The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) would do well to take a page out of the book of LAY Management Ltd and the West
Indies Players Association’s (WIPA’s) marketing of the Balls of Fire Charity Event at the Queen’s Park Oval Saturday. The event, the proceeds of which are to benefit the Pearl and Bunty Lara Foundation, drew a crowd of some 25,000 people who crammed into the venue to catch a glimpse of their favourite cricketers and current and former star footballers and most importantly, indulge in that Trini penchant, liming. In terms of organisation, the Board could find better examples, as fire and police personnel seemed overwhelmed trying to control the throng that spilled onto the grassy knoll areas and those occupying the aisles and walkways of the Scotiabank, Dos Santos, Carib, CLICO, Constantine and Trini Posse Stands. But certainly in terms of demand and generating interest, LAY and WIPA were a roaring success. It was obvious the massive turnout exceed the wildest expectations of LAY and WIPA. Their offer of “sit anywhere tickets” had such an impact, that at the start of the Twenty/20 game, the gates and turnstiles were forced to close, with legitimate ticket-bearers still struggling to get in, with only standing room available. Possibly in anticipation of sanctions the EMA may be issue, one official was overheard telling a colleague: “Boy, the fine the (Queen’s Park) Oval go hadda pay on Monday, eh!”
Most of those little squabbles were settled the Trini way, that is, with the offer of some alcoholic beverage to compensate for the inconvenience, and by the perpetrators “squinging up” a bit as a sign of compromise.