

"It's about 50-50. The problem is the lateness of the tour," McIntosh said. "The announcement of it was very late. It is tough. We already have our content and spending set for the year. This is a cost venture."

Radio coverage also seems a no-no for the tour in which the other matches against Zimbabwe are on December 2, 5, 7 and 9.

Caribbean Media Corporation CricketPlus producer Adriel Richard said itwas not in a position to provide coverage because it does not hold rights for either radio or television.

While uncertainty hinges on the Zimbabwe tour, SportsMax will carry live television coverage of the West Indies' tour of South Africa that includes three Tests and five ODIs from December 26 to February 3, while CMC will also have live ball-by-ball radio coverage from the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation.