Bridgetown, Barbados, CMC – Principal of the University of West Indies Cave Hill Campus, Professor Eudine Barriteau, says tomorrow’s Celebrity Twenty20 game will be a fitting way for the educational institution and the West Indies Cricket Board, to throw their support behind embattled Dominica.
The small Caribbean nation was devastated by the passage of Tropical Storm Erika last month, sustaining widespread infrastructural damage and loss of life.
UWI and the WICB subsequently collaborated on a T20 game carded for Kensington Oval here, with the proceeds going to the Dominica Relief fund.
“The T20 game…is a tangible and most fitting expression of our oneness as a region, a oneness always articulated by our vice-chancellor (Sir Hilary Beckles),” Professor Barriteau said.
“We can think of no endeavour more appropriate than cricket, to rally the region for his worthy cause, for it is cricket historically that has united our region.”
She added: “The UWI and WICB are the very essence of regionalism in its finest forms. These two institutions exemplify the excellence that is attainable through our collective energies and it is fitting that these enduring symbols of regionalism should be united in the effort to bring relief to the people of Dominica.”
The T20 will see Sir Hilary Beckles leading the UWI Vice Chancellor’s XI against the WICB President’s XI, who will be led by Test captain Jason Holder.
Legends Brian Lara and Sir Curtly Ambrose, along with former Manchester United star Dwight Yorke and Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake will turn out for the UWI side while West Indies T20 captain Darren Sammy, former Test wicketkeeper Courtney Browne and a slew of current Windies players, will suit up for the WICB XI.
Professor Barriteau said the response by UWI and the WICB was testament to the sense of regionalism still alive in the Caribbean.
“We were galvanised to pledge whatever assistance we could, not only to the deeply disturbing images of the devastation, dislocation and death which Tropical Storm Erika left behind in Dominica,” she explained.
“But also by that firmly embedded shared sense of kinship which we feel as Caribbean citizens, that intrinsic West Indian trait made manifest whenever any single member of our regional family is hurting, we all feel the pain.”
She continued: “The loss of life and widespread damage to property, both personal and public, within the state of Dominica, served as a poignant reminder of the vulnerability of our islands and the entire region through each and every annual hurricane season, and a chilling reminder of that sobering phrase ‘there goes us but for the grace of God.”
