By Samuel Peters
“If we do not develop our young cricketers, Cool and Smooth, and so on… will suffer because nobody will be playing,” said former West Indies fast bowler, Kenneth Benjamin.
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show on Wednesday morning, the President of the Liberta Sports Club spoke to rumours being circulated that the Leeward Islands Cricket Board’s Three Day Tournament is proposed for an appointed time in July; but there are members within the sub-regional body who apparently have given consideration to the Cool and Smooth Tournament rather than the sub-region’s premier tournament.
What is more important to Antigua and Leeward Islands Cricket right now, and more importantly to West Indies Cricket, the Cool and Smooth or the Leeward Islands Three Day Tournament? That was the question that was rhetorically posed to Talk Show Host, Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Apparicio, to which he replied, “The Leeward Islands Three Day Tournament.”
The marquee tournament was last held in St Kitts and Nevis in 2023 after the absence of the competition for over five years, but no concrete date has been given as to when the next tournament will be held. In the past, the tournament was mainly utilised to discover new players and draft others for the Leeward Islands Hurricanes.
Benjamin spoke to the importance of the tournament and alluded that the tournament is a pathway that is used to help young players stay focused on the ‘next step ahead’.
Furthermore, one of the alleged impediments that have contributed to the inconsistency in the tournament’s continuity is the lack of resources or lack of sponsorship.
However, it is apparent that this has been the cry from since the playing days of the likes of Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Richie Richardson and others, and the same cry is being heard today, decades after.
Apparicio drew reference to the model employed by the Windward Islands Cricket Board and he asked why can’t the Leeward Islands Cricket Board adopt a similar model for its governing region.
Benjamin suggested that the possible reasons as to why their model has worked is that the islands in the area of the Windward Islands are much closer than those of the Leewards, and that there is the presence of a ferry service which makes transportation a lot easier for their sub-regional body.
He ended by saying that no local tournament, whether held in St Kitts or Antigua and Barbuda should be given prominence over the Leeward Island Three Day Tournament since it contributes to the development of local cricketers and is far more important than the local competitions.