Sir Garfield Sobers

Barbados batting, the Leeward Islands fielding

From left: Dwayne Johnson, Stacey Triplett, Beverley Triplett, and Martin Rowe

A virtually empty stadium. The pavilion is on the right.

The Barbados Cricket Museum

ROTB co-author, Martin Rowe writes: No trip to Barbados would be complete for the cricket-lover without due homage being made at the storied Kensington Oval in Bridgetown to the great Sir Garfield Sobers, surely the greatest all-round cricketer that the world has known and Barbados’ most famous son (Rihanna might be its most famous daughter!). Fortunately, a game was in progress during my visit (Barbados versus the Leeward Islands) and it was the longest form of the game. I spent an hour or so explaining the intricacies of the game to my American friends and then a couple of hours of watching the game by myself as they explored the more obvious and immediate delights of shopping. I toured the Barbados Cricket Museum, where I discovered just how many of the greats of the game were Bajan, including Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Joel Garner, Conrad Hunte, and, of course, the three “W”s: Frank Worrell, Clyde Walcott, and Everton Weekes. Cricket faces many challenges in the Caribbean, not least on how to get people to show up to watch a game on a Saturday. I will write more on this in future blogs.