The Bedrock for the Future

What was once the best kept secret in cricket has now, apparently, become well

known to all and sundry in the cricketing fraternity. Clearly, such a secret was

not lost either on CLICO, or on All Sport Promotions, who left no one in doubt

about the importance of Under-15 cricket at the launching of the CLICO

International Under-15 Cricket Championships in February of this year.

In an issued statement, CLICO claimed that, as a socially conscious company, it

was seeking to increase its social contribution by expanding “its involvement

internationally through the ICC Under-15 World Cup.” 

Tony Harford, Marketing Director of All Sport, the organizers of the tournament,

augmented the point when he stated that, “Thanks to the vision of CLICO, the

Caribbean has a wonderful opportunity to relay a foundation for its cricket

through these championships.” 

Harford again reiterated the point in his opening remarks at the Welcome dinner

at the Accra Beach Hotel and Resort, Barbados on Thursday April 17, 2008.

At that same function, Lennox John, representative of the WICB, reminded the

guests that Under-15 cricket had been beneficial to West Indies cricket in terms

of the identification and nurturing of future players.

As examples, he mentioned the fact that Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Xavier

Marshall, Lendl Simmons and Sewnarine Chattagoon had all graduated from the

West Indies Under-15 team to the West Indies senior team.

He also encouraged the young cricketers present to grasp the opportunities to

display and improve their skills, make lasting friendships, and widen their

horizons.

Other coaches and managers at the tournament have also expressed these

sentiments. Brian Gailey, Manager of the Ireland, saw the tournament as a

“massive opportunity for (the Irish) to test themselves against the best in the

world and find out what level they were at.”

He went on to say that the invitation to this Under-15 competition was a first

step for them, and they looked forward to other invitations in the future.

Calvin Clarke, Assistant Manager to the Americas’ team, felt that the tournament

was important for the development of cricket in the region. He was of the view

that a properly organized Americas’ team would be unbeatable given the

massive pool of players from which they could draw.

However, problems such as funding and overcoming the logistical difficulties,

which hamper the fostering of an Americas’ team, have to be dealt with

effectively.

Theo Cuffy, the coach, expressed the view that, “Cricket, like technology, is

bringing the world together. Kids are the future with an opportunity to play

against teams from various continents.” 

He concluded by saying that cricket is a unifying force, a sentiment echoed by

Manzur Baksh, vice-president of CLICO Preysal Sports Club, who said that,

“Cricket was bringing the global village closer together. There have been many

failed attempts at Caribbean unification but the only true unifying force of the

Caribbean is cricket.”

Rangy Nanan, former West Indies and Trinidad and Tobago player, supported

the view that Under-15 cricket helped in the development of players. In his

opinion, the championships provided the players with an “opportunity to play

against each other and then go on to bigger things.”

He said that many friendships are formed and gave as an example the

relationship that has developed between Denesh Ramdin of the West Indies,

and Alastair Cook of England, as a result of their participation in the Under-19

World Cup in Bangladesh.

He also expressed the view that Under-15 cricket would help to identify players

who would graduate to the Under-19 and Senior West Indies teams. His advice

to the players is that they “must focus more on the game. They must want to be

successful and go further.”   

However, the final word must be left to Geoff Brewster of CLICO, who

emphasized at the welcome dinner that, “Under-15 cricket was the springboard

for the future development of West Indies cricket.”

He reiterated that, “CLICO’s primary responsibility is the development of our

region’s youth and the provision of the financial support necessary to facilitate

this development”, as demonstrated by their US$1.3 million contribution to sport

in the region.