Toppin, Drakes land Gavron awards

TWO MORE young cricketing talents of Barbados, Jafari Toppin and Jonathan Drakes, have earned Lord Gavron scholarships to further hone their educational and cricketing skills for a year in Britain.

Toppin, formerly of Garrison Secondary [now Graydon Sealy] and Drakes of the Combermere School were presented with their awards on Friday at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre with Lord and Lady Gavron taking the number of recipients to 22. Ryan Nurse was the first winner in 2001.

In an event attended by president of the Barbados Cricket Association Joel Garner and family, friends and coaches of the two young cricketers, Lord Gavron indicated that he felt that over the years the one million dollars which he had used to help Barbadian cricketers was the “best well spent money”.

Garner advised the duo that they were being given opportunities which were not available to many cricketers of his era and he and the BCA were forever in the debt of Lord Gavron for his generosity.

The BCA then made a presentation to Lord Gavron as well as Sir Trevor Carmichael, who had introduced Lord Gavron to the BCA and helped to establish the scholarship process. (KB)