Friday, September 4^th 2009 – Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands:  The Digicel Cricket Coaching Clinics brought international icons and sports personalities to the shores of the Cayman Islands to coach 24 of Cayman’s aspiring young cricketers. The trio also managed to fit in a number of events to make sure they met as many cricket fans as possible in the Cayman Islands.

Chris Gayle, Jerome Taylor and Kenny Benjamin received a warm welcome to the Cayman Islands on Wednesday, September 2^nd, when they were whisked to the Digicel Camana Bay flagship store to meet and greet the public during an autograph session from 11:30am to 1:30pm.  Droves of fans and cricket enthusiasts came out to have one-on-one discussions with the star cricketers, using the opportunity to have cricket memorabilia signed and photos taken with the sportsmen.

In typical Digicel style, hundreds of residents who turned out were presented with promotional items including photos of the players, bags and visors. There were in-store competitions featuring the raffle of a Nokia 1200 mobile phone which was won by Yvonne Webber, and a Digicel Broadband Internet modem won by Gregory Davis. Yvonne was thrilled to have won her phone and expressed her satisfaction by saying: “This is fantastic!  I have never won anything before and it seems like these gentlemen (cricketers) have brought me some really good luck.  I thank Digicel so much because they always do things differently that benefit everyone.”

The day came to an end with a reception dinner for the visitors at the upscale Edoardo’s Restaurant, with special guest the Hon. McKeeva Bush (Leader of Government Business) delivering the keynote address. “Since I was a child, my two favorite sports have been cricket and football. Cricket is a favorite pastime for many Caribbean people. It is a privilege having these great sportsmen coaching our youngsters in the Cayman Islands and I would like to thank Digicel for taking the initiative to bring these sportsmen to our shores - this can only improve the appeal and awareness of the game as well as the islands.”

Chris Gayle presented the Hon. Mc Keeva Bush with a framed West Indies cricket shirt which was autographed by the team.

Digicel Cayman CEO, Victor Corcoran, said “We are delighted with the success of the Digicel Cricket Clinics. 24 young cricketers took part in the two day coaching clinic under the expert eye of Chris Gayle, Jerome Taylor and Kenny Benjamin and I hope that they learnt some valuable skills that will help them develop their game and hopefully one day play cricket for the West Indies.”

During the whirlwind visit, Digicel also brought the cricket stars to meet students at a number of educational institutions around Cayman, including the Lighthouse School, Red Bay Primary, Savannah Primary and Prospect Primary. Staff and students were thrilled as they took photos and asked questions of the players. Each school visited was presented with autographed memorabilia by Chris and Jerome, courtesy of Digicel.

The Cayman Islands is one of six countries across the Caribbean that is holding these clinics which benefit youth players and the benefits will be felt for years to come as this is an opportunity to identify talents and inspire young cricketers to explore the tremendous opportunities in the international cricket arena.”

For more information on Digicel’s involvement in cricket, log on to www.digicelcricket.com.