Kieron Pollard's Captaincy of Barbados Cricket Team

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We present and encourage progressive Caribbean views of Caribbean and world affairs.

Mr. Kieron Pollard
We are appalled that some Barbadians are incensed that Kieron Pollard, a Trinidadian, has been selected to captain the Barbados Tridents cricket team in the Caribbean Premier League. We are even more stunned that one of the anti-Pollard voices is that of former Member of Parliament, Mr. Hamilton Lashley, whom we know to be a progressive Caribbean citizen. We hope that he withdraws his opposition as soon as possible.
We take this opportunity to support, Limacol, the sponsors/owners of the tournament. Sports in the Caribbean cannot depend exclusively on the regional governments. With scarce public funds being the norm, we are convinced that the private sector should be the main engine driving the development of sports in the region.
It will be a travesty if petty insular positions deter businesses from investing in the sports sector. Sports people need sponsorship from the small businesses in their immediate communities to the mega corporations that are present in the region. We stand firm that our region is not for sale but we see sports as an area that can be developed by the private sector without the negatives encountered in other entities.
We have no doubt that some of our best sports persons ended up destitute because they never earned a good livelihood from their talents. We are aware that Caribbean / West Indies cricketers,  improved their standard of living playing,  in the English County Leagues.   Some of our jockeys have successful careers in North America. Our footballers have played in the international leagues and this resulted in substantial earnings. At present, our athletes are mega stars on the world circuit. Our cricketers are now playing in a lucrative environment and every opportunity to exploit this must be taken.
We therefore wish Mr. Pollard all the best and believe his captaincy of Barbados is a plus for Caribbean integration.

  

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