history of the Barbados Cricket League

The Barbados Cricket League was officially birth in 1936 against a background of social upheaval in the country. However, its roots goes further back than 1936. It would be fair to suggest that cricket among the labouring class was organized at the elementary class level – the gully cricket matches and the village matches with the arbitrary rules and boundaries long before the start of the century. This type of cricket attracted the attention and sponsorship of a Mr. Frederick N. Martinez who donated a cup in the 1920’s for the competition among the urban labouring class like the hand-cart men and the bond house workers. This cup was for the Fame Food Compettion and was initially contested among teams in Carrington Village, Dayrells Road and Brittons Hill in the Bridgetown surburban villages. It later spread into Christ Church and St. George. The competition intensified and developed into the Barbados Friendly Cricket Association (BFCA) which emerged in the 1930’s. The BFCA was the fore-runner to the Barbados Cricket League.

The BFCA was facilitated partly by government legislation and a sense of generosity by the planter class. In the 1930’s the government legislated that Thursday would be a half-holiday and the planter class provided parcels of their land to be used as cricket pitches. This situation gave rise to the Thursday League where Friendly matches were played.

In 1936, Mr. Joseph Mitchinson ‘Mitchie’ Hewitt, a journalist working with the Herald Newspaper, saw the need for an association to harness the talents seen in the Friendly Association – a talent that could not find its way into the established clubs competing in the competition of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA). After discussing his ideas with some of his peers during the early months of 1936, it did not initially find favour with the coloured and middle class or the hierarchy of the BCA.However, Hewitts’s idea found favour with the then leading black lawyer of the day in Grantley Adams.

The first BCL competition began in October of 1937 and attracted 24 clubs playing in the city, country and Thursday Divisions. Those twenty six clubs

were Rocks, Westshire, Kent, Victoria, United, Melbourne, Normans, Winwicks, Bradfield, Successors, Standard, Nelson, Progressive, Glamorgan, Hamilton, Sydney, Saxons, Advocate, Holy Trinity, Merlyn, SYMC, Danes, Perseverance and Welches Old Boys.

As a result of the high interest shown in the competition more clubs were added to the League. This resulted in an increase in the Divisions. The Windward, Southern and Leeward Divisions were established in 1938. The Central Division (1946); the Cave Shepherd Division (1949); the Gun Hill and Carlisle Divisions (1953) and the Olive Blossom (1954) were added.

 

However, it was in the 1940’s that the League began to see the fruits of its labour. First, it was in this period that ‘Mitchie’ appointed Divisional selectors and talent scouts. In 1943, the League’s founder was ecstatic when Mr. Ormond Graham, who represented Melbourne in the Thursday Division, gained a national selection. More joy came in 1945 when Everton Weekes (now Sir Everton) and Everton Greene who represented the Garrison Sports Club also gained national selection. Before joining the Garrison, Weekes had played in the Thursday Division and Greene in the Central Division of the League. In 1947, Errol Millington also made the Barbados team. He was then representing Empire but had started his cricket in the League. Most significantly, in the year 1947, the Garrison Sports Club won the BCA Division One Competition. Including in that team were eight players whom had started their cricket in the BCL. The eight were: Everton Weekes, Bernard Bourne, St. Clair ‘Pappy’ Griffith, Eric Alkins, Crispin Savoury, Harold Blackman, John Riley and ‘Pappy’ Rudder.

It was also during the 1940’s that the League found an influential friend in Freddie Clairmonte, the only black Officer on the BCA’s board and a member of the Spartan Club. Having seen the success of the league players (their elevation to the national team) and the potential of others, he discussed with Mr. Hewitt the possibility of having a BCA-BCL match to further expose the talents of the League. These discussions led to the establishment of the first BCA-BCL match in 1947. It was from this match that the League was referred to as the ‘Nursery of Barbados’ Cricket’. This match also saw BCL players reaching the international arena.

LEADERSHIP IN THE BCL
Critical to the success of the BCL is its leadership. From its inception the BCL has been blessed with dedicated and volunteer leadership from prominent citizens. The League’s first president was Sir Grantley Adams, a prominent lawyer who later became Premier of Barbados and of the West Indies Federation. Mr. Chissey Brathwaite, who had the unenviable task of guiding the League through the war years, succeeded Sir Grantley. Mr Brathwaite was succeeded by Mr. JTC Ramsay who gave way to Mr. Tony Hinds. Mr. Hinds held the office for seventeen years. It must be noted that the founder ‘Mitchie’ Hewitt took the position as Secretary and remained there until his death in 1969.

1969 AND BEYOND
The year 1969 was a mixed one for the BCL. In March its founder and secretary ‘Mitchie’ Hewitt passed away leaving one hundred and five clubs in mourning. The end of his life saw the beginning of a new life for the League. In that year, the League was admitted into the prestigious Division One Competition of the Barbados Cricket Association thus rubbing shoulders with clubs the like of: Spartan, Empire, Wanderers and Pickwick among others. This opportunity afforded the League to put more talent on the national display board. Inevitably this promotion led to the discontinuation of the annual BCA/BCL match.
Despite the apprehension and criticism, the League settled well into the top local competition with its president, Owen ‘Nobby’ Estwick as its first manager. The League’s talent was immediately manifested when Glyne Brancker scored a century (104) against Harrison College in the final series of the competition. He followed this with (90) in the second innings. The first BCL Division One Eleven was: Franklyn Miller (captain), Joseph Newton, John Brewster, Glyne Brancker, Tyrone Parris, Horace Franklyn, Leroy Coppin, Gregory Yearwood, Leroy Leach, Steven Dean and Cameron Barrow. Their first match was against Maple. Cameron Barrow became the first bowler from the League to take a Division One wicket. The BCL finished the season in ninth position with only school teams: Harrison College, Lodge and Combermere trailing them. It was a learning experience and a hint as to what was to come.

 

In 1973, the BCL won all of the major cricketing competitions in the island; first taking both the Division One and Intermediate cups and then topping it off by defeating Spartan to win the Derick Robbins Knock Out Competition.

Significant to that success was the League tour to England two years prior. It was around midnight July 23, 1971, that an inaugural BCL team left Barbados on an overseas tour. While in England they played against then current and past test players among other professionals. Among such test players were: Bob Willis (former England captain) Trevor Bailey, Alan Moss (England test players) and Bertie Clarke (former WI test player). They also came up against Sadique Mohammed and Zaheer Abbas (Pakistan) and Neil Hawke (Australia). The playing conditions on that tour were unusual to the League’s players and they had to make a lot of adjustments. The success of the tour meant that they adjusted well. It was felt in many quarters that it was the experience of that tour that propelled the League to victory in the domestic competition two years later.

BCL PLAYERS WHO REPRESENTED THE WEST INDIES IN A TEST MATCH(ES)

From the early 1940’s the BCL was producing players worthy of representing the West Indies. This was manifested in 1948 when Everton Weekes (now Sir Everton) became the first BCL product to be selected to represent the West Indies. The others who followed in this footsteps were: Frank King (1952), Ralph Legall (1952), now Sir Garfield (1954), Clairmonte Depeiza (1955), Conrad Hunte (later Sir Conrad 1958),and Seymour Nurse (1960), Vanburn Holder and John Shepherd (1969), Keith Boyce (1970), Albert Padmore (1976), Collis King (1976), Desmond Haynes (1977), Alvin Greenidge (1977) and Sylvester Clarke (1978).

In addition to those representing the West Indies a number of other players have represented Barbados in regional competitions. The list includes but is not limited to: Ormond Graham (the first BCL players to represent Barbados), Carl Mullins, Kenneth Goddard, Errol Millington, Adzil Holder, Othneil Downes, Hartley Doyle, Vinnie Brewster, Ralph Bradshaw, Duncan Carter, Keith Barker (represented British Guiana), Glenroy Sealy, Emmerson Trotman, Colin Payne, Franklyn Stevenson, Nigel Johnson, Noel Broome, Ricky Skeete, Oliver Broome, Randy Thomas, Elvis Reifer, Ezra Moseley, ‘Roddy’ Estwick, Hubert Ellis Brathwaite, Peter Clarke and Lionel Sandiford. Also a number of BCL players represented Barbados at the Youth Level in regional competitions.

Over the years the statue of cricket in Barbados has changed and the notion that the BCL was the ‘Nursery of cricket’ in Barbados is quickly diminishing. This was mainly due to the introduction of a number of school teams in the Division One Competition. Despite that, the League continues to participate in the Division One Competition thus providing opportunities for many of its players to showcase their talents and potential.

| More...