Of National Heroes and Farcical Endings

It was apt that what has been failure of a tournament would end in a farcical manner. No one had any control over the rain but the ICC’s rules destroyed any prospect of a complete and competitive game. Once the rain had delayed play to such a large extent, the logical step would have been to play the normal 50 overs match over two days but the ICC, pandering to the television networks and focused on extracting maximum profit, had in place rules to reduce the overs and try as far as possible to finish the game in one day. It is absurd to play a final or a semi final for that matter of the most important event in international cricket in 38 overs.

Gilchrist plundered Sri Lanka’s highly rated bowling but I think that if the rain had not intervened or if Duckworth/Lewis had not come into effect, the Sri Lankans stood a good chance of chasing down the Aussie score. We will never know though, because in their greed, the ICC robbed the tournament of a really good game. The umpires and match referee obviously had to join in the act and their bizarre interpretation of the rules meant that international cricket had to be subjected to the indignity of players playing three overs in darkness. Anyone watching who was not a cricket fan would have been amazed at the silliness of it all. The ICC has repeatedly stated its aim of popularising cricket all over the world. Once again it failed miserably in its task.

Two articles expanding on the above can be read here and here.

Today is Barbados’ National Heroes Day and normally there would be activities to commemorate the lives of the ten outstanding Barbadians who played critical roles in shaping our country’s history. Hosting the final of the Cricket World Cup meant that the Day had to take a backseat this year. However, the only living Hero, Sir Garfield Sobers, was present at the presentation ceremony and presented one of the awards. It may seem strange to some people that a sporting icon is a National Hero of a country, but for the Caribbean the game is much more than a sport and is intertwined in the social, economic and political landscape of these small islands. For Barbadians, Sir Garry is more than the greatest cricketer to have walked the globe; he was a man born in a tiny British colony but who would stride the cricketing world like a giant, earning the respect and admiration of millions. Cricketing success instilled a pride in West Indians and in the words of C.L.R. James, it goes “Beyond the Boundary”.

CWC 2007 Comes to a Close and Memories of Kensington Oval

*Photo from www.cricinfo.com

The biggest event to ever have been hosted by the region is drawing to a close. It has been a financial success for the ICC. For fans from all over the world, Caribbean people and cricket in general, it has largely been a failure. Much has been written about all the problems that have plagued the tournament so I will not dwell on that. Needless to say, I have very strong views on the issues but I think its best for me to stick to the actual field of play.

Tomorrow’s game will be a rematch of the 1996 final. Eleven years ago, the Sri Lankans were not regarded by anyone as having a chance of winning. Their victory and the manner in which they played the game was the stuff of fairy tales. A team which had only recently been the whipping boy of international cricket was now world champion. In 2007 they are an established side with genuine world class players and a few cricketing legends to spice things up but they will still go into tomorrow’s game as the underdogs. Such is the dominance of the Aussies. I will be rooting for the Sri Lankans as I have been doing since the West Indies knocked themselves out of the tournament.

A good preview of tomorrow’s game can be read here.

And for added measure, here are two articles (1 and 2) about the home of West Indian cricket, Kensington Oval. Holding’s over to Boycott and Rowe’s 302 were before my time, but I did see among many other stand out performances, Marshall smash Salim Yousuf’s nose with a bouncer in 1987, Ambrose run through England’s batting on the last day of the test in 1990, Carlisle Best score 164 in the same match, Greenidge brutalise the Aussies in his last test innings with a double century in 1990 and Haynes score a century off Wasim and Waqar in 1992. Unfortunately I was in England studying in 1999 when Lara scored 153 against Australia in what is regarded as his best innings and could only watch on tv. Good memories but there are also bad memories like 1994 when Alec Stewart scored two centuries in a match as we lost a test at Kensington for the first time since 1935 and 2003 when Ponting and Waugh scored centuries to help Australia to a mammoth 605 on a slow dry pitch that was an insult to Kensington. That was the last time I went to Kensington. I chose not to go in 2004 when the English were there because I knew we would lose and I refused to suffer the indignity of seeing in person the old enemy securing their first series triumph in the Caribbean for 36 years at what was once our fortress.

Perennial Chokers

International cricket’s recurrent chokers lived up to their billing and handed a finals spot to the well oiled Aussie machine. Who would have thought though that the manner of choking would be of such magnanimity? I could not believe my eyes as one after the other, South Africa’s batsmen threw away their wicket, playing like primary school children. Australia bowled well, but there was nothing in the bowling to justify a score of 27/5 after 10 overs. No score attained after this would have been enough to defend and especially against a team like the Aussies. So South Africa came to the Caribbean ranked as the number one team in one day internationals. They return home with their reputation of choking on the big stage and especially in World Cups enhanced just as New Zealand go home after falling once again at the semi finals stage.

Sri Lanka versus Australia, Kensington Oval, Barbados, April 28th- can the exciting and likeable Asians defeat the arrogant Aussie juggernaut?

West Indian Turmoil and a Sri Lankan Demolition Job

Sri Lanka completely dismantled the New Zealanders today to reach their second World Cup final. It was an outstanding performance and they dominated from the time they won the toss and decided to bat. Any attempts by New Zealand to fight back were strongly resisted and the captain led from the front with a perfect example of how to pace a one day international innings. He followed that up with some excellent captaincy, reflected by his decision to bowl Dilshan when New Zealand was trying to wrestle control after the loss of two wickets. Besides Jayawardene’s performance, that of the umpires and in particular Rudy Koertzen stood out but for differing reasons. Two extremely poor decisions went against the Sri Lankans when they were batting and I find it hard to believe that two top umpires can make such huge mistakes. Koertzen added to his howler in Sri Lanka’s innings by denying them an extremely close LBW call and then singling out Fernando for shocking treatment. To warn a bowler twice in his first over for running onto the pitch without speaking to him before was a bit harsh and I felt that New Zealand was playing with 12 men on their side today! While Fernando had a bad day at the office, the rest of Sri Lanka's varied attack all did well. Vaas bowled his normal line and length, Malinga was fiery and Muralitharan hiw wily self; will this bowling attack be enough to stop the Aussies in the finals? I am assuming that they will beat South Africa tomorrow although I would so love to be wrong!

While the Sri Lankans celebrate, West Indies cricket continues its downward spiral. Lara’s retirement was followed by the resignation of the coach Bennett King and rumours that the WICB President, Ken Gordon, had also resigned. Ken Gordon has since stated that he has not resigned but there has been confusion over the selection of the team to tour England, with Gordon, in response to Lara’s comments in his press conference that he had met with selectors to select the team to England and had selected himself, claiming that the selectors did not meet to select a team. To add to all of this, the WICB and WIPA are locked in another battle; this time it is over the WICB seemingly going back on its agreement with WIPA on the status of the England tour in relation to the ICC’s Future Tours Programme.

Amongst all of this, Ian Bradshaw has announced his retirement. Bradshaw may not be the most naturally gifted player in the team, but he has made the most of his abilities, is a thinking cricketer and has shown total commitment to the West Indies. The West Indies waited until Ridley Jacobs was in his 30s before deciding to select him and it is obvious that they did not learn from that situation for they waited until Bradshaw was 30 before handing him a maroon cap. All manner of undisciplined, uncommitted players were given a chance but Bradshaw, a shining example of hard work, discipline and civilised behaviour was kept out. When he was finally given the chance he performed admirably. Unfortunately his form dipped in this World Cup and he only played three matches. West Indies needs many more players with his attitude.

So what does the future hold for our cricket? I am, to be honest, pessimistic. The WICB cabal/politburo has stubbornly resisted any type of meaningful reform and continues to function almost like a secret society. Unless there is a revolution in the way the game is run in the region, our cricket will fail to lift itself from the lowest ground it has now reached. Rawle Brancker was supposed to deliver the Sir Frank Worrell Lecture tonight on the topic of the WICB. I am looking forward to hearing what he said.

I Have Forgotten How to Walk!

Since January when I was put in a cast, I have gotten around using crutches and my left foot. My right foot has not been used at all. While I have been “walking” with both feet in the past two weeks, it is still with the aid of crutches and the medical boot. I had appointments with both the doctor and the physical therapist today. The doctor checked my foot and said that the physical therapy would help further healing. He also said he would give me a cortisone shot after therapy was over in a part of the foot which was still painful from the tendonitis. If within a few days the pain lessens, then it means the cortisone is working and I have to go for another shot in two weeks. If the pain is the same it means that the cortisone is not having an affect and only rest will help. Physical therapy was the same as before except that this time I had to stand on my feet at the end of the session. This was the first time I was standing on both feet without any support and besides the pain that shot up from my toes right up to my knee, I was unable to move my right foot. I almost freaked out. To widen my stance I had to hold on to a beam and then lift my foot. I had to sway from side to side about ten times in that position. After that I had to move my right foot forward so I would be standing at an angle. Once again I had to hold onto the beam and move my foot. I performed the same swaying exercise and then changed my stance (using the beam for support again) so that my left foot was now in the lead and swayed again. Using the crutches and medical boot to shuffle/walk with both feet, I had not realised that I had lost my ability to walk and so I was somewhat mortified. I thought that my foot was just stiff from the cast/ not being used and that therapy would reduce the tightness enabling me to put weight on my foot and walk normally. The body and mind is amazing. Just under three months of not using my foot and it has totally lost its ability to function! I have to do the swaying exercises at home twice a day and I guess as physical therapy continues, I will regain full mobility. It is a bit scary though.

Because of my double appointments I was only able to watch Sri Lanka’s innings which folded timidly in the face of good bowling. The only resistance came from the middle-order partnership between Chamara Silva and Mahela Jayawardene and some tail end hitting out. This was not unexpected however, as besides Sangakkara (who was the recipient of a poor umpiring decision), none of the Sri Lankans have a good record against Australia. I also don’t think that the Sri Lankans approached this match with a desire to win. They rested their two best bowlers and it appears to have been a strategic decision to play a weakened side in a match which was of little consequence- both sides had already reached the semis. The intention seems to be to spring a surprise on the Aussies in the finals rather than compete or win in a Super Eights match and then have them bounce back ruthlessly. Once they can increase the momentum in the semis and reach the finals, the tactic will have worked. The top order needs to make some runs in the last Super Eights match against Ireland on Wednesday and be in a proper frame of mind for next week.

Of Nor'easters, Irish Upsets, South African Chokers and Salvaging the World Cup

As I write, the nor’easter that has been pounding the East coast is still raging outside. I just watched the news and there has been record rainfall, flooding, damage, cancelled flights and trains and chaos in general.

I was watching the cricket this morning when I got a call. It was one of my sisters in Barbados. She was at Kensington Oval and asked me if I had just seen her on tv! The organisers were forced into making admission free today in light of the consistently poor sales and attendance at all the matches this World Cup and so two of my sisters took advantage of the “freeness” and took their kids. Unfortunately she seemed to have been on tv just when I had stepped into the kitchen to grab some breakfast. I guess they took the kids for the experience and to give them something to do. Hopefully it stimulates some interest in the little ones. They seem to be much more engrossed in playstation and cartoons! However, if I was in Barbados, there was no way I would have gone, even if they had paid me! Besides the actual play on the field, the World Cup has largely been a flop. There are a few main reasons and there are quite a few people who are to blame. They are now trying to salvage something from the tournament by giving away tickets and relaxing the regulations which had taken the Caribbean element out of the venues and deterred fans. I feel insulted by all of this and if I was there, there is no way that I would have dignified them by attending.

In the battle of the giant killers today, Ireland came out on top, convincingly dismissing the inconsistent Bangladeshis. While Ireland has had a hard time in the Super Eights, Bangladesh has been hot and cold. Whippings by New Zealand and Australia were followed by a win against South Africa and a close lost against England. Even if winning consistently against top teams is too much to ask of the Tigers, they should have won today. Instead they played like an Associate team while Ireland performed like a team of seasoned professionals. From the time the Irish captain took the bold decision to bat first so as to negate the threat of Bangladesh’s left-arm spinning trio, they dominated the game and thoroughly deserved their victory.

The World Cup has had its fair share of highs and lows (for us West Indian fans, largely lows) but as the Super Eights has progressed, it has become much more interesting. The results from the last few games mean that the match between England and South Africa on Tuesday assumes quarter-finals proportions. Speaking of South Africa, they continuously justify their tag as the perennial chokers of international cricket. They came into the World Cup as the number one ranked team in one day internationals, but have suddenly began to look very ordinary. They almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Sri Lanka, lost to Bangladesh and put in a dismal performance yesterday against New Zealand. South Africa is not one of the teams I like, but at this point I am supporting anyone who may somehow halt the Aussies. When the South Africans returned to international cricket after their ban was lifted, they were right there at the top of the list of teams I dislike. A post-apartheid South African team still full of players from the white minority was a definite no for me! I did feel sorry for them in 1999 when they somehow managed to lose to Australia in the semis, but not when they botched up the Duckworth/Lewis calculations in 2003 and had to exit in the first round. As their team has become a bit more diversified (it still doesn’t reflect the country’s racial composition) I have somewhat thawed towards them, although their captain Graeme Smith remains one of the biggest whingers in cricket!

Don Imus, Hip Hop Culture and a Sri Lankan Stroll

The controversy over Don Imus’ comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team has dominated headlines in NYC and the US in general this past week. While his comments were disgusting, at least a real issue was being discussed by the media instead of some silly celebrity event. After protests and pressure led by Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, MSNBC dropped the simulcast of his show on Wednesday and CBS finally fired him today.

Imus has apologised profusely but his punishment is deserved. If he had made this sort of comment about another prominent New York minority group, he would have been immediately fired. It is time that people like Imus realise that you cannot make nasty, racist and sexist remarks, then apologise and expect life to go on like normal. Imus and his morning show crew have repeatedly made similar remarks, including calling African American sports columnist Bill Rhoden a "New York Times quota hire" and African American PBS anchor Gwen Ifill a "cleaning lady", often referring to Arabs as “ragheads”, suggesting that Serena and Venus Williams were animals better suited to pose for National Geographic than Playboy, and stating that Palestinians mourning the death of Yasser Arafat were "stinking animals" upon whom the Israelis "ought to drop the bomb right there, kill 'em all right now...".

However, in all the uproar over Imus’ comments, what needs to be highlighted is that many black people use terms like those Imus used and today’s hip hop culture is synonymous with words like “nigger”, “hos” and “bitches”. The artists who have made these words acceptable need to be criticised and whipped into shape just as much as Imus. Imus should never have said what he said, but hip hop culture has in many ways set the standard for words like “hos” to become part of conventional vocabulary. Will Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson now lead a campaign to reform the hip hop industry? I doubt it.

Sri Lanka clinically disposed of New Zealand today. The Black Caps have been playing excellent cricket this World Cup but met up with a Sri Lanka team that came out with all guns blazing and once they had gained a stranglehold in the first over, refused to let it go. Interestingly, the Sri Lankans were without their key bowler, Lasith Malinga. At this point it seems as if the semi-finalists will be Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and South Africa. After being brushed aside by the Aussies and barely winning against Bangladesh, I cannot see England beating South Africa to gain a semi-final berth. On current form, it also seems as if the Aussies will win the World Cup for a third consecutive time. Can Sri Lanka stop them? I hope so!

What about the Tebbit Test?

What would Norman Tebbit have said? England’s South Asian connections (Sajid Mahmood with four wickets and man of the match Ravi Bopara with his cool half century) almost won them the game against Sri Lanka but in the end England just was not good enough. I had expected them to be on the receiving end of a whipping but to their credit they played well to restrict Sri Lanka and then recover from 133-6 to come within three runs of victory. While an England win would have been better for our extremely slim chances of advancing to the semis, I was supporting Sri Lanka. Even though I hope for a miracle and Lara doing an Imran Khan, the sad reality is that we are not good enough and I can not see us beating England or South Africa. I also can’t stand the English cricket team (the Aussies are arrogant and crass but the English are just poor losers and whingers, and not to mention the old enemy and former colonial masters) so I was rooting for Sri Lanka all along. With the Windies seemingly on their way out and Pakistan already gone, I am backing Sri Lanka now.

Staying with England, Keith Richards has denied that he snorted his late dad’s ashes while using cocaine. The Rolling Stones guitarist claims that he was joking when in an interview with music magazine NME he said “… I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow” and that the ashes "went down pretty well". Now I like the Stones but even by Richard’s standards this is sick and I don’t know if to believe him or not. He has done some crazy stuff, much of it narcotics related, so on the one hand this can’t be put past him, but on the other, he is a man who doesn’t care what people think so the fact that he has felt the need to come out and say that he was not serious, could mean that it was indeed said in jest. Who knows! I am not one for wasting my time reading about celebrity lifestyles but I like the Stones and the headline caught my eye.

Podiatric Problems Continue, West Indian Reality Check and Slinga Malinga’s Beaver Trick

*Photo from www.cricinfo.com

I got up on Monday feeling some pain and lots of tightness in my heel, especially the back of it. I couldn’t even wear the boot with my foot in the position it should be in because of the pain and tightness in my heel. I decided that I should seek a second opinion just to make sure that I don’t end up with my foot in a worse situation than it was in January so I called a podiatrist who was recommended by a colleague and was lucky to get an appointment the same day. It was reassuring to hear that the treatment I have been undergoing is normal. The podiatrist also said that the tightness in the heel was expected as tendons and muscles became very tight when casted and from lack of use. The only thing he stressed was that I should begin therapy soon and that he expected I would require it for a lengthy period of time. I made an appointment to see my podiatrist and saw him today. He told me the same thing about cast, inactivity and tightness but he was also worried that it was so painful. He said that in some cases, patients would unknowingly tear a tight tendon with a sudden foot movement when sleeping and so I had to go to do an MRI to make sure I have not ruptured my Achilles tendon. I must admit that this is becoming rather frustrating as it seems to be one step forward two steps backward. As usual I quickly did some research on Achilles tendon ruptures, symptoms, treatment etc and while I have been worried I think it may just be severe tightness and tendonitis. If it is only this, then according to the doctor I can begin therapy next week. If not, then ….

Comprehensively beaten by a ruthless Aussie team. As I expected, the Aussies rattled up a huge total. It began well for the Windies as they got an early wicket and kept the scoring rate low but some poor bowling and captaincy coupled with a brutal Hayden assault meant that the good start was negated and Australia ended up with 40-50 more runs than they should have gotten. Special mention must go to Bravo who has taken to bowling his “slow ball” so often each over that one wonders if he has a brain and also to Lara for not bowling Smith. The batting performance was pathetic today as we witnessed the usual batting collapse. Chanderpaul was the beneficiary of a poor umpiring decision (this is not an excuse but it seems that an abnormal amount of poor umpiring decisions go against the West Indies and particularly Lara and Chanderpaul) but most of the batsmen deserve a serious hiding for gifting their hands. Gayle did all the hard work by surviving the early bowling test only to play a stupid shot. Samuels is back to his old self obviously because I cannot in any way fathom why he ran down the pitch and swiped at McGrath. Sarwan once again played himself in and then played a poor shot and what was worse was that it was a rank full toss. Bravo needs a whipping for his poor shot and Smith did the norm- hit a six and get out. Lara and Ramdin fought hard but it wasn’t enough. All that was required was some sensible batting and mental toughness, but to ask that of this current crop is like asking them to squeeze water from a rock.

Lasith Malinga, with that slinging action that is such a joy to watch made history as he became the first bowler to take a beaver trick in One Day Internationals. Those two overs were unbelievable and as one cricket journalist said, “if only stumps had hair” Malinga would have had five in five balls and Sri Lanka would have won the match. Fidel Edwards who burst onto the international scene a few years ago in sensational fashion has a similar action to Malinga and is just as pacy if not pacier, but obviously as seems to be the case with our cricketers compared to those from other countries, ours do not possess the same discipline and commitment. A West Indies team playing with an on song Fidel would have been a much better one.

South Asian Disaster

*Photo from www.nationnews.com


*Photo from www.cricinfo.com

The marketing men will be fuming, for after all, a large number of the major sponsors of CWC 2007 are from India or have an Indian connection. The television people will be devastated after purchasing the rights to televise the tournament. The fans, anyone familiar with cricket knows, are fanatical and already the outcry and worse has begun.

The highly rated Indians appear to be joining Pakistan on their way home, barring a miracle victory by Bermuda over Bangladesh. After slaughtering minnows Bermuda mid-week, they met up with an inspired Sri Lankan team who clinically showed them the door. The Indian batting giants once again failed, with Tendulkar out for 0. Instead of India and Pakistan, the Asians will be represented by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the next round.

The West Indies won convincingly against Pakistan’s tormentors Ireland, but my doubts about whether they will be able to compete with the in form teams- Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand- continue to linger. When Jeremy Bray was flaying the bowling, the bowlers had no clue about how to respond and the captaincy was poor. Bray is a one dimensional batsman and the solution as the commentators kept pointing out was simple, yet still the bowlers continued to feed him short balls wide outside off and the captain showed no signs of leadership. If they do this in the second round against top batsmen they will be subjected to a massacre. It was good to see Chanderpaul return to form and he played some great shots; Samuels looked in good nick; Ramdin did well behind the stumps. Gayle bowled well, but batting wise, after a few big strokes he gifted his hand and demonstrated once again that he does not have much of a cricketing brain!

Onto Antigua on Tuesday for the first game of the Super Eights- West Indies versus Australia- where hopefully West Indies can produce some magic. Before that we still have South Africa versus Australia tomorrow in the final game of Group A. On a track which has seen some huge scores so far, I expect a run fest.