‘Missed opportunities’ to reap greater rewards from cricket, says John King

Barbados is sitting on a potential gold mine in Kensington Oval but according to Senator John King, the authorities are not using the collective wisdom available here to the full advantage.

He has described as “missed opportunities” the potential for the storied cricketing ground to bring in much more revenue than it presently earns.

Rising in the Senate on Wednesday in support of a resolution to guarantee a $50 million loan to the state-owned Kensington Oval Management Inc. (KOMI), the government’s culture and cultural heritage advisor said the “Mecca of cricket in the Caribbean” should be spreading its arms to embrace all varieties of cricket teams from places like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India with large cricket followings to take part in tournaments. Police and army teams could also be tapped to bring people to local shores, he suggested.

“What we are doing here today gives us the opportunity now to correct some of the mistakes we made in the past not understanding from a historical standpoint, the value of Kensington Oval,” said Senator King, who once held ministerial responsibility for sport.

He said Barbadians take things like visiting Kensington Oval for granted when there are visitors who only wish to go there to touch the grass. He said when West Indies cricket was at its height, there were missed opportunities, especially considering that cricket is not only a sport but also entertainment.

Addressing criticism about the size of the loan, which is to be used to upgrade Kensington Oval in preparation for next June’s T20 World Cup, King said investments have to be made to be able to reap the benefits.

According to him, once the investment in upgrading the facilities at Kensington is completed, the next challenge would be to bring the game up to par. 

“One can’t go without the other,” he told senators.

He said cricket, more so than any other activity, has been the area in which Barbados has excelled “beyond anyone’s wildest dreams”, even given the small population and the island’s mere 166 square miles. He suggested that cricket should be mandatory in local schools, recalling times when all the people in the villages knew about the game.

King declared: “Cricket is in the veins of our people, and it is important that investments like these are made and that we try to get this game back to a level where people not only want to come here to see matches when they are put on by the ICC [International Cricket Council] but if Barbados has things going on, you will have people from all over the world wanting to be involved.”

He encouraged KOMI to take up the mantle and join with partners to build on the cricket legacy.

“There are so many opportunities that are available to them. All it takes is for collective thoughts and we can do this,” he added. (SP)