Expect 2013 to see an even stronger relationship between the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) and the Barbados Cricket League (BCL) to further develop cricket.
That assurance came from long-serving BCL president Glyne St Hill and BCA chief executive officer Michael Browne during the annual BCL awards ceremony Thursday night.
In delivering the feature address, Browne complimented the BCL on its 75 years of producing many cricketing stars and pledged to form two pillars with the BCA to work harder to further develop cricket.
Earlier, St Hill said the BCL would restructure the team’s participation in the BCA’s competition since it was creating tremendous financial hardship for the organization.
The BCL boss said the new year could see the implementation of two-day cricket for the clubs who were keen on the idea and they would form an Under-25 team in the Super League to feed the BCL team which competes in the BCA competition.
St Hill lamented the poor response of clubs in furnishing records so that the BCL could prepare reports and make awards to the right individuals.
That point was also picked up by Browne, who asked: “How are we going to improve our cricket if we are not charting their performances?
“If you want to attract sponsorship, the brand must be attractive. If we are not growing strong clubs, we are not going to grow strong players.”
Pointing to the success of the recent BCL limited-overs final in which Newbery Province defeated T&E Maycock Lodge Road, both Browne and St Hill stated that the synergies which evolved from that first-time event that was branded as a Day of Finals would be replicated with future BCL competitions to be held at Kensington Oval.
Many of the sponsors attended the event, with Sharon Carew-White, of CO Williams, Jackie Marshall-Clarke, of BL&P, Mark Worme, of BRC West Indies Limited, Calvin Alkins, of Calvin Alkins Customs Brokers Services, and Rollins Howard, of the BCA, being part of the ceremony.
Two of the heroes of the night were Dave Clarke, who was the BCL’s Division 1 player with the most runs (370) and the most wickets (40), while Terry Pilgrim, who slammed over 600 runs for Cupid Cavaliers, was the 2011 BCL Player Of The Year.
Pilgrim joined the likes of Seymour Nurse and Tony Reifer in scoring three successive centuries.
The Transport Board also picked up several awards. (KB)
