By Randy Bennett
Increased gunplay in the vicinity of its home ground has forced the Barbados Cricket League (BCL) to run for cover.
With the new season set to begin next month, BCL president Glyne St Hill today revealed that due to the escalation of gun violence in the Ivy, St Michael, they were seeking to relocate from the nearby Blenheim pasture, which has been their home ground for the past 40 years, to MTW in the Pine Basin.
St Hill said the BCL wrote to the Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Charles Griffith this week, requesting that the move be approved.
The long-serving president said people were no longer willing to either come to Blenheim to watch BCL matches or use the venue for other purposes because they were in fear.
“Because of the violence that was going on in Blenheim we were unable to encourage teams to come there to play the finals or semifinals, so we then shifted to Lears. A lot of our semifinals have been played at Lears because the players as well as some spectators called me and told me they were not coming to Blenheim to watch any cricket,” St Hill told Barbados TODAY on the sidelines of a presentation from the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) to the BCL at Kensington Oval today.
“That’s supposed to be our home, so I was a bit hurt, but I understood the situation. Things have quietened down a lot now, but since then Benfica who was using the field on the other side asked us if we could allow them to use the ground and I told them they could because we don’t have a First Division team or even an Intermediate team.
BCL president Glyne St Hill. (Pictures by Kemar Holder)
“We sent off a letter this week to the Minister of Sport asking to be switched to MTW, but we have to wait now for him to give us the ok,” he added.
During the presentation, the BCA donated cricket clothing to the BCL, which will be worn by cricketers during the new season.
In expressing gratitude for the assistance, St Hill admitted that the BCL was struggling financially.
He said the entity had gone from having in excess of 100 clubs in its heyday to around 30 clubs presently.
St Hill suggested that a financial injection of around $75, 000 was needed to reinvigorate the century-old organization.
“The BCL is struggling at the moment. We’ve made a great effort to get some sponsorship from corporate Barbados, but of course, the excuse is always that things are tight.
“I know there are some people who have said that the BCL has outlived its purpose, and yes I sort of share that view as well, however there are still a number of teams that do not have pavilions and those guys are still very interested in playing cricket under the BCL, so therefore, we have to stay and assist them in playing the cricket and hopefully we may be able to get one or two players to represent Barbados, because people usually graduate from the BCL into the BCA teams,” St Hill said.
In his short address, BCA president Conde Riley said he was pleased to continue working with the BCL.
He said the BCL continued to play an important role in the community and in the development of cricket in Barbados.
