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Use Lara's success to upgrade facilities
Posted: Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Posted by: Ian W Smith
Well Lara has done it again. Over the next few days stopping short of the weekend one dayers he would be feted with vengeance throughout the country. My only regret is that I am not in TnT at this time to enjoy the moment. Nevertheless I have one concern that I feel I must make be aired as soon as possible so that Mr. Lara and the Godfather Prime Minister Patrick Manning could address before things come back to normal.
I speak of the problem of facilities for cricket in TnT.
True fans would remember how Lara waded into his club Queens Park, for the minimal facilities for practice right there at the oval. Many of us were shocked because the oval remains one of the best grounds in the Caribbean and facilities there are better than most of the other traditional venues. As far as I know not much has changed since last year. Why not a grant to Queens Park to develop their facilities, it could be done in the name of Lara.
Secondly, I do not know why we need to build a cricket stadium in Santa Cruz and another in Marabella a town that really cannot sustain any influx of people. What I would have done is attack the game at its root. That is in the communities, I would have said $40-50 million to dig up all the matting wickets in the country, then I would say that under supervision of those in the know, CEPEP workers would plant turf wicket on the grounds and develop net centers their too. No longer would Ganga and Bravo have to play club cricket on matting and then turn to national duty on turf. Now also, every youngster who picks up a bat would stand a better chance because there would be no transition to the different surfaces. Of course I would name this the Brian Lara cricket development scheme. Then I would give him the other perks. But first would have been community facilities we need better.
I sincerely hope there is still time we must use Brian Lara's genius not to enrich the stated one, he is already well paid in US dollars et al, but to empower our troubled youngsters. Jack Warner has already created a number of white elephants around the nation, we don't need any more. What we need are better facilities not big stadiums.
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