Walsh for UWI alumni T20 festival

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

Former West Indies fast bowling great, Courtney Walsh, heads a list of players who are down to compete in a University of the West Indies (UWI) celebrity Twenty20 cricket festival at the UWI Bowl, Mona, on Saturday, October 2.

Dubbed 'Tripple P Cricket', representing the promotional tag line of 'Pelicans Past and Present', the event, which is geared towards strengthening student and alumni relations and raise money for the UWI Regional Endowment Fun, is scheduled to get under way at noon.

The festival will also showcase former West Indies players James Adams and Nehemiah Perry, former Jamaica youth captain Simon Jackson, Chadwick Walton who has represented the West Indies senior team, and prominent members of the regional academia fraternity, including UWI registrar, William Iton and the Director of Sports, Cave Hill Campus, Roland Butcher, participating.

Walton numbers among other UWI students, past and present, who will be playing.

"When I heard of the event, its importance and significance, I had no hesitation participating," explained Walsh.

"It's a measure of giving back and being able to play, have fun and entertain others makes it even more pleasurable."

The festival, which is being organised by UWI Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow (STAT), which is an arm of the university's Vice Chancellor office, will also feature family attractions such as live music, giveaways, other promotions plus a bounceabout for kids.

According to UWI's deputy principal, Joseph Pereira, it was his hope that following the event, relations between the university and its alumni, in particular, would be strengthened.

"One of the goals of the event is to try and bring more of our alumni to support the university," Pereira opined.

Goodwill and participation

"Yes, financial aid is good, but goodwill and participation is also important. It's also part of our extension into sports academics, particularly at the graduate level, whereby we offer courses in sports management, sports psychology and sports medicine," he added.

Walton, who represented the West Indies against Bangladesh in Tests and one-day internationals last year, said he was looking forward to playing against Walsh and company and that he hoped the present UWI cricketers would win.

"It's a good initiative and I look forward to playing with the greats. We have a fairly good team and playing against the past students should be fun," said Walton.

"It's also good to see UWI marketing itself, not only in academia, but in sports as well," he continued.

The festival will be held on the same day as the second annual Chris Gayle Charity Cricket Festival at Kaiser Sports Club, St Ann.

However, according UWI STAT president, Darren Bodkin, he does not foresee any difficulties.

"We weren't aware that the Chris Gayle Charity Cricket match in St Ann would have been played on the same day, as we had set our dates long in advance," Bodkin remarked. "But it's two different areas, as while they will be catering largely for rural area crowds, we will be marketing to the Corporate Area."