The 4th Annual West Indies Cricket Legends Weekend and Celebrity Gala honoring the 50th Anniversary of Lawrence ‘Yagga’ Rowe’s epic 302 runs in Barbados and his 75th birthday took place last weekend in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. To celebrate Yagga’s remarkable cricket legacy and philanthropy, a number of West Indies Cricket legends and icons descended on the Westin Hotel to enjoy and evening and festive weekend full of activities.
While this story seeks to highlight the happenings at the January 20th Celebrity Gala, which aside from Lawrence Rowe was attended by former West Indies cricketers: Sir Vivian Richards (Antigua); Joel Garner (Barbados); Andy Roberts (Antigua); Chris Gayle (Jamaica); and Courtney Walsh (Jamaica). And there were a number of other notables in the building, including Chris Dehring (former chief marketing executive of the West Indies Cricket Board (now Cricket West Indies)); Yohan Blake (legendary Jamaican track and field sprinter and Olympic and World Champion); Hazelle Rogers (Broward County Commissioner, District 9); and Commissioner Denise Grant (City of Lauderhill, Florida).
Besides the marquis Celebrity Gala, this year’s West Indies Cricket Legends Weekend also featured on Saturday, January 20th the ‘Morning Cricket Clinic’, where there was a free cricket clinic for afficionados and served as a one-of-a-kind opportunity for aspiring cricketers to learn from the best in the game. On Sunday, there were cricket matches as well as live entertainment which took place at the Broward Central Regional Stadium Park in Lauderhill, Florida (which will also play host to the 2024 Cricket World Cup).
Lawrence ‘Yagga Rowe’
Hailing from the island of Jamaica, Lawrence ‘Yagga’ Rowe, is a former West Indies cricketer who debuted in the 1968–69 cricket season. Not long after, Yagga made Test match history by scoring 214 and 100 not out against New Zealand at Sabina Park in Kingston. At that, Rowe marked the first time that a cricketer in his Test match had logged a double and single century. And most impressive off all and the focal point of the evening’s celebrations along with Yagga’s 75th birthday, was Rowe’s triple century—302 runs scored—against England in Barbados at the Kensington Oval. That feat was and still is the most runs ever scored by a West Indian at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. What’s more, Yagga is among the only four West Indians to have a triple century under their belt, with the others being Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, and Garfield Sobers.
It was during the West Indies-Australia 1975–76 tour that Rowe was revered as the top batsman in the world. And it was Yagga who was hailed as a ‘batting hero’ for the West Indies in the times prior to the emergence of Sir Vivian Richards.
Vivian ‘Master Blaster’ Richards
Sir Vivian ‘Viv’ Richards is a retired Antiguan cricketer and legendary West Indies, and is widely regarded as one of the sport’s top greats, especially when it came to batting. At the age of 22, Viv launched his West Indies international Test cricket career that lasted until 1993 after over a 120 Test matches. Over the course of his illustrious career, Richards without a doubt set him self apart on the pitch and was definitely one of the most dominant, feared, productive, and iconic batsmen of not only his generation, but of all time.
And over the span of his career, he garnered too many accolades to count while also serving as captain of the West Indies squad from 1985 to 1991 amid unforgettable international success. Richards also famously declined to wear a batting helmet as a cricketer, and instead opted for a baseball-style soft cap in the face of some of the most feared pace bowlers of the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s eras. In 1999, Viv was knighted by the Antiguan government and also has a cricket stadium named after him—Sir Vivian Richards Stadium—which is located in North Sound, Saint George, Antigua and Barbuda.
Joel ‘Big Bird’ Garner
Hailing from the island of Barbados, Joel ‘Big Bird’ Garner is a former West Indies cricketer who made his mark in the 1970s and ’80s as a much-feared and dominant fast bowler. In 1977, standing at 6 feet 8 inchies tall, Garner made his Test cricket debut for the West Indies and, in doing so, became a core component of one of the most memorable Windies squads ever in that he bowled in combination with perhaps the most formidable set of West Indies bowlers of all time—including, Michael ‘Whispering Death’ Holding, Andy Roberts, and Malcom Marshall. After leaving the Test Cricket stage, Garner played county cricket in England and enjoyed a great deal of success playing for Somerset during the 1980’s, which were arguably the team’s best years. Over the past several decades, ‘Big Bird’ has certainly remained quite involved in the sport of cricket. In addition to serving as president of the Barbados Cricket Association, Joel Garner was inducted into the International Cricket Council Cricket Hall of Fame in 2010.
Chris ‘Universe Boss’ Gayle
Hailing from the island of Jamaica, Chris Gayle is a former West Indies cricketer. Often going by the moniker, ‘Universe Boss’, Gayle is the sole batsman to score a century in a Twenty20 International, a double century in One Day Internationals and a triple century in test cricket. Not surprisingly, Gayle has been widely though of as the greatest batsman ever to have played Twenty20 cricket. Indeed, Chris played a pivotal role in catapulting the West Indies teams to garnering the ICC Champions Trophy in 2004, the ICC World Twenty20 in 2012 and 2016.
When it came to test cricket, the ‘Universe Boss’ was the first to score a six on the first ball of a Test match. What’s more, Gayle became the 4th player to score a pair of triple centuries in Test matches. And as a major career milestone, Gayle in 2002 scored 3 centuries against India and, in doing so became the 3rd West Indian to log more than 1,000 runs in a calendar year.
Andy Roberts
Hailing from Antigua, Andy Roberts is a retired Jamaican cricketer and legendary fast bowler who has been regarded as the father of modern West Indian fast bowling. Andy was the first cricketer from Antigua to represent the West Indies internationally. In addition, Roberts was a core weapon in the four-pronged stable of formidable of West Indies fast-bowlers that struck fear in opposing batsmen in the 1970s and ’80s. As the senior fast bowler on the squad, Roberts later bestowed his experience and wisdom onto the likes of some other West Indies legendary fast bowlers, such as Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Wayne Daniel, Courtney Walsh, and Curtly Ambrose.
Courtney Walsh
Courtney Walsh is a retired Jamaican cricketer and legendary fast bowler who, in 2001, was the first bowler to collect more than 500 wickets in Test Cricket competition. A native of Kingston, Walsh made his start in first-class cricket in 1982 for Jamaica. Two years later, in 1984, Courtney began his Test Cricket career in Perth, Australia. What’s more, Walsh went on to serve as captain for the West Indies cricket team during their 1994 Tour of India. In that capacity, Courtney’s leadership as captain resulted in team victories over India and New Zealand. In March of 2000, Walsh snagged his 435th Test wicket, and roughly a year later made history in reaching 500. A month later in 2001, he retired with a total of 519 Test wickets over the span of his sparkling career. Courtney Walsh became a member of the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame in 2010.
Chris Dehring
Chris Dehring is the former chief marketing executive of the West Indies Cricket Board (now Cricket West Indies) and also served as the Chief Executive Officer of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, which was hosted by the West Indies.
Currently, Mr. Dehring is the senior corporate executive and new head of the marketing committee of the Jamaica Football Federation (he represented Jamaica in football at the under-19 level). So too, Dehring is the CEO of READY TV, which is a telecommunications company based in Jamaica that delivers subscription-based Digital Broadcast Television. Previously, Dehring was among the founders of investment bank Dehring, Bunting and Golding (DB&G) along with Peter Bunting and Mark Golding.
Yohan ‘the Beast’ Blake
Hailing from Jamaica, Yohan Blake is an impressively decorated and legendary track and field sprinter. Nicknamed ‘the Beast’, Yohan in the 100 and 200 meter sprints is the second fastest ever. What’s more, Blake is the second fastest man ever at the 100 meters with 9.69 seconds as his personal best. Tyson Gay of the USA also shares that accomplishment. Of course, only Usain Bolt—the ‘Fastest Man Alive’—has ever run faster with a currently standing world record of 9.58 seconds and 19.19 seconds in the 100 and 200 meters, respectively.
Yagga Rowe’s 2024 Celebrity Gala Was An Unforgettable Evening and Event
Photos by Nick Ford
