Whence they are this 2010 Christmas season, Clive Lloyd, former West Indies captain, Deryck Murray, his long-time deputy, and on-and-off-the-field ambassador, and prominent Trinidad & Tobago attorney, past T&T Attorney General, Wayne Smart, must be smiling, as they have had very belated cricket gifts.
The news that the West Indies Cricket Board have handed out retainer contracts to six women of the W I Women’s cricket team was very pleasing for most of us who know of the struggles that these ladies have had; music to very many Caribbean ears.
Congratulations should be given to Dr. Ernest Hilaire and the rest of WICB for its foresight and appreciation. Without much fanfare, these ladies have kept West Indies cricket’s visibility, our flag flying, over the recent past, when the men have floundered.
The founding fathers of West Indies Players Association, Lloyd and Murray, with the legal papers drawn up by Smart, must take great credit too for this situation. Back in 1977, these three set out to change the landscape and overview of West Indies cricket.
One irony of 30 years ago was that Joel Garner and me, while making our international Test debuts, against Pakistan, were two of the first three members of the then new WIPA. The other immediate member was our ‘fast bowling father’, Andy Roberts. We still are!
Nice read...