Bridgetown, Barbados - Presentation by Stephen Lashley - the Minister Sports in Barbados at the launch of the West Indies Retired Players Foundation.
Over the years, if there was a single tread uniting the Caribbean islands or this region of the world, it would be West Indies Cricket. It is generally accepted that the West Indies players of yesteryear are undoubtedly some of the best in the world, a key factor to our past successes and in my view the bedrock upon which our future successes rest.
It is therefore a pleasure to join you this evening for the launch of the West Indies Retired Players Foundation, a body through which we can recognize and utilize our cricketing greats, and in a manner befitting their status.
On behalf of the Government and people of Barbados, I extend warm greetings to the local, regional and international cricketing community, but especially to you who are present here tonight. I also extend a very special welcome to our visiting friends who have joined us for this auspicious occasion.
As a demonstration of the high esteem in which you are held, this launch is being hosted to coincide with your presence here in Barbados. In this regard, I wish to commend the organizers for the timeliness of this event.
It is also a tribute to the fact that Barbados has one of the most active "Legends" group in cricket.
Let me pause at this time to congratulate the West Indies Cricket Board and the West Indies Players Association on the formation of the West Indies Retired Players Foundation. This is an excellent initiative, as it provides a method of preserving the rich heritage of outstanding cricket prowess for which our Legends are renowned.
I have always been concerned about the fact that the abundance of expertise and experience of our former cricketing greats were under-utilised. I am therefore pleased to not only endorse this initiative but to pledge the support of my Ministry.
I am aware that your immediate mandate is to enhance the development of West Indies Cricket, through closer collaborations between the players past and present; and with view of increasing the skills and knowledge transfers.
I believe that there is also an excellent opportunity presented to expand the scope of the Foundation and to enable the Legends to be more visible and accessible at the level of the community. You can in fact be mentors and role models for our youth, as another way of passing your mittens to our future generations of cricketers.
I would encourage all of our sporting disciplines to emulate this gesture coming to us in the form of a Foundation; and to embrace the invaluable resource of our outstanding retired athletes. Their experiences on and off the field of play can only augur well for the development of our sports.
I now take this opportunity to salute one of the best cricketers the world has ever seen - Mr Jacques Kallis, former South African All Rounder and Cricket Legend; and our very own, His Excellency, Sir Garfield Sobers, National Hero of Barbados, renowned all-rounder and Cricket Legend who are approaching the milestone of the 60th Anniversary of their debut into test cricket.
I am sure we all agree that there are no words that can adequately describe the contribution of these gentlemen to the game of cricket. Mr. Jacques Kallis, Sir Garfield Sobers, we salute you for your invaluable contribution to cricket and to sports, over the past sixty (60) years.
Forgive me for singling out Sir Gary, a legend in his own time who continues to epitomize all that is positive, pure and decent about sports. It was in March, 1954, exactly 12 years before his country a Barbados would have attained independence.
In Barbados we revere him and continue to salute him as our only living National Hero. He simply deserves every accolade that is showered upon him.
At this point, I would normally wish retirees a happy and a peaceful retirement. On this occasion however, I wish to welcome our retirees back to the field of play and I look forward to partnering with the WIRPF to secure the future of our cricket.
Once again, congratulations to the West Indies Retired Players Foundation and the wider cricket fraternity. May God continue to richly bless you! I thank you.