Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Ancil Dennis says that he is going to use cricket and sports to show the world what Tobago has to offer.
He made the statement during a press conference held at the Office of the Chief Secretary at Sangsters Hill in Scarborough, Tobago on Friday. With West Indies players Keiron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo as well as president of the Tobago Cricket Association (TCA) Kerwin John in attendance, Dennis made it clear that he knows the value of sport and intends to use it.
He said, "Sport is a great vehicle when it comes to marketing a destination and I am going to use this tool to achieve what we want to do here in Tobago. We have invited Pollard and Bravo as great cricketers to come to the Island and to assist us in promoting the destination. We are happy that they have decided to come here and we are looking forward to great performances and entertainment from them this
evening at the All-Star game."
Pollard and Bravo together with Darren Bravo and Nicolas Pooran flew in to take part in an exhibition match ahead of the final of the Chief Secretary Bago T10 Cricket tournament.
Pollard said he was happy to be on the Island and hopes that the game can catch on even more.
He said, "As West Indies and Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) captain, I am happy to be here to do my part to assist in the development of the game. We are looking forward to playing this evening and really happy with this initiative."
Bravo said that it is the right move to have the tournament. "The Chief Secretary in our discussion this morning said that he will make sure this tournament continues even if he is not in power. This is a great idea and it must continue as it would not only help in the development of the cricketers but also push the Island in terms of what it has to offer. Tobago is a great place and having tournaments like this would only help in the tourism aspect of Tobago."
John was overjoyed by the arrival of the West Indies cricketers on the Island saying: "It was too long that these guys didn't come to Tobago and I am happy that I had a hand in having them come here to play cricket. I must say a heartfelt thank you to Chief Secretary Dennis because when we came with the idea he immediately came on board and made it happen. We want to ensure that Tobago cricket goes to the next level and tournament like these will only prove to do that."
The tournament which concluded on Friday night featured four franchises – Buccoo Divers, Rainforest Rangers, Ft King George Gunners and the Little Tobago Islanders.
The teams only featured Tobago players. Jahron Alfred would captain Buccoo, former TT Red Force player Navin Stewart would lead the Rainforest outfit, West Indies Under-19 player Joshua James was at the helm for Ft King George and Leron Lezama led Little Tobago.
The teams battled for the first prize of $20,000.
The exhibition match which set the stage for the grand finale between the Chief Secretary XI and an All-Star team featured players from the two teams that did not qualify for the final. The Chief Secretary XI will include Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Nicholas Pooran, John and Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis, who would captain the team.