The names of every Barbadian cricketer that played a significant role for the West Indies should be inscribed and immortalised with a Walk of Fame at Kensington Oval, says businessman and Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) member Adrian ‘Smiley’ Bayley.
A longstanding Barbados and West Indies cricket supporter, Bayley who has hopes of serving on the BCA board when the election takes place in July, strongly believes that Barbados needs to honour its male and female cricketing legends.
“When you go to Kensington Oval, you would hear of Sir Garfield Sobers, the 3Ws stand, the Greenidge and Haynes stand, the Hall and Griffith stand and now the statue of Wes Hall. But there is no significant name of one of the greatest fast bowlers who was ever born by the name of Malcolm Denzil Marshall.
“This is why I am asking for a walk of fame where a person like Malcolm Marshall should be identified for all young Barbadians, cricketers who have their grandchildren and for future generations. The significant innings of 302 by Lawrence George Rowe in 1974 against England, the only triple century ever scored at Kensington Oval should be inscribed in a Walk of Fame.
“Seymour Nurse passed away three years ago, the next ten years people will forget about Seymour Nurse, so this is why some person like Seymour Nurse’s name should be inscribed in a Walk of Fame at Kensington Oval,” Bayley told Barbados TODAY.
A Barbados and West Indies cricket supporter since 1972, Bayley believes this can be used as a great way for the BCA, the Ministry of Sports led by minister Dwight Sutherland and the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport headed by Senator Lisa Cummins, to market not just the island’s cricketing icons but also the Kensington Oval facility as a major tourists attraction.
Once elected to serve on the BCA board, Bayley said what he would recommend is for the Conde Riley-led administration to have a benefit match each year for past cricketers in Barbados. He also intends to put forward a proposal for cricket clubs to bear the names of past outstanding Barbadian and West Indies cricketers.
Bayley nominated the St. Catherine’s Cricket Club ground to be renamed the Thelston Payne (wicket-keeper/batsman) and Milton Small (fast bowler) Oval. He also suggested that the Maple Club pavilion should be named after Cyrus ‘Cy’ Nurse, an excellent cricket analyst associated with the club for many years. He also suggested the ground at Maple Club be named after Ivan ‘Boo’ Best and the bowler’s ends bear the names of Chetwyn Burnham and Neil Phillips.
If Bayley gets his wish, the pavilion at Blenheim would be named after Owen Estwick, a past cricket administrator and stalwart of the Barbados Cricket League (BCL). The bowler’s ends at Blenheim, he said, should be named after former BCL spinner Noel Broomes and late West Indies fast-bowler Sylvester Clarke who first came to prominence in the BCL.
“We have to look at domestic cricket in areas where people have made great contributions and if I am elected to the board, one of the first things I would ask for the board to do . . . there is a guy by the name of Noel Broomes who would have played and served in the Barbados Cricket League. He went on to play for Barbados and work in the civil service but came down ill.
“One of the first things I will ask of the board once I am elected is that each year before the start of the cricket season, a benefit match should be held for a Barbadian cricketer who did not get to play for the West Indies. And the first name I am putting up is Noel Broomes who has represented the Barbados Cricket League in the Barbados Cricket Association domestic tournament.
“The ground at Blenheim is government-owned and there is a guy by the name of Owen Estwick who served as an administrator there and I think that the pavilion should be named after him. The bowler’s run-up should be named after Noel Broomes and Sylvester Clarke and I feel the ground should be named the Ricky Skeete Blenheim Oval,” Bayley explained. Skeete gave yeoman service to the game at the domestic and national level as a wicketkeeper/batsman.
There were also early pioneers of female cricket in Barbados and Bayley would like to see those ladies recognised for the significant contributions they have made over the years. The likes of Angela Harris, Pat Whittaker, Janet Mitchell and more recently Pamela Lavine, were trailblazers in women’s cricket in the island.
The names of these women, said Bayley, should also be inscribed in a Walk of Fame by the BCA, which he said should seek to partner with companies and other relevant stakeholders to make this a reality.
“This is what I want to see for Barbados cricket in the next three to four years going forward where we can roll out a program to recognise people who have served and given their time to local cricket in Barbados. This is the sort of passion I am looking to serve the Barbados Cricket Association if elected as a member,” Bayley said.
(morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb)
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