Bridgetown, Barbados – In what appears to be a story of ‘like father like son’ Fidel Edwards could pass the fast bowling baton to his son in years to come.
Cricket fans at Kensington Oval were thrilled with what they saw from the local children who participated in the Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket display. One child who stood out, despite his small physique, was a pint-sized five-year-old. He caught the eye as he sprinted to the crease off his "long run" to bowl "fast".
That little pacer was Thierry Edwards, the five-year-old son of West Indies fast bowler Fidel Edwards. He then took up the bat and showed he can play a few shots as well, as he and other schoolmates from the Boscobel Primary had a great day on the Oval under the watchful eye of coach Adrian King.
As it turned out, his father also caught the eye as he took a brilliant five-wicket haul two days later to end with eight wickets in the match.
Thierry is a little over four feet tall and was the smallest Scotiabank Kiddy cricketer during the demo. He has fallen in love with cricket and has all the encouragement he needs from his father as well as his uncle Pedro Collins, the former West Indies left-arm pacer.
"He likes to play cricket and we do our best to encourage him and the other little children in the community," Fidel said.
"It is always good to see children enjoying themselves and learning to play the game. They were happy to be on the Oval."
Asked who is his favourite cricketer, Thierry not surprisingly, replied: "my daddy".
Over 70 Kiddy Cricketers took to the field to showcase their batting, fielding, catching and bowling skills which they have developed and fine tuned in the programme.
The featured schools from Barbados included: Ingnatius Byer Primary, Boscobel Primary, St. Christopher Primary, Baleys Primary, St. Catherine Primary and West Terrace Primary.
The Kiddy Cricketers also played the part of Ball Boys and Girls for the Second Digicel Test match between West Indies and India they patrolled the boundary and retrieved balls.