By Neto Baptiste
Legendary cricketer, Sir Vivian Richards, will lead a 19-member national golf team to Anguilla for the decisive installment of the ZCup tournament against neighbours and rivals, St Kitts.
The series is currently level 2-2 with the winner of the fifth and final instalment taking home the current trophy.
The other members of the team are Jonathan Pigott, Dave Christian, Patrick Ryan, Navin Singh, Rick Solberg, Denis Roach, Leon Rodney, Errol Hodge and Mike Pigott, with Eldine Baptiste, John Warren, Tony Edwards, Andrew Goodenough, Anderson Newman Wynter, Ramesh Sinanan, Byron Andrew, Hilroy Humphreys and Michelle Millington rounding off the selections.
Sir Viv expressed satisfaction over the composition of the team.
“I am always quite willing, even though you know we are amateurs, it is a great occasion for us. Ever since this whole initiative was put into play, we’ve had some good times and it wasn’t, maybe, so much about the competitiveness and all that sort of stuff but just the camaraderie and the friendships we would have made going and coming; it’s just a great experience.
“What I am happy about is the individuals you are in charge of, in a sense of being captain, are just wonderful people,” he said.
The tournament will run from October 25th to 27th and is usually played on a home and away basis. The organisers, however, opted to play the deciding round in Auguilla in an effort to level the playing field.
Sir Viv is of the view that team Antigua and Barbuda possesses the talent required to bring the title home.
“We’ve always fancied our chances, but sometimes you fancy and it never quite works out, but we have very good young, and also some very experienced, players on our team. These guys have been doing it for many years, so you put your faith and trust in that the guys will come through,” he said.
The winning team will claim the current trophy, while a new trophy will be introduced at the start of the new series.
Team Antigua and Barbuda is sponsored by Paradiso Water, Metropolitan University College of Medicine, and Eye Mobile Vision Care.