Article by David Harris

Opener Phil Salt smashed an unbeaten century (103 off 54 balls) to pave the way for England’s commanding victory over the West Indies at Kensington Oval on Saturday night. 

Chasing a competitive target of 183, Salt shared an unbroken third wicket partnership of 107 with Barbados born Jacob Bethell (58 not out from 36 balls) to guide England to victory with 19 balls to spare. It was the highest successful chase in a T20I at Kensington Oval. 

  Salt grew up in Barbados, he and Bethell played their school cricket at Harrison College, and there were plenty of their friends and family in the stands watching them destroying the West Indies bowlers. 

Salt struck nine fours and six sixes during his innings, and Bethell counted five fours and two sixes. 

England’s run chase began at a rapid rate with Salt and Will Jacks (17) scoring 73 runs before Jacks was bowled left arm spinner Gudakesh Motie off the final ball of the sixth over. 

Captain Jos Buttler’s international comeback did not last long, he was dismissed for a golden duck by Romario Shepherd. 

At that stage the West Indies hoped to get back into the game, but Salt and Bethell thwarted their plans. 

Earlier, the West Indies made 182 for nine wickets after England won the toss and opted to field. They were in deep trouble at 18 for three wickets in the fourth over, after fast bowler Saqib Mahmood took the wickets of Brandon King, Evin Lewis, and Shimron Hetmeyer. 

England’s bowlers continued chip away at the wickets and the West Indies slipped to 69 for five wickets. Nicholas Pooran (38 off 29 balls) tried to hold the innings together but when his wicket at 117 for eight wickets in the 14^th over, the regional side was in danger of being dismissed below a par score. 

Andre Russell (30 off 17 balls), Romario Shepherd (35 not out from 22 balls) and an entertaining 33 not out by Motie from 14 balls give the West Indies a strong finish.   

Unfortunately, the West Indies score was a walk in the park for Salt and Bethell. Mahmood took four wickets for 34 runs, and Rashid picked up three for 32. 

Barbados’ beach wrestling prospects seem to be in great hands. And this is evident by the outstanding showing of some of our young people at the Lake Erie Beach Wrestling Series, in Canada.

Justin Boyce, Matthew Arindell, and Rebecca Williams each secured first place in their respective categories at the August 2024 competition, while Barbadian descendant Kanye Cumberbatch of New York placed second in his class.

The win was thrilling for all of them, especially 17-year-old Matthew Arindell, who has now made his mark in the sport. He is excited to have accomplished such a feat, especially since he only had one year of beach wrestling experience under his belt. Reports are that he was able to outclass two highly experienced and decorated fighters. 

“After winning the fight, which took at least two minutes or more, I felt satisfied knowing that my training wasn’t in vain, and it helped me to push for gold. My plans are to keep training hard and to compete in tournaments,” the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology student said.

In Canada, Matthew participated in an exchange programme at the Central Toronto Wrestling Academy in Ontario, and underwent a “very tough training regimen” under high-level wrestling coaches. He also trained with some refugee youths from several countries.

His coach, Sylvan Mascoll, praised the young man’s performance in Canada, describing it as “excellent”, especially since he has only been training for a year. He is hoping the 17-year-old student would get more opportunities to compete internationally. “That would be very good for him,” he surmised.

Initially, when Matthew started at Central Barbados Wrestling, under coach Mascoll, his focus was just on fitness training. But over time, he learned various techniques, to the point where he was encouraged to participate in the Barbados Beach Open last November.

“In my view, I did considerably well as an amateur, so I decided to pursue the sport further,” he stated.

Matthew is a graduate of the Barbados Wrestling Association’s initiative Beat the Block Wrestling Programme. Under that programme, he and a group of young people underwent training here last year with a Romanian coach, when the Barbados Wrestling Association and the National Peace Program (NPP) partnered to offer the training.

The teenager trains almost daily – he goes to the gym for two days and engages in wrestling drills and techniques for the rest of the week.

Acknowledging that there are some aggressive techniques within the sport, he stressed, however, that wrestling has assisted him in becoming resilient, as he presses on to reach his educational goals.

“Wrestling has helped me with my discipline towards most things, in general, and allowed me to keep the mentality to keep pushing past my limits.”17-year-old beach wrestler Matthew Arindell

“Wrestling has helped me with my discipline towards most things, in general, and allowed me to keep the mentality to keep pushing past my limits,” Matthew stated.

Young people who have an interest in this sport, he proffered, must be strong-willed, ready to push through failure, and learn from each experience, not only in wrestling but in life, generally.

Coach Mascoll added: “For any young person who has an interest in beach wrestling, it is very good. It helps you to relax, and focus on your goals in life, not just wrestling, but in life. Altogether, wrestling keeps you strong mentally and physically.”

Acting Director of the NPP, Alison Roach-Plummer, congratulated Matthew on his achievements and stressed government’s commitment to helping young people thrive on their journey.

“The NPP has been working assiduously to assist people and it remains committed to so doing. When we receive these good reports that people – young and old – are succeeding as a result of our contribution, then it makes us happy and propels us to continue,” Mrs. Roach-Plummer said.   

President of the Barbados Wrestling Association, Rollins Alleyne, praised Matthew and the other young people who competed in the beach wrestling competition in Canada, saying he was proud of their performance.

Mr. Alleyne continued: “Matthew Arindell’s emergence as a new force in beach wrestling, along with the achievements of his teammates, marks a promising future for Barbados’ wrestling. Matthew’s journey continues with exciting opportunities on the horizon, as he heads to Canada for further training and competitions, the 2025 Junior Pan Am Games Qualifier, and the 2025 U20 World Championships in Bulgaria.”

Matthew recently showed off his prowess again in beach wrestling by taking the U20 Division (90+kgs) in the Third Edition of the Barbados Open Beach Wrestling Tournament. 

Clearly, his love for and commitment to the sport will ensure that he continues to reap success, as he makes sure his name is indelibly written in the annals of beach wrestling.  (PR/GIS)

by Christopher Williams

The Empire Club had the honour of being selected  as the place where Cricket icon Brian Charles Lara would launch his book ” Lara The England Chronicles”. 

In spite of heavy afternoon rain, last Friday, scores of Lara’ fans came out to the event, many of whom purchased his book which Lara signed while graciously accepting the outpouring of admiration for him.

Former teammate and roommate Roland Holder delivered the opening remarks telling a few off the field encounters with Brian Lara punctuated with humour as he credited Lara as the driving force in his cricket career.

President of Empire Club Melvin “Ibo” Oxley presented Lara with the club’s cap and shirt. In a show of great appreciation he unveiled a framed photo of Lara which will be added to the club’s prestigious wall of test players from the Empire Club.

During his remarks Lara spoke about the 2004 Champion Trophy where due to a gritty 71 run partnership with Browne and Bradshaw the West Indies took victory from England in a late evening thriller. Lara said it was one of his best memories in his career.

The gathering included a large contingent from England, many past and present cricketers and youth cricketers from the Empire Youth Cricket Programme. In his presentation, Lara thanked all who made the event possible and said that he felt humbled to see that so many people would face the bad weather to be with him. He also expressed his pleasure with Fairfield Books, Miller Publishing Company Ltd and Empire Club for being instrumental in the successful launch of his book promising to also launch his next book in the same way.