Ahead of Barbados’s 50th anniversary of independence celebrations in November, we’ve produced a special issue of The Nightwatchman, a selection of contributions that reflects the island’s rich cricket history.
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In a momentous year for Barbados, the Barbados High Commission is pleased to join with the Marylebone Cricket Club to host a banquet in honour of The Right Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers at
Lord’s. In addition, the Barbados Cricket Legends and PCA England Masters agreed to come together to celebrate a long tradition of cricket camaraderie with an exhibition game. Sir Garfield, the greatest all-rounder in Test history celebrates his 80th birthday on 28 July, and we are delighted to celebrate it with him in the UK.
Sir Garfield is one of 10 National Heroes of Barbados. The first, known as Bussa, led the island’s largest slave revolt on Easter Sunday 1816 and lost his life in the struggle for freedom. This, the first of a series of uprisings by slaves in the Caribbean, had a major impact on public opinion in Britain, helping to precipitate the abolition of slavery. Later in this year, on 30 November, Barbados will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Independence. Another of the island’s National Heroes, The Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow PC, QC, a graduate of the LSE and a former RAF WWII pilot, became Barbados’ first prime minister. Like Sir Garry, he is revered among Barbadians.
HE Mr Guy Hewitt, High Commissioner for Barbados to the UK
When the High Commissioner asked us to look at putting together a special edition of The Nightwatchman to celebrate 50 years of independence and Sir Garfield Sobers’ 80th birthday, we
were only too pleased to help out.
Initially, knowing there was nobody who knew more about both of our subjects than Tony Cozier, we contacted him and he was unsurprisingly full of ideas as to how we could put the whole thing together. His untimely death in May meant that this book has now also become a tribute to him. He was a fabulous man and a hugely important, reasoned voice in West Indies cricket. He will be greatly missed.
We hope we have brought together a disparate set of voices to give their views on Barbados, on Sir Garry and on Tony.
Contributors to this issue include Simon Barnes, Ed Smith, Vaneisa Baksh, Daniel Norcross, Pat Murphy, Scott Oliver, Tanya Aldred, Dan Brigham and Adam Collins.
Enjoy the read.
Matt Thacker, Managing Editor, June 2016
Click here to buy the Barbados special in print or digital formats