Sandals scored big time with first ever Cricket Cup

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he top teams and outstanding cricketers in the inaugural Sandals Under 19 Cricket Cup, were honored at a prize giving ceremony Monday afternoon at Sandals Halcyon.

As expected several officials were on hand at Sandals for the occasion, including Managing Director, Sandals St Lucia, Winston Anderson; Regional Public Relations Manager, Sandals Resorts International, Sunil Ramdeen; who were seated at the head table along with President of the St Lucia National Cricket Association (SLNCA), Julian Charles and the guest of honor former West Indies Cricket Captain, Daren Sammy. Well known Cricket Commentator and Sports Personality, Joseph “Reds” Perreira was the MC.

In welcoming everyone, Ramdeen made special mention of the winning Coach Alton Crafton and praised him for guiding undefeated Gros Islet to the title.

Ramdeen spoke about Sandals and their association with the SLNCA. He said: “We are very proud to be here today. It’s the latest leg of our journey with the St Lucia National Cricket Association and it has been a long journey. Many of you young men here would have passed through the Sandals Cricket Academy which has gone on for a long, long, time, thanks to former PR Director, Dominic Fedee. Reds Perreira was part of that and so many others who worked hard to set up the Sandals Cricket Academy. This is the next evolution of our investment in terms of the development of cricket here in St Lucia. We are very proud of the way this tournament has turned out.”

Ramdeen feels the investment by Sandals into the young cricketers has paid off big time. “I am very proud to say that we are really, really thrilled with the way the tournament has turned out,” he said. “We think it has been a tremendously successful first year. We are looking forward to the years to come. We have two years left but of course the way the tournament has gone, that may very well grow to be a much longer sponsorship.”

In delivering the feature address, Sammy looked around at several familiar faces. Having spoken to them on numerous occasions about what it takes to become a great cricketer, he admitted being lost for words as to what else to tell them. There is the danger when hearing the same old story from the same deliverer, you’re likely to tune out. But like the true champion he is, Sammy found a way to enlighten the youngsters with words of wisdom through his own experiences on and off the cricket pitch.

With the talented group of young cricketers seated in front of him, Sammy told them, “You guys are the future. Who will be the next person to make St Lucians stay up late at night cheering? How many of you would like that and how many of you are willing to put in the time and effort and sacrifice to go out there and get that done.”

In closing, Sammy thanked Sandals for coming on board by way of the tournament and told the cricketers who aspire to be great to “work hard, make their parents proud and change the lives of your family because cricket has that in it. It has the ability to change your life for the better.”

No doubt about it, this two time cricket world champion is living proof of that.

Speaking on behalf of the SLNCA, Charles mentioned that with the assistance of Ramdeen and Brian Calixte they went through the planning stages for the tournament and “felt good to see that it was executed in such a magnificent fashion.”

Well almost! He said: “The only slight regret we had is that we wanted to have 14 teams. We got 10 but next year we are definitely aiming to have at least 14 teams in the competition.”

Charles pointed out that many of the young cricketers have dreams and aspirations to play at the very top and said: “Just having you here is not good enough. We have to make sure we establish well run academies. The academy that Alton and John Eugene run are very good, this is more or less a blue print but we need something bigger, something government backed and this is what we have been trying to speak about the last couple of years. We need to have our best players on the island working out and playing proper cricket, learning all the virtues of life about honesty, integrity and all the basics.”

Having said that, the SLNCA President referred to American writer and lecturer Dale Carnegie and focused on one of his topics “How to make People Like You” which he feels is critical not only to cricketers but to people in general.”

Appropriately, as Managing Director of Sandals St Lucia, Anderson had the final say. He praised Gros Islet for going through the competition unbeaten and said: “It speaks volumes knowing that the competition was a tough one with some excellent teams and players. This no doubt augurs well for the youth and more so for the future of West Indies Cricket.”

Anderson highlighted the fact that Sandals is acutely aware that sports in this case cricket, is a power vehicle for our young stars to shine.

He mentioned that this year Sandals wanted to do something with a broader appeal and impact the same way Sandals has supported the Tiger Tennis Program, Trevor Daniel Football Camp and the young golfers program.

He remarked: “Such initiatives emphasize youth empowerment through education, discipline and dedication for sportsmen both on and off the field.”

Turning his attention to West Indies cricket, the fact that West Indies in recent times have not been dominated as before, Anderson feels there is a silver lining. He recalled that a survey which was done some time ago found that the three most powerful and well-known brands out of the Caribbean were, the late Bob Marley, West Indies Cricket and Sandals International.

That gave him cause to say, “So when two of the super brands get together, West Indies cricket and Sandals we are sure that something special will happen.”

He might be right! It should be noted that Sandals Resorts recently became team sponsor of the West Indies.

Following are recipients of awards. MVP of the Quarter Finals: Rahym Joseph, Central Castries; Gavin Serieux, Gros Islet; Quain Henry, Babonneau; Emmerson Charles, South Castries.

MVP of the Semifinals. Dane Edward, Gros Islet; Akeem Auguste, Babonneau.

MVP of the Finals, Simeon Gerson, Gros Islet; Most Runs in the Tournament, Kimani Melius, Gros Islet; Most Wickets, Simeon Gerson; MVP of the Tournament, Simeon Gerson.