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Championship cricket – and its free!

SportsChampionship cricket – and its free!
 “I don’t know why, I love you like I do; I don’t know why, I just do.” Belize Rural people love cricket. And, when it died in Belize City and elsewhere in the country, cricket remained alive and well in the Belize River Valley villages.
 
Sam Cooke sang, “The moon belongs to everyone; the best things in life are free. Stars belong to everyone; they’ve lit up there for you and for me. Flowers and spring, the robins that sing, the sun beans that shine, they’re yours and they’re mine. Love can come to everyone; the best things in life are FREE!” I couldn’t resist that diversion.
 
Unbelievably, it’s 2009, when the whole world has seemingly gone commercial and professional; but still, the championship cricket finals between two former champions, and also last season’s finalists, Brilliant of Crooked Tree and Excellence of Double Head Cabbage, is all for FREE. 
 
Driving up to the Lords Bank field this afternoon, I had to park a good distance away from the action; the long line of vehicles was reminiscent of a national football championship final at the MCC in Belize City. But when I walked in the direction of the field where the game was under way, to my surprise, I just had to hop across a narrow drain, take a short walk to the shade of some big trees on the eastern side of the pitch, and stand along with other bystanders to watch some of Belize’s best cricketers in action. Most of the crowd sat on bleachers or under tents on the western side of the field, where the official desk was located. 
 
There is no fence around the Lords Bank field, so you can enter from any side. And it’s not that you are cheating from the gate collection; there is no gate collection – no ticket sales. It’s all FREE. And there is food and drinks “galore”; that’s for sale, of course.
 
The cricket association is extremely generous to fans; or they are just too underfinanced to afford to fence the stadium. Nothing wrong with getting in free, but a lot of preparation goes into the game that the athletes play, and everything has a cost – transportation, equipment, lost time from work, etc.
 
If you want to enjoy the game from under the trees on the eastern side, it is best to bring along a chair for your comfort, and perhaps an umbrella if you can’t find a space under the trees.
 
The fans at the cricket game were peaceful and seemed to really enjoy their game, and appreciate their heroes – the players. The players of both teams exemplified the “gentleman” sport; they were fiercely competitive on the field, but shared real camaraderie after the game. It was a party atmosphere after the game – rice and beans, beer and stout by the bar, players and fans reliving the game highlights, while the beautiful Harrison Parks championship trophy was on display to whet their appetite for next week’s finale.
 
Brilliant had won game one a couple weeks ago; today, thanks to the heroics of one Kenny Broaster (see story in our Wednesday issue), the tables turned in favor of Excellence.  
 
Come to Lords Bank next Saturday, February 14, and see Brilliant of Crooked Tree and Excellence of Double Head Cabbage in their final contest for the 2008 Harrison Parks Championship Trophy.
 
(Ed. Note: The Harrison Parks Championship Trophy, in memory of former cricket star and village council chairman Harrison Parks, was first won by Sunrise of Lords Bank in 2002, followed by Wicked Eleven of Flowers Bank in 2003, Wicked Eleven again in 2004, Excellence of Double Head Cabbage in 2005, Brilliant of Crooked Tree in 2006, and Brilliant again in 2007. The tournament to be finished on Saturday is for the 2008 championship.)       

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