Government will soon be offering the Frank Worrell Cricket Development Scholarship for University of the West Indies students interested in pursuing studies in the management or the science of cricket.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Culture, Senator Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight, has announced that the annual award will be $25,000, with a view to reaping more economic benefits from the sport.
“[It is important] that we understand that building a strong West Indies Cricket team…building again a strong legacy of what cricket has meant to the region is important to that task of nation building,” Senator Munro-Knight told the audience, during the celebrations in the Emancipation Village at Haggatt Hall, St. Michael.
The Minister also told the audience about the launch of a film project with the National Cultural Foundation on Tuesday, August 6, that will chronicle the history of the evolution of cricketing excellence in Barbados.
“It will chronicle what we have given to the world, … but it will not only do that by speaking to the stories of the greats, but it will also make sure that we understand the fundamental link between cricket and social development.
“It will allow us to understand that it is within the discipline; it is within understanding the reason why you put bat to ball that we can again encourage young men and young women across this island and across the region to take pride in that game, to take pride in that legacy; that we can encourage young men and young women across Barbados that wherever they go that they have a legacy of excellence, that they have a legacy of being winners. That film project will tell those important stories again as an important part of our nation-building task,” she said.
Senator Munro-Knight said yesterday also marked the centenary of Sir Frank Worrell “one of the greatest cricketers the world has ever seen that has come from Barbados”.
The Minister stated: “Sir Frank Worrell was born on August 1, 1924… What Sir Frank Worrell did for the world was not only his cricketing prowess. The story of Sir Frank Worrell is not only that he scored 261 runs…. He was the first black captain of the West Indies who ushered in under his leadership, between 1960 and 1963, a unified West Indies team that took over the world.”
Participants in this year’s Emancipation Walk moved off from three points as they walked towards the Emancipation Statue and laid flowers at the base.
The event, attended by government officials and representatives from the diplomatic corps, also involved a number of speeches from other government officials and representatives from civil society.