Bermuda Liaison Earns Praise From Belize
[Written by Patrick Bean]
When the Belize men’s cricket team landed in Bermuda for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Americas Sub-Regional Qualifier A, they carried talent, nerves, and a lot of questions.
They also got Sharon Simons, a welcome addition, courtesy of the Bermuda Cricket Board, as the team’s liaison officer.
Simons was perfect for the role, one in which she was called upon to act much like a hotel concierge. Not the kind who just hands you a key.
A great concierge doesn’t make a person’s trip; they simply remove everything that could ruin it—like a silent superhero, cape swapped for a clipboard. That was Sharon, ensuring peace within the Belize camp so they were in the correct state of mind both pre and post-match, on and off the field.
“Being a liaison officer is more than just a role to me,” explained Simons. “It’s an honour to do it because, one, I’m representing my country, and two, I like to provide service to visitors and make them feel comfortable in Bermuda.
“What happens is that I’m assigned to a cricket team – I think I’ve done it now for about seven, eight years, maybe longer – and, for me, it’s about making them satisfied and keeping them happy while they’re in Bermuda.
“I assist them with whatever they need for the games and things like that. Arranging outings. Making them feel home away from home.”
As a Somerset person, Simons helped enable Belize to practice with Somerset Cricket Club’s senior team while in Bermuda.
“I have to hand it to Sharon, who is our liaison officer,” said Belize National Cricket Association president Dwight Gabb. “She has been invaluable to us.
“She helped us with just about everything. When we needed something, Sharon was there like, “How can I get that for you? What do you need?
“She was very helpful, and I have to thank her. I thanked her personally, and I just have to let the wider public know that she was very, very invaluable to us.”
A natural people’s person, with an outgoing, ebullient personality partially shaped through years spent performing various duties in helping industries, such as health care, including working for a period as a nurse’s aide, well prepared Simons for the liaison job.
“One of the things I most like about meeting with the teams is when they first come to Bermuda they’re shy,” said Simons, a wide smile blossoming into unrestrained laughter. “But after a few days with me, the name is ‘Mommy’ or ‘Moms’, things like that.
“I love what I do, and before I never used to like cricket as much as, say, football, but now I love it. Now that I know much more about the game, I definitely enjoy it one hundred per cent.”
BCB vice president Steven Douglas had high praise for Simon, noting her as an important ambassador not only for the local governing body, but for the Island as a whole.
“She’s one of our seasoned liaison officers, very good at what she does,” said Douglas. “I know that she’s done USA in the past and some other postings, and the feedback has been great.
“So, when the opportunity came, and I saw her, I said, ‘Sharon, look, teams are coming in. Are you available?
“She didn’t hesitate to say, ‘Yes’. The people like her and refer to her as a jewel, one that keeps on shining.”
