da apostaganha： To say that the young cricketers on the Barbados Under-13 cricket teamare delighted to be heading of to England today would be a hugeunderstatement
Philip Spooner12-Aug-2001To say that the young cricketers on the Barbados Under-13 cricket teamare delighted to be heading of to England today would be a hugeunderstatement.The 25 youngsters are "on top of the world" in anticipation of thetour, which features 18 matches in a packed itinerary from August 12to September 1.The party has swelled to 40 – with family members, well-wishers andadministrators joining the players and team officials on the trip.Herein lies the future of Barbados’ cricket, said tour manager andveteran sports administrator Adrian Donovan."Cricket in Barbados was on the way down and we realised something hadto be done about it," said the senior administrator of the NationalSports Council.He said the format and idea for such a team came two years ago at apresentation ceremony of the Herman Griffith Primary Schools’Competition.The tour in many ways is a tribute to former Barbados and West Indiesfast bowling great Malcolm Marshall.Former West Indies batting greats Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes,former teammates and close friends of "Maco", were roped into theprogramme when they returned from overseas to work with the Gems ofBarbados Project.Joel Garner, the former pace partner of Marshall, is also workingclosely with the juniors and will accompany them."We felt when Gordon and Desmond came back they were the idealpersons. They readily came aboard and have been of great help,"Donovan said.He also hailed the efforts of coaches Thelston Payne, Milton Small,George Linton and Richard Straker, who all played with Marshall forBarbados."Exposure is the main goal, also the opportunity to play underdifferent conditions," said Donovan."These lads are seen as the most talented crop of cricketers for awhile."They were harnessed from very early and they are showing attributesof dynamism – eating, sleeping and drinking cricket."They are students of the game, a lot like Marshall was. They arereally studying their art," he added."It’s not only about cricket either. It is also about maintaininggrades in school, and this group has been doing well. Here we have awonderful mix between academics and sports."The manager added that the trip is costing over $120 000 and hepraised the efforts of parents, and thanked corporate Barbados fortheir support.It was 13 years ago when Marshall took a record 35 wickets in fiveTests in England at the amazing average of 12.65 per wicket.If we look ahead another 13 years it would be unrealistic to expectall the young players embarking on this tour to emerge as West IndiesTest cricketers of the future.But somewhere in there, a young Marshall is waiting for his chance toblossom in what is turning out to be a sunny, Caribbean-style summerin England.That would surely make "Maco" smile from beyond the grave.