Barbados wants top legacy to be ‘resurgence of cricket’
The Mia Mottley-led government has identified the “resurgence of cricket in Barbados” as the number one legacy benefit derived from the country’s hosting of the Twenty20 (T20) World Cup in June.
Contending that much of Barbados’ national development over the years has been underpinned by cricket, Chairman of the National Organising Committee (NOC), Ambassador Noel Lynch, told a media conference earlier this week that the government’s goal was to ensure the June 1-29 showpiece captured and further advanced this heritage.
Kensington Oval is poised to host nine games – five group-stage fixtures, three Super Eight secondstage matches and the grand final.
“The legacy of this World Cup will involve several variables in a very complex equation, but one thing that is important is, you can benefit from the World Cup in tourism and hospitality, investment, infrastructure security, administration, technology – you can benefit from it,” said Lynch.
“What must be the greatest legacy of this World Cup in our opinion – in Mia Mottley and her cabinet’s opinion – is there must be a resurgence of cricket in Barbados. That must be the legacy of this World Cup.”
SOCIO-CULTURAL
He continued: “The sociocultural development of Barbados was based on cricket – cricket is at the core of everything that we do and everything that we’ve ever excelled in in this country, and that’s why Mia Mottley, in her wisdom, said there must be a resurgence of cricket.”
“Cricket was the basis and the cradle for ensuring that we had other greats in other parts of our development … therefore, you will see faces and images of people that are greats from Barbados in other areas of development.
“Understand that cricket is at the core of our national development, and that’s why we’re using this platform to raise them.”
As such, Lynch said promoting former West Indies players would be at the centre of NOC’s programme during the T20 World Cup, through a ‘Greatness Campaign’, which would also involve prominent figures from other areas of development.
Any resurgence of cricket, Lynch argued, needed the involvement of these “legends and icons of cricket” who, through their achievements, had established a template of excellence for the country.
YOUNG PEOPLE
“We are staring down the barrel of a gun about how our people see cricket, particularly our young people,” said Lynch, who until earlier this year served as Barbados’ ambassador to the United States of America and Organisation of American States.
“We are in danger of a generation of people not knowing who the Right Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers is, and that would be, in my opinion, one of the greatest travesties of our social and economic development.
“Gary Sobers is not about playing cricket alone, it is about somebody coming from this 166-square-mile rock that can be the greatest in the world at any endeavour.
“Therefore, there must be a resurgence of cricket based on exposing our legends and our icons, so that Barbadians know how they are and what they have contributed individually and collectively, to our development.”