THE Lucas Cricket Club, currently in a rebuilding process, has received a much-needed cash boost through the generosity of the recently-formed Chris Gayle Foundation.

At Friday’s presentation at the club’s Preston Road base, the West Indies star batsman — a long-time member of Lucas — handed over a symbolic cheque worth $543,000 to club president Oneil Cruickshank.

Radcliffe Haynes, director for the Gayle Foundation, explained that the funds were garnered from the staging of the Grand T20 (Twenty20) Victory Party last October, which celebrated the region’s triumph in the ICC T20 World Cup and added that the donation is a part of the cricketer’s thrust to help Lucas and the wider community.

“This presentation is on behalf of the Foundation and we see it appropriate to give back to the club. This Foundation is set up to give back in ways like this and to give back to the community,” he said, while thanking Sharon Burke’s Solid Agency for planning the fund-raising party.

Lucas CC, in existence for over a century, has a rich tradition of producing first-rate cricketers and is regarded as the first in Jamaica to admit black cricketers as members. It is said that legendary West Indian batsman George Headley, who scored 2,190 runs and averaged 60.83 in 22 Tests, joined the club in 1929.

Despite the glorious history, the club has fallen on hard times and last won the national club title well over a decade ago.

Recent initiatives at Lucas include last year’s opening of the Chris Gayle Nursery and the unveiling of the George Headley bust. Plans are also afoot to carry out numerous restoration and upgrading programmes.

Gayle, 33, who was a part of the set-up which last took national honours in 1999, praised sponsors Digicel, bat supplier Spartan Sports and various club members who “made an impact” on his development, while adding that the support of Lucas will continue.

“I want to thank my sponsor Digicel… they have helped with a lot of grassroots cricketers and we are thankful for that. I want to thank Spartan Sports and (club vice-president) Mr (Brian) Breese as well because he has played his part and he has been here a number of years. I want to give him credit for the time he has actually spent (helping) and I say thanks to all the members who made an impact on my life.

“We are looking to the future and hope things can actually progress. We are looking to grow from strength to strength. We want to help the kids and a lot of people and want the club to have better facilities for kids to play here at Lucas Cricket Club. I’m sure we can get (to develop) international players once we get things kicking here at Lucas,” Gayle said, while declaring that development plans will include neighbours Kensington CC.

Kunal Sharma, the managing director of Australia-located Spartan Sports, also announced that a partnership which includes scholarship funding, is being thrashed out with the club.

Cruickshank welcomed the support and outlined major plans for the upgrade of the nursery.

“A lot of focus is currently on the nursery and it is the decision of the club that we will channel most of those funds into the nursery. We don’t just want it to be a nursery with three lanes of batting pitches. We want to have a complete nursery that is able to develop the various skill sets in our youngsters and that is what we are hoping to do,” said the club boss.

Of the new thrust to rebuild the club, Cruickshank expressed overwhelming satisfaction.

“If I think to how things were a year ago, it’s a far different cry from what is happening now. We took a decision as club members that if we did things differently we would reap results. We have a three-year plan and just six months in we are lucky to be ahead of where we wanted to be,” he said.

The club president added that other sports will also be encouraged as a means to maximise the involvement of the surrounding communities.