THE who’s who of local cricket were in attendance at the Cricket Legends of Barbados on Thursday night as they celebrated the life and illustrious career of Malcolm Marshall.
In a precursor to the Independence Day Malcolm Marshall Cricket Festival which is scheduled to take place at the Desmond Haynes Oval in Black Rock, friends and family of the former Barbados and West Indies great paid tribute during a thanksgiving dinner for Marshall.
The event was patronised by legends such as Sir Everton Weekes and Seymour Nurse, and also saw officials such as Senior Coach Adrian Donovan and Chairman Seibert Straughn of the National Sports Council coming out to celebrate the life of Marshall.
During his tribute to the late right-arm fast bowler and good friend, President of the Barbados Cricket Association Joel Garner spoke to the realness of Marshall’s personality, stating that he was a great person to have in one’s corner.
“For me to describe Malcolm in a simple way, is to say that when you saw Malcolm Marshall, you saw a genuine human being. I don’t care what is written, how many things people say. When you got the opportunity to meet him, to talk to him and to be with him, you understood that you had a friend. And when I say a friend, not a today and friend and not an all-weather friend – one who is with you through thick and thin, who always rose to any challenge that was thrown down.”
Citing the fact that the two share the bowling ends at the historic Kensington Oval, Garner went on to mention that Marshall’s way of thinking was one that he believes should be employed by today’s players.
“Some of the things that were really outstanding about Malcolm is that if you talked to him he was always thirsty for knowledge. And when I say thirsty for knowledge, he always wanted to find out about cricketers. He always wanted to find out how to bowl at people, how to get them out, how to work them out; and he always looked at ways and means of improving himself. … I think that even when he was at the point of retirement, he was still learning and I believe it would do the younger players a lot of good to understand and to really think about cricket in the way that he did,” Garner added.
Two young up-and-coming cricketers were given a helping hand towards the further development of their craft by sponsor of the event and organiser of the tournament, Mark Gaskin. Combermere’s Chad Williams and Coleridge and Parry’s Hasani Newton were both chosen to receive 0 in cash, 0 in gear and a ticket to Trinidad to see the West Indies play against Australia next year.
The festival, which gets under way on Independence Day, promises to be a fun-filled day for all and sundry with four teams going head-to-head for glory.
The defending champions, Empire, are expected to fare well in the second game at 11:30 a.m. and has been dubbed ‘The Cracker’ as they will be coming up against a strong-looking G-Spot XI which will be boasting names such as Collis King, Kirk Edwards, Dwayne Smith, Sulieman Benn and son of the honouree, Mali Marshall.
The 9:00 a.m. game will be between Lee’s Bistro and a Romel Currency-led UWI. (MP)
(Source http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/newsitem.asp?more=sports&NewsID=21168)
