The ramshackle heritage of Frank Worrell

Special Correspondent

May 8, 2002

Five years have passed by, and the small pink house looks forlorn. Earlier, a man used to live here with his girl-friend, but without any idea of who the original inhabitant of the house might be. Now the local scribes say that the house at night is a den for Bridgetown's anti-social elements.

During his childhood, this was where Sir Frank Worrell lived. A small, white marble slab says as much: "This is the house where lived Sir Frank, and the house is now the property of the government." A special board of trustees, at a meeting attended even by the Barbados Prime Minister, was formed on June 26 1991 to look after the house. In the 11 years since then, the trustees seem to have lost all interest in preserving the house.

Adjacent to the house is the famous Empire club, one that spawned cricketers like Worrell, Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes, Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith. Griffith, once the president of the club, has resigned now, and the club has gone downhill along with Caribbean cricket.

With nobody living in the house now, grass grows out of the cracks in the stairs. The electricity has been cut off, but the brackets still remain. The window-panes are broken, and, peering through them, one can see the wash-basin that the residents once used. But there is no photograph visible of the man who once reshaped the game in this country. Were it not for the marble slab, there would be no indication that this ramshackle structure was Sir Frank's birthplace.

Griffith and Weekes are worried about the preservation of the house. "Something has to be done. The administrators have to look into the matter seriously. We have his face imprinted on a five-dollar note, but his house is in such a state and nobody is taking any initiative to preserve it in the proper way," they say.

Sir Frank continues to be honoured, though. The university here arranges a yearly lecture in his memory. Even a few days ago, former British prime minister John Major delivered a speech on the occasion. But for some reason, there is no initiative to preserve the house.

© Cricinfo

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