By JOAN RAMPERSAD Saturday, November 28 2009

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Lara's record breaking bats....

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WORLD CRICKET record holder, Brian Charles Lara, expressed his pleasure at the commissioning of the Cricket Heritage Museum on Wednesday at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain. The commissioning of the facility took place during the Ministry of Tourism’s “Art and Cricket” Media Tour

Lara told Newsday: “I think it is wonderful, and it is very good to see it come to fruition. I know Mr Almandoz had been working on it for many, many years and it is something interesting for the Oval.”

The cricket legend said the Oval, a major cricket facility for international, regional and local cricket is a venue that will “attract a lot of tourists on their visit to TT”.

“This is one of the areas where you would want to come, and hopefully they would stay away from my front gate,” he added with a laugh.

Lara’s cricket equipment and bats with which he scored his record-breaking runs are all in the museum. Asked if he had any reservations about parting with his memorabilia, the former West Indies captain said: “Not for a period of time.”

The unique combination of visual art, culture and sporting history tour began with a guided vehicular tour of the artistic expressions on the People’s Canvas Wall of the Oval, then a visit to the new Cricket Heritage Museum, and concluded with a cultural show that included soca parang by Kenny J, a limbo dance by the Julia Edwards Dance Company, pan music from Invaders and parang by Los Brilliantes.

In his feature address Joseph Ross, Minister of Tourism, stated: “It is with great pride that I stand here this evening at the picturesque and iconic Queen Park’s Oval to officially commission the Cricket Heritage Museum. This is truly an important milestone in our history.”

He added that the Cricket Museum is yet another jewel in TT’s crown of product offerings and provides international visitors with another bonus attraction within the official city tour of Port-of-Spain.

“We now have a unique combination of visual art and culture and sporting history situated in a single location, which undoubtedly offer domestic tourists and our foreign guests a one of a kind experience,” said Ross.

On display at the museum are photographs, portraits, plaques and memorabilia dating back to the very early years of Oval history, including a bat autographed by the 1950 West Indian Team in celebration of their first win over England at Lord’s.

QPCC’s Steven Almandoz, has been collecting cricketing artifacts dating back to the early 1900s, and is responsible for a lot of what is in the museum. The life and achievements of Brian Lara also receive appropriate recognition in a special pavilion containing portraits, plaques, bats and other items. Ross said he hoped the Cricket Heritage Museum and the People’s Canvas Wall at the Oval will draw many persons from all corners of the globe to visit TT.

Courtenay Williams, president of the TT Arts Society, gave some insight into the origin of what has now come to be called “The People’s Canvas”. He said Phase 1 of the initiative involved some of the country’s most senior artists, including Dr James Armstrong, Carlisle Harris, Gregory Williams, Winston Stewart, Andy Jacobs, Shastri Maharaj, Makemba Kunle, Lisa O’Connor, Jackie Hinkson, Peter Sheppard, Parmanan Singh, Prahbu Singh, Martin Superville and Sarah Beckett.

“The interest generated by the public response to the replacement of what were alcohol and tobacco related advertising by examples of some of the finest art this country has produced allowed us and the Label House Group to collaborate on an ongoing basis to produce phase two. The entire Oval is now wrapped in art” said Williams.

QPCC’s Peter Inglefield appealed for support from the government to get live matches at the Oval given the current competition in the region for international cricket.

In attendance at the function were members of the diplomatic corps, officials of the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Development Company, Ministers and Permanent Secretaries, executive members of the QPCC, Art Society members, presidents of various tourism stakeholders’ groups, Mayor of Port-of-Spain Murchison Brown and Uthel Berkley-Sylvester, from the Division of Tourism, Tobago House of Assembly.