By Carlena Knight
With the coronavirus continuing to force the postponement and cancellation of a number of sporting events, the latest victim to that dilemma is the Cool and Smooth T20 Explosion.
Although an official release has not been made public, Operations Manager of the event, Dario Barthley made the revelation while speaking on the Good Morning JoJo Sports Show last week.
“It’s definitely postponed. We haven’t necessarily sent out a notice as yet. We are looking at the possibility of new dates but everything is on hold for now so we have to obviously give the ABCA [Antigua Barbuda Cricket Association] time to figure out exactly what’s going on and we will liaise with them in the coming weeks on possible new dates but we have to wait and see how these things go.”
Barthley also spoke about how he is adapting in his new role in the Cricket West Indies (CWI) as Media & Content Manager for the Senior West Indies Men team. Recently, he returned from a trip to Sri Lanka with the touring West Indies team.
“It was amazing, just performing in that new role and being able to innovate and being around the team unit was really encouraging. It really puts all the work we do here in the office into prospective and I’ve been speaking to my colleagues since we got back. It just opens your eyes to what out there is like and what tour life is like and what is needed for these guys to really perform at their best because at the end of the day all of our jobs are there to support the 11 guys that end up going on to the field to represent any West Indies team and it’s given me prospective to do that a lot better and be more focused on that so I really appreciated it.”
He also paid tribute to fallen Observer reporter Carl Joseph who passed away last Saturday. Joseph worked alongside Barthley as a part of the media team for the Cool and Smooth event.
“I just want to send our condolences on behalf of myself, my family and the Cool and Smooth T20 family to all friends and family of Carl. Obviously, Carl has been someone that has been with us throughout the years and performed varying duties throughout the tournament. Carl is the only person that I have ever experienced that has gotten Amir [Hourani] to do an interview and that’s something we thought no one could pull off that he did. So we just want to say obviously thanks to him for throughout his life in supporting thee tournament and supporting us as people and condolences to all the people that would have been affected by his passing and we just hope that his soul can rest in peace.”