Source: Antigua Observer
Former West Indies captain and successful batsman Sir Richie Richardson, speaking for the first time since news broke this week about his pending appointment as Commissioner of Sports, has vowed to give his best and play a meaningful role in the development of sports in Antigua and Barbuda.
“I believe I can make a positive contribution to the development of our sports and sporting facilities in Antigua and Barbuda and I will be doing my endeavour best to make a positive impact. They have also offered me a position as a senator and a junior minister, which I did not accept. I am still involved with the ICC and I look forward to working with the government in making a positive contribution to sports development in our beautiful twin-island state,” he said.
In a press release issued on Monday, the government said “The appointment is a significant step in the Government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the nation’s sporting infrastructure and enhance the development of sports in Antigua and Barbuda”.
Minister of Sports Hon Daryll Mathew explained that the initial move was to appoint Sir Richie as a minister of state and a government senator, but that given the former player’s schedule as an International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee, it was not feasible.
“It turned out that, given his appointment with the ICC, it would not have been palatable because to be appointed as a minister of state. You’d have to first be appointed to the Senate and that wasn’t something that tenable for him to be a senator and perceived to be politically aligned in that way, and so the decision was taken, after consultation with Sir Richie, that the best fit for him would be the Commissioner of Sports within the ministry,” he said.
Matthew said Sir Richie’s role will remain as originally discussed where he will work closely with sporting clubs, associations and communities.
“His role will be as we discussed before in terms of working with our community groups or community sports and games we had in place many years ago, and trying to get some of those community groups [and] sporting clubs back together and see how best we can advance the development of sports at the grassroots level in Antigua and Barbuda. So, that would be a major part of the role, not the only part but certainly a major part,” the minister said.
Sir Richie was appointed captain of the West Indies team in 1991, taking over the role from legendary former captain and batsman, Sir Vivian Richards. He scored 16 Test centuries and was hugely successful against Australia, hitting nine centuries against them, and scoring his highest score of 194 against India in Guyana in 1989.
Sir Richie is one of four knighted former International cricketers here in Antigua and Barbuda. He was appointed to the Elite Panel of Match Referees by the ICC on September 21, 2015.