Unfair treatment of Merry Boys

This year is a sad one for one of Trinidad’s favourite cricket teams, Merry Boys (MB). Their ground, situated in the verdant valley of Diego Martin, is one of picturesque beauty, surrounded by the idyllic setting of the foothills of the Northern Range.

To play there was always a cricketer’s delight, and for it to be unceremoniously taken away from them this year was an injustice of the highest order. Especially in 2024, when MB had just clawed their way back up to TT Cricket Board’s National League Premiership One status, having been demoted to Premiership Two the previous year.

The name of the field has been switched to the Diego Martin Sporting Complex, since the huge change that took place a few years ago. It involved adding a spanking new pavilion, a brilliant, smooth outfield, plus a cricket square containing two state-of-the-art cricket pitches.

This plot, characterised by its elegance and sophistication, was developed by the Urban Development Corporation (Udecott), which has been given the authority to govern the use of the property, regardless of whether it has any knowledge of sport.

This is the authority that banished Marry Boys from using their accustomed venue to participate in the Premiership One tournament of the TTCB. It must have been such a blow for the proud club to be thrown out of their “home” after feeling justifiably pleased at contesting in the top division once more. This must have been a real shocker.

So they have lost all opportunities in the league to play home games, and can only compete at their opponents’ grounds, to their great disadvantage.

What makes it even worse is that they have to leave their own home conditions to practise elsewhere.

Roneil Walcott of Newsday reported in an interview with the president of Merry Boys, Sebastien Edwards, that the club has found a temporary training base at Bamboo Number 2 Settlement in Valsayn, where they practise two days a week.

This is just not enough practice for a Premiership One team in order to improve standards and self-confidence. There are also additional costs, as Merry Boys are now having to pay thousands of dollars more than they estimated.

Because of these problems, the popular Diego club has had to forfeit all their reserve-team matches and put their developmental sessions on hold, as they cannot find a suitable venue, which, during the cricket season, will be extremely difficult.

And to think that only a couple of years ago, West Indies first-class cricket was being played at this attractive location.

According to Edwards, the venue was used to host the National Carnival Commission’s stickfighting semifinals on January 31. The greatest sin of all, in my estimation, was that the playing surface at the venue was reportedly used for parking.

Another reason that was galling to me, though, was the one given to Merry Boys. They were informed they would not be allowed to use the field to play any cricket because it is one of the venues earmarked to host warm-up games for the T20 World Cup in June. That was still six months away at the time.

Here is a club with a solid fan base, representing the populous community of Diego Martin since 1964. The late Patrick Rampersad, a native, built the team from scratch and gave his all while doing so.

After minor league cricket, Merry Boys moved up to the North Zone (NZ) of TTCB in 1971. After winning the NZ in 1981, they were promoted and won the national league Division 2 in 2000, then promoted to Division 1, now Premiership One, in 2001.

That year, Merry Boys, in their initial year of competition at the top level, placed third in the league.

In order to compete in Division 1 they had to move out from their home ground in Patna Village, as it was deemed too small for first-division cricket. That is why Rampersad obtained permission to have their games at the Diego Martin Recreation Ground from 2001. And they have been there since, except for brief times for refurbishment.

The bottom line is, had Udecott had any interest in the game of cricket, a way should have been found to encourage MB to continue at their ground. A sad story!