BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

The FILMING of a Caribbean movie to coincide with next year's Cricket World Cup started on the island on Wednesday.

The movie, called Hit For Six!, will depict a young West Indies cricketer hoping to regain his place on the team after a layoff.

During the production, however, he is hit by a scandal, which is uncovered by a female reporter. Meanwhile, the player discovers his father, who has been living in England for 32 years.

The role of the cricketer is being played by Barbadian lawyer Andrew Pilgrim, who previously had roles on The Bold & The Beautiful, while Varia Williams, another Barbadian with experience in stage productions, plays the role of the reporter.

The father is being played by Rudolph Walker, a veteran British actor, who has held many major roles in the United Kingdom. He was born in Trinidad.

The producer and director is Allison Saunders-Franklyn of Blue Waters Productions, a Barbadian company, which has assisted on projects including The Bold & The Beautiful and the Trinidadian soap opera, Westwood Park.

"We are hoping to be on the screen around March 2007, the time of the World Cup," Saunders-Franklyn said. "It's a movie with a cricket theme, but it also deals with social and other wide-ranging elements of West Indian society."

She added that several linkages have been made globally to market the project, including interest from the Bollywood movie industry in India.

"We have the talent here in the Caribbean and I see this as an opportunity to give something back," said Walker.

"It's fantastic, I'm loving it."