Windward making mark
The hosting of the first ever first-class cricket match at Windward Cricket Club at Lucas Street, St
Philip Hackett
25-Aug-2000
The hosting of the first ever first-class cricket match at Windward
Cricket Club at Lucas Street, St. Philip, could be considered an early
80th anniversary celebration.
The club, founded in 1921, will be celebrating its 80th anniversary
next year, and the staging of the match between South Africa 'A' and
Barbados is a reflection of the hard work which has gone into
developing the facilities.
The formation of the club at its original Congo Road home (a couple of
miles away) was an opportunity for many of those associated with the
sugar industry at that time to develop closer social ties.
According to Anthony Bryan, club president since 1991, that
camaraderie and family atmosphere still exist.
'Members now come from all walks of life. It is still a closely-knit
family situation with family members coming out and supporting the
players on weekends.'
A change of ownership of the land resulted in the club getting the
opportunity to purchase the present six-acre property at Lucas Street,
and in 1969, Windward moved there.
Bryan said that originally Windward only played cricket but, towards
the latter days at Congo Road, hockey and football were introduced.
Tennis courts were built at Lucas Street in the mid-70s.
'We competed in local competitions in hockey and football until the
early 90s when we found it difficult to find sufficient members
interested in playing hockey and football on a regular basis,' Bryan
said.
Since around 1950, Windward has competed in domestic cricket and
currently has an Intermediate and a Division 2 team.
There was some success for the club immediately after moving to Lucas
Street but since then, though being quite competitive, Windward has
not won a cricket title.
Despite this, the club has been making a significant contribution to
the development of cricket through its coaching programme, which is
co-ordinated by Charles Thornton.
'Our youth programme has been active for the past four years. Every
Saturday, members coach for about three hours,' Bryan said.
The president said the cricket programme was an extension of the
coaching programme, which originally only involved tennis, a sport at
which Windward has been very successful. The tennis programme is
conducted by Richard Marshall.
Three products of the Windward coaching programme 'Carleon Broome,
Mark Edghill and Raymond Thornton ' were selected to represent
Barbados in Under-13 cricket last year.
The club is also involved in drama and produces an annual play which
is the major fund-raising activity.
Windward has improved the grounds over the years, even before any
thought was given to hosting first-class cricket.
Two concrete practice pitches were installed on the north-western side
and two sight screens built.
'The soil is a heavy clay soil which tends to crack when it is dry,'
Bryan said.
'We attempted to change the texture to a more loamy type by spreading
sand on the surface of the field. That helps to reduce the cracking
and it makes the field more level.'
A hedge and trees were planted to improve the ambience.
Since the issue of first-class cricket arose about two years ago,
efforts to improve the facility intensified.
'We levelled the square, brought in soil and planted grass.
The visitors' dressing room was expanded to double the previous size
and new bathrooms were installed for the public.
'Having reached this stage, we would not want to turn back. We are
happy so far that we have been considered and we wish to continue to
improve our facilities.
'We have to look at seating for the public, security and a better
scoreboard,' Bryan said.