PM Rowley: Promise to Lara kept

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Prime Minister gave his version of soca legend Superblue’s hit, Signal to Lara, stating: “A man hit a ball in Antigua and it end up in Trinidad. Not only on the (Brian Lara) Promenade it end up in Tarouba.” Rowley said, “For those of you who forgot when those balls were being hit, Brian Charles Lara of the West Indies team of the game of cricket did something that many of us thought would never have been done.” He continued, “ When Sir Gary Sobers broke (former Pakistan batsman) Haniff Mohammed’s record, we grew up thinking that record would never be broken.” However the Prime Minister said, “A youngster from Fatima College who entered the West Indies team and who carried the standard of the greatness of the game in the region went to Antigua and broke Sir Gary’s record.” Rowley recalled that when Lara promised to, “break the record again,” many people thought he was “just dreaming.” Noting that Lara kept that promise, the Prime Minister declared that Lara’s record of 400 not out is, “a record that may never be broken.” He reminded the gathering, “when he (Lara) he attained these heights, we a grateful people in TT , we promised him we would do something to honour these achievements to recognise his presence and his contribution to West Indies and world cricket.” He said the country promised, “to build and name a stadium in his honour.” Rowley said, “We embarked upon that exercise. It did not go very smoothly but thank God with some showers of blessing tonight, this project is finished and we are about to begin with the first ball to be bowled in this venue.” Thanking Lara for the, “gentleman that he is,” Rowley said, “This is not just another cricket ground, it is a cricket academy.” He added, “In the very near future, you will hear what we will do here to nurture the game.” The Prime Minister said while there are “serious issues at the top of the game,” that should not interfere with West Indies cricket.

Saying he looked forward to the games that would be played at the stadium and the youngsters who would be nurtured at the academy, Rowley was confident that, “this thing called West Indies cricket will go on forever.” Lara, speaking at the opening of the venue named after him, expressed his gratitude to the thousands of fans who braved the weather and heavy traffic to be there. “I don’t think the authorities understand the important part you play in sport. Without you there is no sport and I thank you very much for being here tonight,” he said.

The batting legend said, “I have this picture in my head where parents are parked up waiting for their kids — boys or girls — to exit this Academy. I’m seeing myself as one of them; I might not be parked up, I may have a little more access than you do, but I have this picture and I hope that that comes to fruition.” Lara thanked his friends who featured in last night’s exhibition game and is hoping the venue will host international games in the future.