St. John's (Antigua): The Barbados-based members of the West Indies Test squad, including captain Roston Chase and white-ball skipper Shai Hope, will return home to attend the state funeral of legendary all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers on Wednesday at the Kensington Oval.
The contingent, supported by the Barbados government, are flying back to Bridgetown just hours after registering a dramatic 90-run victory over Pakistan at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on what would have been Sobers’ 90th birthday.
Apart from Chase and Hope, vice-captain Jomel Warrican, Justin Greaves, Kemar Roach, Joshua Bishop, and assistant coach Floyd Reifer will represent the team, alongside a high-level Cricket West Indies (CWI) delegation led by President Dr. Kishore Shallow and CEO Chris Dehring.
"The opportunity for our Barbadian representatives to be present at the State Funeral of The Right Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers is a deeply meaningful one for West Indies cricket. On a day when the cricketing world celebrated his extraordinary life, the team honoured his enduring legacy with a performance that reflected the courage, resilience, and skill that defined his remarkable career and inspired generations," said Dr Shallow in a statement.
CWI Directors Enoch Lewis - President of the Leeward Islands Cricket Board, Bissoondyal Singh - President of the Guyana Cricket Board; and Clement Marcellin - President of the Windward Islands Cricket Board will also be in attendance at the funeral.
"We are deeply grateful to Prime Minister, Hon. Mia Amor Mottley and her Government for making this possible, and reaffirm our commitment to preserving the memory of a true icon whose name will forever be synonymous with the greatness of West Indies cricket," added Dr Shallow.
Sobers, widely regarded as cricket’s greatest all-rounder, passed away on July 17 at his home in Highgate Gardens at the age of 89. His state funeral is going to be held at Kensington at 10:00 am local time. The funeral is set to bring together regional heads of state, CARICOM leaders, and West Indies icons including Sir Clive Lloyd, Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Andy Roberts, Sir Richie Richardson, and Brian Lara.
Two days prior to the state funeral, Sobers’ body lay in state at the Parliament Buildings before being moved to the stadium, thus allowing thousands of grieving fans and citizens to pay their final respects to the legendary all-rounder.
