Young Preston cricketer jetting 7,000 miles to play in the Caribbean
7 February 2007
A PRESTON cricketer is swapping Penwortham for palm trees as he jets over 7,000 miles to play a tournament on the island of Tobago in the Caribbean.
Antony Dark, 14, who attends Hutton Grammar School in Preston, was invited on the tour by the Votadini & Setantii Cricket Club (V&SCC), which has scouted the North West to find the best young players to represent the club in a tournament in Tobago for its under-16 and under-19 teams.
The tournament is taking place at Queen’s Point with the V&SCC’s teams playing four games against different combinations of a Tobago select group that includes some of the island’s best young cricketers.
The V&SCC is a special touring team that is named after two ancient tribes that lived in the North of England. The club has only been formed this year by its chairman, Phil Reece, who will be going on the tour along with two coaches and a team manager.
Antony is a wicket keeper and plays for Penwortham Cricket Club. Preston-based law firm, MWR Solicitors, is helping to sponsor Antony so he can take part in the tour.
Antony said: “I am very excited about the tour in Tobago. It is a great chance for me to play in another country that has a different style of cricket. I have been playing the sport since I was five and I never thought I would be offered the opportunity to play in the Caribbean.
“I would really like to thank the V&SCC for inviting me to represent them and MWR Solicitors for sponsoring me to go on the tour.”
Jane Booker, a partner at MWR, said: “Having been involved with the sponsorship of local junior cricket before, we are keen to support local talent in any way we can and this is a fantastic opportunity for Antony to experience playing in a nation with a long cricketing history.
“It is a great achievement for Antony to be selected for the V&SCC and it would be a great shame if he were to miss out on going to Tobago through no fault of his own.
“Who knows, we might see Antony in a future Ashes series, the England team need all the help they can get!”
