D'Oliveira statue planned for New Road

By Paul Bolton, County News Correspondent

Worcestershire have commissioned a statue of the late Basil D’Oliveira which will be the centrepiece of the new ground development at New Road.

The statue of the former England all-rounder, who died last year, will be created by sculptor John McKenna, who is a former pupil of the Royal Grammar School in Worcester.

The Basil D’Oliveira Foundation has now been set up with the goal of raising £70,000 for the bronze statue. As part of the fund-raising drive, the foundation will be organising a photo and inscription competition to come up with the design for the statue as well as the  wording for the accompanying plaque.

Foundation committee member Howard Nicholls said: “We are looking for that one photograph that shows Basil at his best. That will be the photograph that will be used as inspiration to our sculptor who will be designing and making the statue of Basil out of bronze.

“This photo will show him in a typical stance that best depicts his skills and love of cricket. We will be creating small limited editions of this statue which will, we believe, become very attractive to the cricketing community, especially in the UK and South Africa and one of these will be presented to the winner of the competition.”

The prize winner will also be invited to the official unveiling of the statue and a formal dinner to mark the occasion. Further details of the competition can be found at: doliveirafoundation.org.uk


Date: 03/12/2012 18:05:17 by Paul Bolton
In: Worcestershire | Today |