Get to know Riverside recruit Kirk Thompson's homeland of Barbados ahead of his maiden outing for the Blues.
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What's Barbados like?
It's a small island like Tasmania - smaller than Tasmania - lovely people, beautiful food, lovely beaches, we've produced some of the better cricketers that play for the West Indies. The three Ws, Sir Garfield Sobers, currently Jason Holder the Test captain, Shai Hope, Kemar Roach, along with Joel Garner, we've produced probably - I'm bragging a bit - 90 per cent of the West Indies cricketers. It's a beautiful island, if anybody looking for a good vacation spot, Barbados is the place to go.
Who's famous there?
Rihanna. She actually went to school with me, I went to Combermere, she went to Combermere as well. She was older than me but she did go to school with me.
What's the food like over there?
Our national dish is cou-cou and flying fish - you do like a cornmeal and steam it in mashed potatoes and mix it with okra and it's served with gravy and a type of fish we call a flying fish. The fisherman have to cast a big net to catch them in but they do jump over the water if you Google it. They have some wings and they jump back in, it's a pretty amazing thing to see.
Favourite teammate so far?
I'll go with Tom [Garwood]. I don't have a least favourite. Most serious would definitely be Stubbsy [Lyndon Stubbs]. The guy doesn't really crack a smile much.
What's Barbados known for?
Hurricanes - other than that it's a loveable place. They do pass pretty close there a lot of the time.
What had you heard about Tasmania prior to arriving?
I did a bit of Googling - they said it was really hot til I got off the plane. They said it's got a lot of historic sites to see so I'm looking forward on my days off, to just go maybe to Hobart around town and see the different sites you guys have to offer. And have a bit of fishing with Rob as well, and get Tom to help me fix my phone that I broke.
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