Powell mulls expanding cricket festival to embrace young talent
DAREN Powell, lead organiser of the recent Legends cricket festival at Treasure Beach Sports Park, says he wants to make it a calendar event, with the development of young players forming an important part of the activities.
On January 15 thousands turned up at the venue in coastal St Elizabeth to watch legendary former West Indies players Brian Lara and Chris Gayle captain opposing teams in the feature game.
In the day’s opening exhibition game a Manchester All-stars team took on its St Elizabeth counterparts.
“I must commend Chris and Brian for turning up and making this event what it was. It’s a great experience and I wish this could happen [again] in the near future,” Powell, the former West Indies and Jamaica fast bowler, told journalists at the end of the second game.
He said further staging of the festival — which was organised with major support coming from Treasure Beach hoteliers, community leaders, and other partners — will require even greater support.
“I’m looking forward to next year… I’m looking down that road. People are talking about doing it annually — that is a very good idea — but at the same time we have to look at resources, sponsorship and things like that,” he said.
“The sky is the limit. It might turn out to be not just legends playing in the afternoon but good, competitive cricket for youngsters who want to showcase their talent for [possible selection to] the national programme.
“I believe this is a valuable product. I want to do a cricket clinic — like a day or two before the actual game the next time around — because I still have the youth in my focus and I want to see West Indies cricket grow,” Powell, 44, explained.
Underpinning their commitment, both Lara and Gayle expressed interest in returning to Treasure Beach for future iterations.
“I really did enjoy the day and I’m really looking forward to coming back,” Lara, who scored 11,953 runs in 131 Tests between 1990 and 2006, said immediately after the exhibition game.
The retired, legendary, Trinidadian left-hander added: “…to see the turnout was spectacular, it looks like the entire parish came out”.
Gayle, who was also impressed by the spectator support, said he wants to invite fellow iconic former West Indies player Dwayne Bravo, among others, to such events in the future.
“I haven’t seen this [size] crowd in a long time, especially here in Jamaica,” the Jamaican left-hand opener who blasted 7,214 runs in 103 Test matches said.
“We have more games planned here, and I’ll try to bring DJ Bravo and a few more international players.”
Powell noted that the headline acts are integral, not only because they are the ultimate crowd-puller but also due to the motivation their presence offers to aspiring young cricketers.
“It’s a big boost, it is encouraging. I see a lot of youngsters [have] come out to get autographs and photos, mingling with the legends — it will always encourage you.
“When I was young and among West Indies and Jamaica players it was another push for me to train harder. I see these youngsters asking when they are going to play so it’s very encouraging for me,” he reiterated while expressing gratitude to all the parties who supported the initiative.
“People love cricket — look at what happened with Brian and Gayle. People want to see them because of the legacy that they have, and we wish for the youngsters now to follow suit. It’s for me to work with my team and see if we can funnel something prosperous for them
“It was a big crowd and I must say thank you to supporters, and next year we want to tweak some things and make it an even bigger event,” Powell ended.