The East End Sports and Cultural Club hosted the Anguilla Cricket Stanford 20/20 Pro Team on Sunday, February 17, at a wind ball cricket match on the playing field at Pond Ground. It was a well-attended event which provided much interaction among the sports persons and many members of the public.

Owen Mussington (left) and Salihabdur Raheem

Cricket Development Officer in Anguilla, Cardigan Connor, who is the Pro Team Coach, spoke to The Anguillian about the Stanford 20/20 tournament and the performance of the island’s team on a whole including the recent match in Antigua.

“Now that the Stanford 20/20 tournament is over, we are still on a daily basis preparing as a professional team,” he said. He explained that following a meeting of the Stanford 20/20 Board the decision would be taken as to when the next tournament would take place. It is hoped that the 20 teams in the various islands will reach the required professional level by the end of the year. “Our objective is therefore to remain focussed and be prepared whenever a game is offered to us,” he stated. In the meantime the Anguillian team is also preparing for the Leeward Islands three-day Tournament and the one-day Nagico Tournament both due to take place in the near future.

Asked how happy he was with the performance of the Anguillian Pro Team, Mr. Connor replied: “I am pleased with their performance in Antigua but still disappointed with the results. This is because I don’t think we bowled as well as we are capable of…On the other hand, I thought our batsmen batted very well… I think overall I was pleased with our performance but, as I said, I was disappointed with the results knowing for a fact that we could have played better.”

He added: “Having lost, that was the end of our tournament, but I still like to think that we left a positive impression not just with the Anguillians but all those in the Caribbean and around the world who watched our cricketers play.”

The National Pro Team of Anguilla with Cardigan Connor at extreme right

Owen Mussington, President of the East End Sports and Cultural Club, said: “We invited the Pro Team to our playing field to expose them to the young people and other members of the public and to let the team know that we are supporting them 100 percent. We are very proud to have them here especially because we in East End have some very young cricketers playing in the same tournament and would like them to model the good players in that Pro Team.”

As a result of his excellent work among the East End youth, Mussington won the local Unsung Heroes Competition last year sponsored by FirstCaribbean International Bank. “The East End Sports and Cultural Club is aimed at developing young people,” he said. “They will be moving from one stage to the other in sports. Will be going into music and will also be providing a wood-work centre for the East End children. We expect that these projects will be achieved during the course of this year.”

Mr. Mussington continued: “I believe I have a good knack in working with young people. God has me here for this specific reason so I am using this opportunity to the honour and glory of God.”

He spoke to The Anguillian in the company of his colleague, who carries the Arabic name of Salihabdur Raheem. “I really work behind the scenes with Owen Mussington and others,” he explained. “Our aim is to work with all the young people in East End to stop them from going astray. This gives me a lot of personal satisfaction. The creator has blessed me with a lot of inspiration and our objective, as I said, is to give the youth some spiritual leadership and motivation to assist them along the path of life.”

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