BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP):
FOUR WEST Indies cricketers were inducted into a new 'Walk of Fame' in western Barbados before a crowd of about 100 cheering fans.
Star batsman Brian Lara and Barbadian fast bowlers Fidel Edward and Cory Collymore were honoured with plaques at a short ceremony on Wednesday night at the 3Ws Oval. Jamaican batsman Wavell Hinds was also honoured, but he wasn't present at the ceremony to receive his plaque.
The Walk of Fame represents West Indies cricket and it's an honour to have my name on the walls of this facility, Lara said shortly after he received his plaque.
A batsman must score a century in a single innings while a bowler must take five or more wickets in order to qualify for the Walk of Fame.
Lara, the West Indies captain and double world record holder, scored 209 and Hinds, 133, in the opening Test against Sri Lanka at St. Lucia's Beausejour Stadium. Edward took five for 36 and Collymore seven for 57 in the second Test at Sabina Park.
The director of the West Indies Cricket Board, Stephen Alleyne, congratulated the inductees, giving special praise to Lara for the team's efforts in the last series against Australia and Sri Lanka.
I think the West Indies team under Brian Lara has improved, Alleyne said. There have been disappointments, but there are very encouraging signs of accomplishment by a very young team.
The walls surrounding the Walk of Fame are plastered with hundreds of plaques of former West Indies players dating back to 1928.
The Walk of Fame and 3Ws Oval, owned and operated by the University of the West Indies in Barbados, was officially opened earlier this year.
