Some of the legends with guests from the last event.
By Orville Hall
A star-studded line up of West Indies cricket legends are preparing to assemble in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from March 4 to March 6 to participate in the Lawrence Rowe Legendary Foundation’s Second Annual Cricket Tournament. Heading the list of stars will be former West Indies fast Bowler Courtney Walsh, who will captain the Legends team.
He will be joined by hard-hitting Barbados and West Indies batsman, Dwayne Smith, along with the likes of Gus Logie, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Ridley Jacobs, Desmond Haynes and Jermaine Lawson. Also coming in for the tournament will be Former West Indies batsman, Larry Gomes and Collis King and fast bowler Joel “Big Bird” Garner. The list of other former stars that will be here for the weekend includes: Batsman Faoud Bacchus, former South Africa great Barry Richards, World-class off-spinner Lance Gibbs, fast bowler Sir Andy Roberts, all-rounder Bernard Julien and the legendary Sir Garfield Sobers.
The festivities will kick off at 7:00 PM on Friday, March 4, with a meet-and-greet session at the Marriott North Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. A celebrity dinner will be held at the same venue on Saturday, March 5, at 8:00 PM. Tickets are priced at $150.00. The curtain comes down on the weekend’s activities on Sunday, March 6, with two cricket matches at the Central Broward Regional Park. The first game, which gets underway at 11:00AM, will pit the 2015 Newberry ACCL Champions against a South Florida X1, while the feature game, which starts at 3:00PM, will pit the West Indies Legends against the USA Cavaliers. Aside from the cricket matches, there will be food booths and a Kids Zone which will be free to all kids under the age of 12 years old and a batting cage for the legends. A Cooler Party Zone along with High Tea on the Green are a few first-time features added this year.
The “High Tea on the Green” event, which will feature famous teas from around the World, will begin at 1:00PM; it will cost $15.00 to attend this event. That $15.00 also provides access to the cricket games. Admission to the games are as follows: General admission is $20.00, but if purchased before game-day, it’ll be $15.00. VIP tickets, $75.00, but if purchased before game-day, It’ll be $65.00. Admission to the Cooler Party Zone – With DJ Music – is $45.00.
Proceeds from these games are given to former West Indies cricketers who might be ailing or who might be struggling financially. Last year’s presentation was made to former Jamaica and West Indies fast bowler, Patrick Patterson, while this year’s presentation will go to former Barbados and West Indies batting star, Seymour Nurse.
Speaking at a recently-held press conference, Event Organizer, and former West Indies batsman, Lawrence Rowe said, “It’s always a passion of mine that I can, at this stage of my life, give back something to those great players”. For additional information, go to: yaggacricket.com or lawrencerowe.org or call: 561-598-1229