#BTTribute – Another side of David Holford

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by Rollins Howard

David Anthony Jerome Holford is well known as a wonderful all-rounder who played for Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago and the West Indies. He is also very well remembered for his match-saving (almost match-winning) century in the second Test Match against England at Lords in 1966 when he shared a partnership of 274 with (The Rt Excellent Sir) Garfield Sobers.

In addition, he has a record as one of the most successful captains in Barbados’ cricket history and after his playing days were over, he served on the Board of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA).

He also served successful stints as Manager and Chairman of the Selection Panel of the West Indies team. What is not generally known is that David also made an immense contribution to another kind of cricket – Blind Cricket.

In October 2002 in my capacity as Business Manager of the BCA I received a phone call from David who was the First Vice-President of the BCA.  He told me that he wanted me to attend a meeting which he had arranged with a group to discuss setting up blind cricket in Barbados. At first, I thought that he was joking but he assured me that he was in dead earnest.

The meeting was arranged for the following day and the group which met with David and me included Clevedon Mayers, President of the Barbados Council for the Disabled, Ernie Young, the Public Relations Officer and Emily Lynch, Secretary, as well as Andy Sellings, Manager of the British Blind Cricket team and Tim Gutteridge, one of the members of the British team.

After listening to the presentation by the visitors from England as well as the input from Clevedon and Ernie, David was convinced that it was an idea well worth pursuing and he pledged the support of the BCA in ensuring that the dream became a reality.

David was at that time also the President of Spartan Cricket Club and he confirmed that the facilities of the Club would be made available for the local players to practise and organise their sessions.

As a result of that meeting the Barbados Blind Cricket Association was born, the first institution of its kind in the West Indies, and it spread its wings throughout the Caribbean to such an extent that the West Indies Blind Cricket Council was formed, and has since participated in several Blind Cricket World Cups.

As a follow up to the October meeting, a team of blind cricketers from England visited Barbados in March 2003 and played a match at the Spartan Club ground against a local Celebrity Cricket team to showcase the talents and capabilities of the players.

During the game one of the players performed a feat which would have made him the envy of many Test Match cricketers.  He got the wicket of former West Indies opening batsman (The Most Honourable) Desmond Haynes for a ‘duck’.

There are many blind, partially sighted and partially blind cricketers (both male and female) who are leading more fulfilling and productive lives as a result of their participation in blind cricket, and it all began with that meeting arranged by David in October 2002 and the full-fledged support which he gave to the idea.