In the Community

Gospelfest organisers took fresh guard for the recently concluded 2014 edition of Barbados’ Premier Gospel Festival, which got off to a prayerful and powerful start with a 20/20 cricket match organised with assistance from Sol.

The third annual Barbados Gospelfest 20/20 Cricket Exhibition match featured a Barbados Gospelfest XI captained by Adrian Agard and representative of pastors, sponsors, and church affiliated cricketers, vs. a select Celebrity XI, comprised of Media workers, politicians, and entertainers captained by Barbados’ Attorney General, Adriel Brathwaite.

Both teams were well turned out with the Gospelfest XI outfitted in Sol orange kit emblazoned with the Sol logo, while the Celebrity XI wore black kit, also branded with the Sol logo.

To get the ball rolling, Celebrity representative and Barbados’ acclaimed calypsonian and songwriter Anthony “Mighty Gabby” Carter delivered a soulful rendition of The Lord’s Prayer as members of both teams shared in a moment of intercession for the success of the Festival. 

Sol’s Brand, Communications & External Affairs Manager, Gina Cummins, said the company readily identified with cricket as a vehicle for outreach and unity, while the Gospelfest theme of “Touching Lives Changing Nations” was an excellent fit for the Caribbean’s leading independent petroleum marketing company.

“Sol is happy again this year to be a sponsor of Gospelfest and to endorse the theme of ‘touching lives, changing nations’. We are also pleased to support this 20/20 cricket initiative, which was held to raise awareness around the Festival. As a Caribbean leader we appreciate the impact that cricket continues to have in promoting unity and understanding among local and regional communities. These are values which Sol certainly supports and we are therefore proud of our continued association with Gospelfest.”

While the biggest winner on the evening was Gospelfest itself, the match was officially won by the Barbados Gospelfest XI which got home by just 12 runs after scoring 180 all out from their 20 overs, with a top-score of 80 not-out from the multitalented Ken “Surfer” Mayers.

Extras made the next highest contribution, and radio personality Ronnie Clarke scored a brisk 26 not-out from just three overs.

The Celebrity XI in reply were all out for 178 runs, with a top-score of 50 from former West Indies all-rounder Franklyn Stephenson, in an innings in which five Celebrity players failed to trouble the scores.