Cricket enthusiasts in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean are currently being captivated by the June 1-29 Twenty/20 World Cup, being jointly hosted by the West Indies and the US. And with the Windies safely into the Super Eight stage of the competition, die-hard maroon fans would hope the Caribbean team can lift an unprecedented third T20 World Cup at Kensington Oval in Barbados when the final ball in the tournament is bowled.
T20 cricket and the even shorter T10 version capture the attention of fans who crave the party atmosphere which goes hand-in-hand with fast-paced sport.
And from the entity which brought the Chuck E Cheese franchise to Trinidad, a fun experience for cricket fans is here with Sixes Social Cricket.
The brainchild of Joanna Rostant, the co-founder of the Yay Entertainment Ltd company, which owns the Chuck E Cheese franchise in the Caribbean, Sixes Social Cricket is a sports restaurant and bar which is expected to marry the cricket culture and liming culture of Trinis under one roof with the advent of a "fun, cool" cricket game.
Sixes Social Cricket, in the eastern block of One Woodbrook Place, Port of Spain, near Buzz Bar, will engage its guests to do much more than watch and banter about their favourite sports and athletes.
[caption id="attachment_1091084" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Yay Entertainment Limited co-founder Joanna Rostant (C) poses with Netherlands player Logan van Beek (R) and West Indies wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua Da Silva during the public opening of the Sixes Social Club at One Woodbrook Place on Tuesday in Port of Spain. Photo by Daniel Prentice[/caption]
With five cricket batting nets, each outfitted with an automated bowling machine set at five difficulty levels, Rostant said Sixes Social Cricket promises its patrons the opportunity to channel the brilliance and flair which the "electric" West Indian greats of yesteryear displayed as they conspired to "decimate the next team."
Rostant said it's a chance for Trinis to lime, dine and enjoy their very own version of calypso cricket. The "top-class technology" of the batting nets was created by UK company BatFast, which has received praise from former South African batsman Gary Kirsten for its innovation.
"BatFast is a great way to engage cricket enthusiasts. It's the perfect entertainment offering for the amateur and a great training tool for the more experienced cricketer too," Kirsten said, via a statement on the BatFast website.
On June 17, Rostant spoke to Newsday about the rationale during a brief tour of the 5,800-square-foot facility.
"I look back and I say every rum shop in Trinidad has an all-fours table. This is what is called competitive socialising," Rostant said. "You're socialising, but you're competing. You're playing a game at the same time. Competitive socialising has exploded after covid, because people were so frustrated by being at home and by themselves.
"When I discovered this concept of social cricket, that six, eight or ten or however many people can lime and book a
