The darling of West Indies cricket, Carl Hooper, affectionally called “Sir Carl”, will grace the grounds at Kensington Oval once again when the second edition of the rebranded CLOBI Cup World Masters Tournaments bowls off on October 30.
Former captain Hooper will form a West Indies unit that looks a potential match winner, after the romantic selections for the inaugural tournament had seen the Windies fielding a number of former greats who captured the imagination of nostalgic fans, but proved no competition for the other much fitter teams.
This time will see Curtley Ambrose and Courtney Walsh returning to spearhead a team that will include Junior Murray along with Sherwin Campbell, Floyd Reifer and Courtney Browne who are still competitive at the local Division 1 level.
The CLOBI Cup 2010 was officially launched at the Legends Barbados headquarters yesterday with a pantheon of cricketing heroes, Government officials and sponsors being part of the ceremony.
The greatest of them all, National Hero Sir Garfield Sobers and one other knight, former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Philip Greaves, attended the ceremony.
Also present were Reverend Wes Hall, Seymour Griffith, Desmond Haynes, Joel Garner, Ian Bradshaw, Cammie Smith, Rawle Brancker, Alvin Greenidge, Vasbert Drakes, Adrian Griffith and Courtney Browne, all of whom would have worn the maroon blazer.
Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy, and Minister of Youth and Sports Stephen Lashley also addressed the gathering.
Griffith, project manager of CLOBI Cup who would have opened the batting with Campbell, said attempts were made to get crowd-pullers like the Aussies to take part, but financial constraints saw the visiting teams being kept to three with defending champions England and Sri Lanka being joined by India, who replace South Africa.
He added that with the Ashes series between Austrailia and England just around the corner, many of the past greats like Matthew Hayden, Shane Warne and Glen McGrath were committed to commentary roles and could not make the second edition.
“However, we are very optimistic that Austrailia will take part in a future edition,” Griffith added.
Bradshaw, chairman of Cricket Legends of Barbados, said that Legends had enjoyed a good 2010 with the retail shop at Grantley Adams Airport, and the musuem at Fontabelle had proven to be a hit with many schoolchildren during the summer.
He added that the soon to be released DVD with all of the icons was expected to “make a significant mark on the social landscape of Barbados thereby creating a culture of leadership and excellence which is the aim of Legends of Barbados”.
Sealy applauded the Legends for staging the second CLOBI Cup since he believed that it was important that the brand be developed significantly to become the envy and hallmark for other nations.
Sealy indicated that Barbados British arrivals were dipping but that situation was rescued by the World T20 Tournament which was held this year in the West Indies.
Minister Lashley pointed out that it was the Legends who had conceptualised the tournament and while praising them for their vision which could only redound to the benefits of the country and the region, he challenged other local sporting bodies to follow suit and get on board with working with the Government in pushing Barbados forward in the international sports arenas.
“The commitment by the Legends in putting their shoulders to the plough and by walking the walk; their foresight in staging coaching clinics connects with the vision of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and should be praised and encouraged,” Lashley stated.
This year’s tournament will be played on Saturday, October 30, Sunday, October 31, Wednesday, November 3, and finals day Friday, November 5. Two matches will be played each day, with the game being played at 4 p.m. and the second game starting at 8 p.m.
