“Deeply honoured and extremely humbled.”
That is how former West Indies leg-spinner and two-time T20 World Cup winner Samuel Badree responded to the news that he is one of the recipients of the Hummingbird Medal Gold at Trinidad and Tobago’s National Awards.
Badree was one of two persons in the local cricket fraternity to be awarded the Hummingbird Medal Gold this year, the other being Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) president and Cricket West Indies (CWI) vice-president Azim Bassarath.
Bassarath is being awarded in the spheres of Sports and Cricket Administration.
Badree, who is a Curriculum Officer and sports broadcaster, is a former world number one ranked T20 bowler and a member of the West Indies World Cup-winning teams of 2012 and 2016.
Badree was also a West Indies players’ representative and conducted workshops with players to prepare them for post-cricket life, money management and re-integration into society, communications and public relations.
He is also chairman and founder of Badree’s Academy of Sport Education (BASE) and has been an educator for over two decades.
Meanwhile, Bassarath was recognised for his work in fostering and growing youth development cricket programmes at every age-group level.
He has also contributed to the expansion of women’s cricket development, assisting in building girls’ participation at the various schools and national levels.
Bassarath has also been credited with reaching out to rural communities by implementing cricket caravans in areas such as Toco, Cedros and Tobago, to unearth new talent.
Speaking about the award, Badree said, “For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to play for Trinidad and Tobago and the West Indies. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I’d be a two-time World Cup champion, a former number one T20 bowler in the world or many of the other achievements I’ve had.
“I’ve always played the sport of cricket because of the great joy it brought to me and later on, the joy it brought to the people of Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean. I’ve never played for any accolade, award or reward but rather to be the best that I can.”
Badree said he saw sport and education as vehicles for upward social mobility and, “I am quite proud to have excelled in both.”
“Right up there with my World Cup titles are my Bachelors Degree and Masters Degree. I’ve been involved in all levels of the education landscape, including primary school, secondary school and at a senior management level,” he continued.
“My aspiration has always been to embody and demonstrate the positive correlation between sport and education. Some people think that they are mutually exclusive and that you can excel in one or the other. I hope that through my contributions, young boys and girls can see that in fact sport and education are inextricably linked and that each compliments the other,” Badree added.
He said he is committed to both endeavours which comes together in his academy, BASE through which he hopes to inspire the next generation so that excellence will be the norm rather than the exception.
“I am passionate about the work that I do with my academy. Every year, we engage hundreds of children from all walks of life and deliver a holistic programme where cricket is used as the vehicle in developing productive and disciplined citizens of Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.
“I am very thankful to my mother, a single mother, who made tremendous personal sacrifices which allowed me to pursue my dreams and grateful to my siblings who never allowed me to wane from chasing excellence. Gratitude must also be extended to my wife and two daughters who continue to be my pillars of strength and motivation to continue to do all that I do,” he continued.
“I thank all of Trinidad and Tobago for the support over the years and I have no doubt that together, we can inspire the youth of the nation and excellence will be the norm rather than the exception,” Badree added. (Daily Express)
