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Minister of Tourism and Culture, Hon. Carlos James, says the Government is honoured to be able to pay tribute to the twelve (12) living West Indies Cricket Legends from the inaugural 1975 Cricket World Cup.

One of the most significant gestures was conferring Vincentian citizenship upon the winners of the 1975 Prudential World Cup.

Speaking at a luncheon on Sunday, August 3rd, Minister James said the Government sought to recognise the historic legacy of the legends, whom he described as “great men of caribbean descent”  who have done much in bringing pride to the region.

“If it's one thing that we can take away is, there's no value you can put to what we've done on this weekend of activities,” the Minister said while also stressing that Prime Minister Dr. Gonsalves was instrumental in recognizing the former players.

On Saturday, August 2nd, 2025, the six legends from the 1975 World Cup winning team who were present in SVG were invited to breakfast at the official residence of Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves where they were presented with the specifics of the citizenship offer. On that day, they also journeyed to the Arnos Vale Sporting Complex where they interacted with cricketers as young as five, both male and female, giving valuable advice.

On Sunday, August 3rd, 2025, the six legends were back at the PM’s official residence for lunch where it was revealed that the images of Sir Clive Lloyd, Sir Gordon Greenidge, Sir Andy Roberts, Deryck Murray, Alvin Kallicharran, and Collis King along with local cricket greats Michael Findlay and Winston Davis were placed on commemorative 50-dollar stamps to recognise the 50th anniversary of their achievement. “…certainly, it means something to us as Vincentians and caribbean peoples, and we must never forget their contribution,” Minister James said.

On Sunday night, the Double Decker Stand at the Arnos Vale Sporting Complex was renamed the “The Legends Pavilion” during the innings break of the finals of the Emancipation Cricket Festival (ECF). Sunday’s ECF final was a culmination of the weekend of activities which also included a legends panel discussion titled “Cricket: A Public Good”.

The other members of the 1975 World Cup winning team, not present in SVG, were Sir Vivian Richards, Bernard Julien, Vanburn Holder, Lance Gibbs, Maurice Foster, Rohan Kanhai, Roy Fredericks (deceased), and Keith Boyce (deceased).

SOURCE: Agency for Public Information (API)