Senator Maxine McClean speaking to the media about ‘Sir Garry: 80 Not Out Season of Celebration’. To her left, President of the Barbados Cricket Association, Joel Garner; Alison Sealy-Smith, representative of the NCF; Alex Tasker, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development ICBL and Neville Boxill, Senior Director Support Services of Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.
Big celebrations for Sir Garry’s 80th birthday
CRICKET lovers will get the opportunity to see some of their favourite celebrity players in action at the crease, while at the same time paying tribute to the one who has been dubbed the ‘the Greatest Cricketer on Earth or Mars’ – The Rt. Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers.
This highly anticipated match is one of a number of events to be held during the ‘Sir Garry: 80 Not Out Season of Celebration’, which will take place from July 3rd to July 31st.
The 50th Anniversary of Independence Celebrations Secretariat, the Sir Garry at 80 Committee and the Sir Garfield Sobers International Cricket Tournament Committee, have joined forces to recognise and pay tribute to the cricket icon on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
These three committees have come together to stage the celebration, which will begin with the Sir Garfield Sobers Internationals Schools’ Cricket Tournament, from July 3rd to July 20th.
The Celebrity Cricket match will take place on July 28th, which is Sir Garry’s birthday, at Kensington Oval, followed by a Gala Reception, entitled an ‘Evening with Sir Garry’, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, on Friday, July 29th. The celebration climaxes with an Invitational Golf Tournament at the prestigious Sandy Lane Golf and Country Club on Sunday July 31st.
The cricket match will bring together several past and present cricketing celebrities from Barbados, the region, as well as representatives from each of the major cricket playing countries. Some of those already confirmed include regional and international legends, like Brian Lara, Carl Hooper, Courtney Walsh and Curtley Ambrose, just to name a few. There will also be Barbadian legends, such as Collis King, Sherwin Campbell and Philo Wallace.
The match will take the T20 format and will start at 7.30 p.m, following an opening ceremony, which will commence at 6.30 p.m.
Sir Vivian Richards and Sir Clyde Lloyd have been confirmed as the managers for the teams.
ICBL along with Digicel, Cave Shepherd and Barbados Today have all come on board, not only as sponsors of this match, but also as supporters of the great Sir Garry. The televised coverage for the event has not yet been finalized, as sponsorship has yet to be ascertained.