Saint Lucian cricket is experiencing unprecedented success, with Team Saint Lucia winning championships in various categories in 2023. Notable emerging talents like McKenny Clarke, Zaida James, and Akeem Auguste add to the excitement. Questions arise about the efforts of local cricket facilitators to sustain this success. Veteran sports commentator Terry Finisterre attributes the achievements to a positive shift in the local attitude towards cricket over time.
“From the emergence of the Beausejour Cricket Ground in the early 2000s, we saw a change in the attitude of local cricket in terms of how people were to approach development” he said. “Over the last four, five years, we’re seeing the results of that” he added.
Finisterre expressed satisfaction with the higher number of cricket matches played in the past year. He highlighted the significance of initiatives like the establishment of the local high-performance center for cricket development. Despite acknowledging a potential period in 2024 when local athletes may lack access to premier cricketing facilities due to preparations for the upcoming World T20, Finisterre remains optimistic, believing that the refurbishments will have long-term benefits for the sport.
“We saw more local cricket last year than we had seen [previously]. T20, T10, the 50-over, 2-days, we saw a lot cricket being played” Finisterre noted. “Hopefully, there’s going to be more of the same this year, even there is going to be lots of pressure on the other grounds because you’re not going to have DSG and you’re not going to have Mindoo Philip available for at least half of the year because the work that’s on- going there. But long term, with advent of the high-performance center…in addition to be able to give them their physio, their training etc, you are now going to have improved facilities as well.”
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