“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” – Philippians 4:13
While it is true that the majority of my writing over the past 31 plus years has been related to systems development, entrepreneurship, management consulting, the business of business, and occasionally, personal or family matters, the topic of West Indies cricket has commanded the spotlight on several occasions. The sport has been one of my life’s true loves and has given me great joy and satisfaction both on and off the field.
This final column in the series of four presents random residual (off the field of play) memories from my world of cricket.
In 1993 I attended a Rotary International Convention in Melbourne, Australia. A tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground was organized by the International Fellowship of Cricket Loving Rotarians. Nothing can match the tradition and heritage of the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground! The highlight of my visit was sitting in the Captain’s chair in the visiting team’s dressing room, the same space which many West Indian heroes had occupied over the years.
In 2005, Allen Chastanet (later Prime Minister of St. Lucia) authored a plan entitled “The West Indies Cricket Club”, which Gregg Truman, my son Bevan and I had the opportunity to discuss. Its mission statement was “to offer premium cricket information and collateral that enables our club to become the preeminent gathering place for West Indies Cricket supporters around the globe.” Unfortunately, it was never executed.
During my recent sojourn in Trinidad, I was invited to join the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Committee (SFWMC) (2014 to 2020) by Ainsworth “Aussi” Harewood, its chairman, who succeeded the late Audley Walker, a Barbadian. Incidentally, Ainsworth was a former T&T Central Bank Governor, and along with E.H.C. “Teddy” Griffith, Professor Baldwin Mootoo and myself, is one of the four surviving members of the UWI Mona 1960/61 Senior Cup cricket team. We played with Sir Frank.
Two highlights of the committee’s activities were organizing the grand 2018 celebration of the 50th anniversary of the death of Sir Frank and raising funds to support research for his biography, “Son of Grace,” by journalist Vaneisa Baksh, which was published in 2024.
The late Sir Everton Weekes, my schoolboy cricket coach, was the featured speaker at the 2018 celebration. I had the privilege of fetching him from Barbados on behalf of the SFWMC, settling him into his hotel, escorting him to the event in Trinidad, introducing him to the audience, and getting him safely back home.
In my introduction, I quipped that I was sorry that I did not make the West Indies cricket team after his coaching endeavours, to which he responded that his coaching strategy was to develop the whole individual. That was my last interaction with Sir Everton, who died two years later at the age of 95.
I interacted once more with Sir Wes Hall in 2006. This time in his role as the Chairman of a group of Barbadian cricketers who had played cricket for the West Indies. I was selected to facilitate a strategic visioning retreat to establish an organization called the Cricket Legends of Barbados. It was an honor to work with this august group of cricketers and it gives me great pleasure to note that the organization is very much alive and well today.
In 2007 Bevan and I visited my other son, Kevin, who was resident in Dubai at the time. We took the opportunity to tour the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) headquarters and were proud to say we hailed from Barbados, the homeland of Sir Clyde Walcott, who succeeded the late Sir Colin Cowdrey (an Englishman) in 1993 as the second chairman of the ICC.
I am also proud to have been associated with Alison Saunders-Franklyn’s 2007 film “Hit For Six!” where I had a cameo appearance.
In 2009, I was project manager of the Caribbean Enterprise Development Trust. The late James Corbin was one of the entrepreneurs shepherded through that project. He presented his Eezee Kricket board game, which is an innovative, exciting and challenging board game that is intended to improve one’s knowledge of the sport and ignite West Indians’ passion.
While cricket is an ever-present theme in my life journey, let us take our guard again and enjoy the festive season. Happy Christmas!
(Dr. Basil Springer GCM is a corporate governance adviser. His email address is basilgf@marketplaceexcellence.com. His columns may be found at