BCA v BCL match redundant?

At a glance it would seem that the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) vs Barbados Cricket League (BCL) match was a waste of time.

That's, of course, if you had to go by the result a smashing 426 run win for the BCA team.

Some blamed the defeat on the composition of the BCL squad which was virtually the same eleven that played in the BCA's first division and placed second from bottom.

Many believed that a new slate of players should have been given the opportunity to parade their talents.

Honestly, though, I don't know if that would have made too big a difference but I wonder whether the fundamental concept of the game is still relevant.

It was basically the re-enactment of an old tradition which came to an end in the early 1970s after the BCL was admitted to the BCA's first division in 1969.

The once annual match would give the stars drawn from the various BCL's zones a chance not only to play against the cream of the BCA but the opportunity to press for a place in the Barbados team.

This match launched the regional and subsequent international careers of many a West Indian great. Players such as like Seymour Nurse, Charlie Griffith, Clairemont Depeiza and the late Sir Conrad Hunte all made their way to the top via this route.

But, lest we forget, there were sociological reasons for the formation of the BCL in the first place.

It was born out of a rigid class structure which at the time would have prevented people from certain backgrounds from making certain leaps up the social ladder.

Therefore, many of the BCL players at that time would have felt they had a real chance to break social barriers through commanding performances. Some achieved it.

There was a hunger to succeed because you wanted a better life, on and off the field.

Today, of course, many of the social barriers that were an obstacle to progress are no longer there.

The sacrifices made by others have made life a lot easier for the present generation and I wonder whether this is fully appreciated by those to whom the baton has been passed.

It is really in this context that I view the dismal performance of the BCL in the recent match moreso than the composition of the team.

Like everything else, if you don't have any knowledge or appreciation of your history you will be incapable of sustaining any gains made by those who suffered in the quest for change.

The current crop of players may not see themselves in the forefront of social change because, let's face it, if they wanted to and if they qualified, they could easily get into a club for which their forerunners were once barred. What's left to fight for?

If not social change surely the good name of the BCL deserved a more determined defence.

With scores of 86 and 80 the BCL players did not look as though they were fighting for anything.

And this is not to take anything away from the excellent performances of people such as Ryan Austin, Sulieman Benn and Philo Wallace.

To be frank, any further attempt to re-invent the past will only make sense if those now entrusted with paving the way of the future fully understand what was at stake then and now.