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Wednesday 1st March 2017 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 9<br />
cont’d from pg 8<br />
religion. As British poet<br />
Edmund Blunden who said,<br />
‘Cricket to us was more<br />
than play, it was worship in<br />
the summer sun.’<br />
From friendlies on the<br />
beach or a village field or<br />
local tournaments, there<br />
are countless opportunities<br />
to come across an excellent<br />
game.<br />
Being blessed with sunny<br />
skies and perfect weather<br />
throughout the year, we<br />
can happily play cricket<br />
365 days out of the year.<br />
And truth be told we can<br />
happily do so on each of<br />
our 365 white and pink sandy<br />
beaches!<br />
We are lucky that we are<br />
home to some of the greatest<br />
cricketing legends ever<br />
to play the game – from Sir<br />
Viv Richards, a National<br />
Hero and one of the world’s<br />
cricketing greats for whom<br />
of course we have named<br />
our national stadium.<br />
We are also the home of<br />
Sir Andy Roberts the first<br />
Antiguan and Barbudan to<br />
play for the West Indies<br />
team, as well as legendary<br />
pace bowler Sir Curtley<br />
Ambrose and Sir Richie<br />
Richardson another West<br />
Indian batsman of class and<br />
accomplishments.<br />
So you can see – Antigua<br />
and Barbuda is inextricably<br />
intertwined with<br />
Cricket. As the games is indeed<br />
part of our DNA and<br />
our way of life.<br />
So that is why we are all<br />
excited. It isn’t just us either.<br />
There has been plenty<br />
of activity around the island,<br />
and a buzz building<br />
in the cricket community.<br />
It is my understanding that<br />
this week all of our hotel<br />
rooms are filled with several<br />
thousand cricket fans<br />
from the UK and the rest<br />
of the region for this Friday<br />
and Sunday’s One Day Internationals.<br />
This is excellent<br />
news for our country’s<br />
tourism.<br />
We are all looking forward<br />
to two days of fun and<br />
excitement, and though,<br />
we look forward to a challenging<br />
encounter with you<br />
over the next few days, I<br />
must confess that we look<br />
forward to winning as well!<br />
I wish you only the best<br />
in your training over the<br />
coming days at Sir Vivian<br />
Richards stadium –– and<br />
we hope that you enjoy<br />
the stadium and are able to<br />
appreciate our wonderful<br />
weather.<br />
We are proud to partner<br />
with the West Indies Cricket<br />
Board to organize these<br />
two exciting days of ODI’s<br />
– both for the West Indies<br />
team, as well as fans of the<br />
sport.<br />
Hosting this premiere<br />
event is a real honor for our<br />
nation. Expect the stadium<br />
to be filled with thousands<br />
upon thousands of fans.<br />
Win or lose, we are all set to<br />
be watching teams with the<br />
best players in the world,<br />
competing at extraordinary<br />
levels.<br />
Once again, please accept<br />
our warmest welcome<br />
on behalf of the Government<br />
and people of Antigua<br />
and Barbuda.<br />
We hope that you truly<br />
enjoy your stay, and that<br />
you take time out to enjoy<br />
our beaches, our natural<br />
attractions, our music, and<br />
food but most importantly<br />
that you experience the<br />
warmth and hospitality of<br />
the Antiguan and Barbudan<br />
people.<br />
We hope you are inspired<br />
to return for a personal<br />
holiday so you can<br />
spend some more time with<br />
us and truly experience everything<br />
that our wonderful<br />
twin-island nation has to<br />
offer.<br />
I wish both teams the<br />
best of luck and look forward<br />
to seeing you play on<br />
Friday and Sunday.<br />
I will finish with a quote<br />
from Amit Ray, ‘Champions<br />
never sleep, the eternal<br />
spirit keeps them awake.<br />
Everyone has the fire, but<br />
the champions know when<br />
to ignite the spark.’<br />
So go be the champions<br />
you are on Friday and Sunday.<br />
Do enjoy the rest of<br />
your evening!