Letter to the Sports Editor....Devers may have taken my comment out of context

Letter to the Sports Editor….Devers may have taken my comment out of context

Nov 06, 2016 Sports

Dear Editor,
I refer to an article headlined “Media Centre could be named after ‘Reds’ next month” written by Mr. Sean Devers which appeared on page 67 of the Sunday October 30, 2016 edition of the Kaieteur News and now desire to make a few comments on the said piece.
In paragraph 11, Devers states: “One of Seeraj’s arguments about the naming of the stands (at Providence) is that most of the names suggested never played at Providence”, and I gather that this is no doubt in reference to a column I did titled “Leave Providence…………Rehabilitate Bourda” which was carried on page 28 of the Sunday Chronicle edition of June 12, 2016.
However, it is clear that Devers may not have read the entire column or may have read the entire column but did not comprehend what he read, or may have read it in its entirety, understood what was therein but just chose to quote me out of context.
A careful look at my article would make it clear that I am not against the naming of the stadium, the stands, ends of the wickets or whatever to honour our cricketers-past or present – but the names should reflect those that would have honed their skills there.
The cricketing stalwarts Marius Fernandes, Robert Christiani, John Trim, Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Joe Solomon, Clive Lloyd, Roy Fredericks, Alvin Kallicharran, Lance Gibbs, Colin Croft and several others should be given the accolades that are due but this should be done at Bourda where they played with distinction and helped to create our rich cricketing history.
This is not to say that Devers or anyone else should agree with my line of thinking but at least I expect that any quote or reference should be taken in its context.
Even so, it seems that Devers cannot make up his mind as to whose names should adorn the stands at Providence.
In a January 01, 2016 Kaieteur News article on the subject he suggests that the RED STAND be named the Rohan Kanhai and Alvin Kallicharran stand but in less than one year (on October 30, 2016) he changes that to the Clive Lloyd and Rohan Kanhai stand.
Formerly, the GREEN STAND would have been christened the Roy Fredericks stand but ten months later it’s the Roy Fredericks and Basil Butcher stand. On New Year’s Day 2016, the ORANGE STAND was the Clive Lloyd stand but suddenly that honour has gone to Alvin Kallicharran and Joe Solomon.
And if that was not enough to cause confusion, Shiv Chanderpaul’s name has been removed from the GRASS MOUND and would now be placed on the Players’ Pavilion. Carl Hooper and Ramnaresh Sarwan will now party in the GRASS MOUND.
If Devers is making so many changes in a 10-month period, then the Honourable Minister with responsibility for Sport, Ms Nicolette Henry, is absolutely correct in stating that she does not want to spend the next five years defending the choice of players that may be honoured in the naming of the stands.
EDWIN SEERAJ

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