Sunday, June 28th 2009 - Kingston, Jamaica: Kordell Clarke, a special teenager from Jamaica who has lived a traumatic life and who has overcome more obstacles than most face in a lifetime, received a unique 18th birthday gift courtesy of Digicel. She was the company’s representative at the toss to officially commence the Second Digicel One Day International at Sabina Park. West Indies captain, Chris Gayle, and India’s, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, were joined by the inspirational young lady who was lauded by Jamaican Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, for her outstanding academic triumphs and having defeated great odds during her yet brief life. “It was really great to meet Gayle and Dhoni and I’m really happy,” Kordell said afterwards as she soaked up the atmosphere of her first ever cricket match despite passing the world famous Sabina Park on a daily basis on her way to school. She and her brother, Ramon Clarke, and a friend were also special guests in the Digicel Corporate Box for the duration of the game. The captains, having heard of her many challenges in life - all of which she overcame with great determination and grace - told her how pleased they were to meet her and thanked her for coming to meet them. Kordell, who celebrated her birthday on June 20th last is a lower sixth form student at the Alpha Academy in Kingston where she secured 12 CXC subjects with seven distinctions and five grade twos. Hers has not been a life of smooth sailing or mere minor obstacles. Kordell’s father died when she was ten and she also lost a brother to cancer. Wracked by painful scoliosis which caused her body to be bent and her spine to form a painful S shape, Kordell faced the distinct possibility of being crippled for life. With the help of Prime Minister Golding, her mother Pauline Livingston, corporate Jamaica and her friends, Kordell was able to successfully complete corrective surgery. She now hopes to read for a degree in actuarial science at the University of West Indies. Digicel was honoured to select such a remarkable young lady as its ambassador for the day.
Photographs by courtesy of Brooks La Touche
from the West Indies CamP:
RESURGENT WINDIES DEMOLISH INDIA
Sunday, June 28th 2009 - Kingston, Jamaica: West Indies rebounded from a first round defeat to romp to as comprehensive an eight wicket victory over India as could have been achieved. It was a commanding performance at Sabina Park by the rejuvenated home side to level the Digicel Series 1-1 with two games to play. After restricting the visitors to a modest 188 all out from 48.2 overs the Windies needed only 34.1 overs to get to 192 for 2 and atone for their 20 run loss on Friday at the same venue. Runako Morton, the Nevisian right hander built not dissimilar to a middleweight boxer, registered his highest score against the Indians and led the run chase with 85 from 102 deliveries, hitting five fours and a solitary six which brought the game to a close well before the stipulated cut off time and as the afternoon sun was in it glory. When the run chase commenced Chris Gayle, who lost the toss once again, was in no mood to muck around, he flayed the Indian bowlers for 64 from 46 balls inclusive of eight fours and two more which sailed beyond the boundary rope. In partnership with his newest opening partner, Morton, Gayle put the game completely out of the reach of India – the pair putting on 101 inside 16 overs. It took a stunning catch on the long off boundary by Gautam Gambhir to curtail Gayle but Morton marched on until victory was formalized with a vicious six over long on and which was deposited into the George Headley Stand. Earlier in the day the foundation for victory was laid by some superb swing bowling from Ravi Rampaul in association with Jerome Taylor and Dwayne Bravo. Rampaul came into the final XI in place of Lionel Baker and the right arm Trinidadian seamer broke the back of the Indian batting with 4 for 37 from his quota of ten overs including two scalps in his very first over – the second of the innings – by which time India had been tottering at 7 for 3. It was Rampaul’s second four wicket haul in ODIs and his best figures yet. Taylor (9.2-0-35-3), with whom Rampaul shared the new ball, made the initial breakthrough by having opener Dinesh Karthik caught behind for 4 and Bravo entered into the fray later on to pick up three for 26 from his nine overs. After the Taylor penetration, Rampaul then sent back Gambhir and Rohit Sharma for ducks as the Windies started in domineering fashion and the Indians crumbled until a 101 run ninth wicket stand between Dhoni and the unlikely RP Singh (23 from 75 deliveries) got them out of the quagmire in which they found themselves in. Tellingly, only three Indian batsmen were able to attain double figure scores, their furthermost shortcoming on the day. Prior to the Dhoni/Singh alliance there was a brief period of resuscitation as Yuvraj Singh (35), Man of the Match in the previous game and Dhoni added 47 for the 4th wicket but then they lost another five wickets in quick succession until they were down to 82 for 8. Captain Dhoni aided by staunch defensive play from number ten, RP, moved India to 183 for 9 before Bravo returned, with a heavily bandaged hand after being hit by a fierce Dhoni straight drive, to break the stand.Dhoni’s 95 was a lone stand, the sort of knock a leader is called to play when his team is in as much difficulty as India were in. The right hander with dynamite wrists curtailed his preferred explosive style and manoeuvred the strike deftly and found an able ally in Singh who defended stoutly when it was needed and as he grew in confidence accumulated runs to aid his skipper through. Despite Dhoni’s admirable innings, it was wholly inadequate as there were only negligible contributions from the other recognized batsmen and the West Indies needed purely to keep the momentum in their quarter to secure the series levelling victory which was achieved without any hints of alarm.
From the West Indies Camp:
GAYLE ALERTS BIRTHDAY BOY TAYLOR OF MAJOR ROLE AGAINST INDIA
Tuesday, June 23 - Kingston, Jamaica: West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor received a vote of confidence from his captain Chris Gayle on his 25th birthday on Monday. With key fast bowler Fidel Edwards out of the West Indies 13 man squad with a back injury, Gayle publicly alerted Taylor that his performance with the new ball will be critical in the Digicel ODI Series against India. “Hopefully Jerome can be strong for us in this Digicel ODI Series, he has a big part to play,” Gayle told the media at the Norman Manley International Airport in Jamaica as the players returned from their lengthy sojourn to England. It may have been an odd birthday gift for Taylor who turned 25 on Monday June 22nd as he travelled from a chilly England to the familiar warmth of the Caribbean. Delighted to be back on home soil, the ever cool Taylor took the captain’s comments in stride, saying he is ready for the task at hand. “(Fast bowling) is my job and I’ve been doing it for quite some time now, it’s a matter of getting your repetitions right over and over again,” Taylor said while saying that returning to his homeland to be with friends and family was enough of a birthday gift for him. And he believes that the absence of the experienced duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag who have made careers of mauling bowling attacks the world over, will be a clear advantage for the home side which will be reliant on a young bowling attack. “Tendulkar and Sehwag are world class players and that would ease the pressure somewhat (on us) but we won’t take anything for granted. We are going out there to give the best of ourselves and to make the Caribbean proud,” Taylor reasoned. “You have quality players in the (India) team. At the end of the day it’s still a cricket match, you have to go out on the park, keep a cool head and give the best of yourself,” Taylor related while stating that he likes to prepare for matches by listening to calming music in his hotel room after the usual training sessions. The quickie who debuted in international cricket as a fragile but fluid 18 year old in 2003 feels that while the team has been improving in terms of consistency in the recent past, some more patience is needed for even better results. “You have players who are young and new to the team and it is going to take some time for them to settle in and prepare their minds mentally, I think the team is on the right path right now and we are looking forward to good things ahead,” Taylor reasoned. Taylor will be joined in the bowling department by fellow pacemen Ravi Rampaul and Lionel Baker along with left arm spinner Sulieman Benn and medium pace all rounders Dwayne Bravo and Dave Bernard Jr. Gayle will also lend support with his dart-like off spin. The four match Digicel Series bowls off on Friday at Sabina Park with the First Digicel ODI. The Second Digicel ODI will be played two days later and then move to the Beausejour Cricket Grounds in St Lucia for the final two Digicel ODIs. For match pictures, reports and stats visit www.digicelcricket.com
“INDIA IS NEVER A WALKOVER” – CHRIS
GAYLE
Tuesday, June 23 - Kingston, Jamaica: Despite India missing master batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag through injuries, West Indies captain Chris Gayle says he is still weary that subcontinent team will give his side a significant amount of trouble in the four match Digicel Series starting on Friday, June 26th at Sabina Park. “Sehwag and Tendulkar (are) two world class players but (India) still has quality players to step up and they have a lot of experience in One Day cricket so it’s not a situation where we will say it’s a walkover, it’s never a walkover against India,” Gayle warned the media upon arrival in Jamaica on Monday afternoon after the West Indies tour to the England and participation in the ICC World Twenty20 Championships. “They still have quality players, they have Yuvraj (Singh), Harbhajan Singh, (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni and (Ishant) Sharma, a lot of guys to give us a lot of trouble,” Gayle surmised at the Norman Manley International Airport. The 29 year old leader sees the opening Digicel ODI as crucial. “We have a big game on Friday against India. We’re all looking forward to it. India is always a good One Day team and they will be looking to beat us based on their T20 disappointment,” Gayle reasoned, noting that the defending champions failed to make it past the Super 8 stage of the ICC T20 Championship while the West Indies went as far as the semi final. He believes the Indians will be keen to win the Digicel Series in order to return to their homeland on a positive note. Despite some young faces in the 13 man squad Gayle thinks the brunt of the batting will still have to be done by the senior trio of himself, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan with support from all rounder Dwayne Bravo. Gayle mentioned that he was pleased that Bravo has been performing consistently well with both bat and ball of recent. And while Gayle’s commitment to the leadership role had come under some scrutiny in England, he says he is happy, growing in the position and enjoying the full support of the team. “The support has been brilliant, the guys gave me their full support and I gave them the same sort of support and respect which they deserve. It’s been enjoyable. Captaining the West Indies has done a lot for me individually and I’m really happy and grateful to be captaining West Indies and the entire region,” Gayle said. “It’s a privilege and hopefully I can continue from strength to strength and give everyone something to cheer about. Hopefully we can wrap up this Digicel Series and am looking forward for a lot of things,” Gayle concluded. For match pictures, reports and stats visit www.digicelcricket.com
BRAVO BROTHERS TOGETHER IN WEST INDIES SIDE No Simmons – more Morton – what is going on?
Selectors are fans of quiz questions Cricket is for the Asian countries
The selection of 20 year-old Darren Bravo to play alongside his brother, Dwayne, in the West Indies team to play in the 1st and 2nd Digicel One-Day Internationals against India at Sabina Park, Jamaica on Friday, June 26 and Sunday, June 28 has distracted attention from other inclusion irregularities and, thankfully, hurried thoughts forward from the disastrous months spent in various competitions in England. The squad comprises: Chris Gayle (Captain), Denesh Ramdin (Vice Captain), Lionel Baker, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Runako Morton, Ravi Rampaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor. The absence of injured fast bowler Fidel Edwards is easy to understand – that of Lendl Simmons, one of the few tourists to survive the disasters in England with his reputation still somewhat still intact is more difficult to comprehend. Why should Narsingh Deonarine and David Bernard, who were in England but were not considered good enough to be given a match at the nadir of their team’s performances, be deemed sufficiently competent now without them having had the time to play and advance their credentials in the meantime? Why should anybody believe the selectors’ protestations of respecting self-discipline in the players be believed when yet another chance has been given to Runako Morton? Perhaps the selectors are just fans of quiz-questions that they stimulate so many. I had written a detailed report of the West Indians’ cricket in England but have screwed up the paper and thrown it away. It really was as bad as the reports have indicated. Words fail me. Better to ersase it from the memory and the psyche. Over the few words the world will be much more interested in the achievements of Usain Bolt and the track-and-field athletics. Cricket is for the Asian countries, and for this summer at least The Ashes. West Indies, players and selectors, are spinning down their own vortex.
THOSE WHOM THE GODS WISH TO DESTROY THEY FIRST MAKE MAD
By Clayton Goodwin
You would not want your last memory to be of this lot More money for less work has gnawed into the soul of the game
Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad.
Agreed – Euripides did not say the quotation which is attributed often to him, but he never had to live through this summer’s cricket. On leaving the limited-overs match at Bristol I mused on whether or not to attend the following match – no, game, as match implies a sense of parity – at Birmingham. There is just so much that any-one, even a life-long fan, can take. Yet at my age I can never be sure that it might not be the last time that I would see the West Indian cricket team in this country. Having seen West Indies here since 1957, and reported their international matches here since the Lord’s Test Match six years later, I did not really want the last opportunity to go by default.
A colleague read my thoughts. “Don’t go. After reporting West Indian cricket, really great West Indian cricket for fifty years, you would not want your last memory to be of this lot”. He was right. I watched every ball on the sitting room television and counted myself lucky that I was not there. Birmingham, after all, was the venue for the flattering-to-deceive victory of Jimmy Adams’ team in 2000, the last match in which West Indies were the West Indies as we know them.
From the moment the mini-tour was mooted nobody in my knowledge expressed anything other than sorrow that it had come to pass. It was the season that died of shame. This was surely the worse West Indies side in those almost fifty years – as much by their attitude as their performance. It is difficult not to believe that the Stanford Syndrome, more money for less work, has gnawed into the soul of the game, its administrators and its players. There are not too many of this early summer season, and what there are are not memorable.
Still, there is always the Twenty 20 World Cup. This code of cricket, we are told by even the accepted pundits of the game, will achieve parity, and maybe surpass, the conventional Test Match code. The world has been this way before. A decade ago American Football was to sweep this country. Then there were BMX bikes, skate-boards, hula-hoops, wrestling a la Kent Walton, avian flu, the Social Democrats, and Audley Harrison. It is reported that in this year of the fast-cricket glut attendances were down on expectation for the opening day of the domestic Twenty 20 season. The excuses were well to hand. Of course, it was. Twenty 20 will take over cricket, and the West Indians, the players and their supporters, have enjoyed these past few weeks.
Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad. The only trouble is that I cannot work out whether it is myself or the rest of the world that will get there first.
WHAT WILL WE REMEMBER OF WEST INDIES IN THE EARLY PART OF THE INTERNATIONAL SEASON OF 2009? THAT IT WAS A YEAR OF THE ASHES.
By Clayton Goodwin
Not a case of “either or”, but of “both or nothing” That summer of success was marked by similar weather
West Indies came to England with the wrong attitude, and they paid the penalty. Admittedly the weather was almost arctic, but as former fast bowler and current commentator Michael Holding point out – nobody, in whatever line of work they are, finds that conditions are always ideal and as they like it but they just have to get on and do the job. Have the successors of the team once led with such pride by Frank Worrell, Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards become spoiled by the Stanford millions? Apologists for Chris Gayle’s perceived attitude in putting the high pay for less work in the Twenty/20 code above less pay for the more work in Test Matches miss the point. Gayle, and the other cricket millionaires in this media age, can command such high fees in the IPL because of the reputation they have gained for playing in Test Matches. If they should let that form of the game wither and die through lack of interest, or even lack of participation, there would be no platform for the next generation to establish any kind of reputation. Strangled of stars Twenty/20, including IPL, will follow the traditional code into oblivion. It is not a case of “either or”, but of “both or nothing”. There is talent in this team. Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul provide potentially one of the strongest batting batteries in the world. Brendan Nash and Denesh Ramdin have shown doughty determination. Fidel Edwards is a very good fast bowling – the best of his generation – and Sulieman Benn’s could develop into the region’s best spin bowler since Lance Gibbs. I shall suspend judgement on Dwayne Bravo for the time being. Several teams have achieved much more with less. This West Indies team are not the “invincible” of old. Nobody expects them to be. The weather has been dull and chilly, very cold indeed. Such are the sunny memories of the triumphant tour of 1950 – the essence of “calypso cricket” – that I was surprised to read in Wisden, the cricketer’s “bible”, that that summer of success was marked by similar weather. The team of Worrell, Weekes and Walcott, Ramadhin and Valentine, and Rae and Stollmeyer didn’t whine about the weather – they got on with the job and won the series. As with a country in political and economic decline West Indies cricket has turned in on itself with the players and the administrators blaming each other for the predicament. In truth it is difficult not to sympathise with the players. The real blame for this charade which has set back the progress made earlier in the year lies with those who set up, and those who agreed to, this made mini-series at a time and at venues which they knew would not be conducive to comfortable cricket. The administrators showed that they had scant regard for pride by signing up to be sparing partners for opponents “gearing up” for the serious work of challenging for the Ashes. Yet once the die was cast the players had a duty – to themselves above all – to commit themselves totally to the task. Of course, they could have told the administrators what to do (unpleasantly) with the arrangements. The Sri Lankans did just that. The West Indians were here in this showery springtime because the Sri Lankans, who were scheduled for the spot, declined to be so. In coming here this year West Indies appear to have given up the mooted longer tour next summer. What is these sense in that? West Indian fans have been well and truly disillusiond by the whole business. The full tour of 2004 was bad enough – things fall apart. The more abbreviated venture in 2007 was a step beyond what was acceptable. This outing has been an obscenity. Don’t let anybody in West Indies cricket try to tell you that is more than their job is worth to buck the requirements of the international game or the stronger countries. They were prepared to take the risk with Stanford. There is a story of a chaste young lady who agreed to sleep with a rich man for a million pounds. In the morning afterwards he paid her only £50. “What is this?” she damned. “Do you think I am nothing but a prostitute?” “You have proved that already” he replied. “Now please stop arguing about the fee”. With the limited-overs series now upon us it may be as well to remind ourselves that in recent times West Indies have shown themselves to be more suited to one-day stands. What will we remember of the international season of 2009? That it was a year of the Ashes. What will we remember of the early part of the international season of 2009? That it was a year of the Ashes. What will we remember of West Indies in the early part of the international season of 2009? That it was a year of the Ashes.
WEST INDIES CRICKET ? SO WHAT ? EVERYBODY IS DE-URINATED BY THE SUMMER, THE SERIES AND THE VISITORS
By Clayton Goodwin
How can I look these gentlemen in the eye if I should give up now Let me sleep on it – maybe things will be better in the morning
Chris Gayle isn’t enamoured of the West Indies captaincy. The president of the West Indies Cricket Board doesn’t appear to know whether or not the team is playing for the Wisden Trophy. The “injured” Dwayne Bravo shows an otherwise commendable athleticism in the money-spinning IPL. They are all in good community. Everybody seems to be entirely de-urinated by the summer, the series and the visitors – none more so than West Indies cricket fans themselves. The captaincy of the regional team, regarded with such esteem when it was held by Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards – I hardly to mention the name of Sir Frank Worrell in an article such as this – started to lose its luster when Desmond Haynes was passed over, to the surprise of many commentators, in 1991 and has hurtled downwards in dignity. Yes, captains such as Jimmy Adams, Richie Richardson and Courtney Walsh were men of honour, and honoured in their profession, but the bauble – as with so much in West Indies cricket – has been devalued through the obsession with celebrity rather than character and schism rather than assured selection. Chris Gayle is said to inspire the players and personal level. He didn’t do much inspiring at Lord’s, and he couldn’t persuade Bravo to come to England for the Test Matches. The trouble with a player of the Jamaican’s personality and performance is that he is too much of a loose cannon to keep in the side under another’s captaincy. Either he is captain, or he is out of the side. West Indies have now to start looking for two opening batsmen instead of one – and also for good measure a Chief Executive. West Indies must grasp the nettle once and for all. Donning the captaincy on the best-known personality has proved time and again to be an error. Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff didn’t make too good a job of it for England. With their star players opting when and where they would play, and others defying the authorities to join the “rand rebels” in South Africa, those in charge of Australian cricket in the mid-1980s slammed the door on the errant ego-es and selected only players who wanted – really wanted – to play for their country. Within two years Australia were world limited-overs champions and within a decade they had moved to Test Match supremacy. Vice-captain Denesh Ramdin showed commendable fighting spirit at Lord’s. He should be preferred to Ramnaresh Sarwan, cited by many as being the “best captain who never was” and held the position until injury opened the opportunity for Gayle, who, through no real fault of his own, is too much associated with the Lara, and Gayle, years to be the new broom which is needed. Incidentally, why is it that youth team captains such as Brenton Parchment and Narsingh Deonarine cannot translate these talents to the senior side. When the captain and the president of the Board are perceived not to care that they are here, or what they are here for, is there any reason that the rest of us should care. I believe that there is. On the first day of the Test Match I ran into Keith Best and Dr Franklin Jacobs. It seems that I have always run into Keith Best and Dr Jacobs whenever West Indies are in town. The latter was proud to have been at Sabina Park for the victory there earlier in the year, and was looking forward to the next time that the West Indians are in Sussex. How can I look these gentlemen in the eye if I should give up now why they are still so committed to the cause. It seems to be such a long time since the Invincibles ofthe West Indies ruled the international roost. They swept the board in 1984 and almost did the same four years later. Twenty-one years ago – and that was the last time that West Indies have won a series in England. The tourists had the edge in 1991 but the rubber was drawn, as it was in 1995. Then after victory in the First Test Match at Birmingham in 2000 the whole thing came apart quite spectacularly. The tours of 2004 and 2007 were truly appalling, and now …….. whenever you run out of what are the opposite of superlatives it is – thankfully – impossible to find the words that befit the description. In retrospect, and not only in retrospect, the breakdown of discipline in 1995 was the watershed. It didn’t seem to matter so much then because West Indies were still there or there abouts, but it did. Rumours of poor behavior attracted almost as much attention as reports of achievements at the wicket on subsequent youth and A-team tours here. It is depressing to see the “usual suspects” being selected time and time again. The excuse seems to be, and it is a powerful, even though tu quoque, argument that however bad the players made be the administrators are even worse. How can people who, themselves, have prostituted cricket blame players for putting their personal fortune before the fame of the game? I am not at Chester-le-Street today. It is the first time in half-a-century of reporting West Indies cricket that I have decided willingly to stay away, but there is only so much that can be taken. And I would do so with a clear conscience ….. if only I did not keep thinking of Keith Best and Dr Jacobs. Let me sleep on it – maybe things will be better in the morning.
Clayton Goodwin
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THE PRIDE THAT WAS WEST INDIES
Resistance when all was lost and almost finished The entire country came to a standstill
Lord’s was full of shades – and empty places. There was plenty of space in the stands, behind the pavilion, and in the media-centre to fit the ghosts of my memories. Even the deafening silence of the absent fans could not still entirely the remembered roars of acclaim from the many thousands of West Indian supporters who made previous such matches memorable until in their “wisdom” the authorities banned the drums and the whistles – and the sense then that anybody could actually enjoy cricket – but permitted the inanity of the Barmy Army. Brendan Nash, who fits easily into the role played by Larry Gomes in the great teams of the early 1980s, though nobody fits easily or otherwise into the role of the teams themselves, and Denesh Ramdin, who has grown in stature as a wicketkeeper, a batsman and a cricketer in this calendar year, offered some resistance when all was lost and almost finished. It wasn’t entirely a matter of Fidel Edwards v England after all. Even so the match was meagre fare compared to the sumptuous repast of yesteryear. Walking behind the old press-box I looked instinctively towards the “direction from which the weather comes”, as we did anxiously on the last day here in 1963. That was the match in which, after five days of epic achievements, Colin Cowdrey came out to bat, his injured arm in a sling, in the dunkelheit of the closing moments when with two balls to go all four results were still possible, and the entire country came to a standstill. Now even I did not come to a standstill to watch his successors struggle against superior opposition, inclement conditions, and the burden of history. It was here on another darkened evening in 1980 that Viv Richards struck the ball so firmly that, it is said, the fielding captain appealed against the light to save his fieldsmen from possible injury. Four years later I did not come in for the final day because, it was felt, David Gower had delayed his declaration too late for any “result” to be feasible. Gordon Greenidge rewarded my absence by hitting a spectacular undefeated double-hundred which battered the bowlers into defeat and confounded the cynics. Yes, I was there in 1984, but not when it mattered …….. and, yes, when it mattered as well. Eldine Baptiste’s pick and throw from close to the pavilion, a direct throw which ran out batsman Geoff Miller at the far end, is still the outstanding act of ground fielding in a memory of Test Match cricket that goes back over half-a-century. Miller is now England’s National Selector. Some time during the match I stayed to watch the ball which dismissed Mike Gatting before going to the men’s room. There, alone, a former England captain had heard the cheer and asked how it had happened. “Shouldered arms to Malcolm Marshall and was bowled just as in his the first innings. He couldn’t get his bat down in time”. “He has got his grip all wrong” the celebrated cricketer explained. “It should be like this …….” and he proceeded to demonstrate on the only piece of equipment available to him, which, it being the men’s room, was his own manhood. Will any young man’s life be as changed by meeting Lendl Simmons or Devon Smith today as mine was changed by meeting Sir Frank Worrell in 1961? That year he was a neutral observer of the England-Australia Test Match:two years later he returned as the hero of that Test Match with many heroes – Basil Butcher, Ted Dexter, Wesley Hall, Brian Close, Colin Cowdrey. Has there been a more exciting, entertaining and harmonious series? I do not think so. In his book “Island Cricketers” Clyde Walcott recalled the pride of the West Indians on winning at “Headquarters” after their victory at Lord’s in 1950 – a sentiment which many of his compatriots have echoed. How would he have regarded the “pride” of a captain of West Indies captain who joined his team for a Test Match at “headquarters” only – almost – on the eve of the match itself ? When opening batsman Andy Ganteaume was late in arriving at the St Lawrence ground for the game against Kent in 1957 – after he had visited Canterbury Cathedral with friends earlier in the morning – his captain said words to the effect that if he wanted to be late then he would ensure that he went in to bat late. Ganteaume was not called to the crease until the day was almost done. The records show that the captain of the West Indian side that day was Clyde Walcott. West Indians have expressed anger at the insulting way in which the regional team has been treated. No side with such a tradition of international competition – neither West Indies, nor Pakistan – should be “squeezed” into a two-match farce – in the conditions hardly a Test – prematurely early in the summer, from which they are regarded as being merely a stepping-stone by which to give experience and inflated statistics to England’s players on their way to the “serious” matter of the summer in the Ashes series against Australia. It is no wonder that the West Indians have given every indication of wishing that they were elsewhere. Yet why have West Indies allowed themselves to be so humiliated? In truth, nobody in the international context can be this humiliated unless they consent to be humiliated. Have they become so accustomed to their lowly position that they cannot do otherwise? Has the prostitution of the game become the accepted currency of current world cricket? However the West Indians are here – and it should not have been left to only Edwards, Nash and Ramdin to show that they care. Now for Chester-le-Street, about as far away as it is possible to be from the Caribbean heritage community, and from international relevance. At least there are no inconvenient shades up here – no ghosts of the Pride that was West Indies. Never has such a Test Match series between unwanted.
