Golf day for retired WI stars a ‘success’

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

The West Indies Retired Players Foundation (WIRPF) says Sunday's charity golf event at Sandy Lane Country Club in Barbados has been a "huge success".

The event was jointly hosted by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and supported by the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and Digicel.

"Sunday's golf day was an overwhelming success and we at WIRPF are pleased to see the wide cross section of persons who participated, including legends of the game - cricketers past and present - and many other persons who have West Indies cricket at heart," said Dr Nigel Camacho, president of the WIRPF.

'marvellous initiative'

"This marvellous initiative will help to accelerate the work which we started last year as we give back to those who have given us so much."

Close to 70 players registered for the event, including former West Indies players Sir Vivian Richards, Desmond Haynes, Sir Richie Richardson, Jeff Dujon, Ian Bishop and Phil Simmons, as well as current international players Dwayne Smith, Mahela Jayawardena of Sri Lanka and Daniel Vettori of New Zealand.

Several members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) also participated.

"We want to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone who turned out on Sunday to support the ongoing work of the West Indies Retired Players Association," said Dave Cameron, president of the WICB.

"This is the first time we have hosted a golf day and it was a huge success. Everyone enjoyed the day, and at the end of the day it is the players who will benefit."

The WIRPF was formed 18 months ago and part of its mandate is the development of programmes and assisting with the welfare of former players who represented the Caribbean team at the international level.

"Cricket has given us so much and it is wonderful to see persons giving back to this great game, as many braved the weather to show their support for this worthy cause," president of the WIPA, Wavell Hinds, said.

"It was a delight to see the former players and current players rubbing shoulders with fans and cricket lovers and this helped to raise the profile of the event as well."