I love the West Indies, always have. Never been there though.
As a kid, I didn't quite understand what this "entity" meant, I mean, it wasn't a country but they had a cricket team. How? Michael Holding, the great fast bowler, once mentioned that since the end of colonial rule, these islands in the Caribbean have tried numerous political and economic associations, but nothing ever worked. The only unifying force was cricket which brought these West Indians together. As the years passed, my love for watching and following cricket in the West Indies only grew. I enjoyed the flamboyance of their batsmen, aggression of their bowlers and the general look of casualness in their approach. But they were intense, mind you! They were also considered genuine sportsmen. Gavaskar always said that while their fast bowlers intimidated the batsman with short stuff and hostile stares, there were no personal attacks and they never ever crossed the line. They dominated world cricket but were still admired by everyone, unlike the world champion Australian team of recent times.
You see they always had these great players. A certain Sunil Gavaskar enamoured by the great Rohan Kanhai names his son after him, Umpire Dickie Bird was surprised with the quiet, smooth action of the devastating Michael Holding running upto bowl that he nicknamed him "Whispering Death", the swagger of Viv Richards which unnerved even the great Imran Khan, the deadly Ambrose who was implored with calls of "Up the nose Amby!" from his fielders when a new batsman walked in.
It is sad to see such a mighty cricket team fall to such lows. But, I sense a great disturbance in the force. They have in their midst a young batsman Darren Bravo who is an out-n-out Lara clone, his mannerism, those exaggerated cover drives is indeed of that great Trinidadian. Sammy, their current captain, said that he couldn't sleep the whole night after he dropped Dravid in the 1st test. Poor performances such as these should hurt and hurt deep. It is time West Indies cricket stop reminiscing about the past glories, and build a team afresh.
Wally Grout, the Australian wicketkeeper, once remarked, "Whenever I saw Ken Barrington coming to the wicket I thought a Union Jack was trailing behind him". West Indies Cricket team need a flag of their own -- the pride flag.
As a kid, I didn't quite understand what this "entity" meant, I mean, it wasn't a country but they had a cricket team. How? Michael Holding, the great fast bowler, once mentioned that since the end of colonial rule, these islands in the Caribbean have tried numerous political and economic associations, but nothing ever worked. The only unifying force was cricket which brought these West Indians together. As the years passed, my love for watching and following cricket in the West Indies only grew. I enjoyed the flamboyance of their batsmen, aggression of their bowlers and the general look of casualness in their approach. But they were intense, mind you! They were also considered genuine sportsmen. Gavaskar always said that while their fast bowlers intimidated the batsman with short stuff and hostile stares, there were no personal attacks and they never ever crossed the line. They dominated world cricket but were still admired by everyone, unlike the world champion Australian team of recent times.
You see they always had these great players. A certain Sunil Gavaskar enamoured by the great Rohan Kanhai names his son after him, Umpire Dickie Bird was surprised with the quiet, smooth action of the devastating Michael Holding running upto bowl that he nicknamed him "Whispering Death", the swagger of Viv Richards which unnerved even the great Imran Khan, the deadly Ambrose who was implored with calls of "Up the nose Amby!" from his fielders when a new batsman walked in.
It is sad to see such a mighty cricket team fall to such lows. But, I sense a great disturbance in the force. They have in their midst a young batsman Darren Bravo who is an out-n-out Lara clone, his mannerism, those exaggerated cover drives is indeed of that great Trinidadian. Sammy, their current captain, said that he couldn't sleep the whole night after he dropped Dravid in the 1st test. Poor performances such as these should hurt and hurt deep. It is time West Indies cricket stop reminiscing about the past glories, and build a team afresh.
Wally Grout, the Australian wicketkeeper, once remarked, "Whenever I saw Ken Barrington coming to the wicket I thought a Union Jack was trailing behind him". West Indies Cricket team need a flag of their own -- the pride flag.
