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What is it about West Indies Cricket?

"What do they know of cricket who only cricket knows" - C.L.R. James

	Many people are often confused when cricket fans wake up at ungodly hours in the morning and night to view West Indies matches broadcast from Australia, South Africa, India and Pakistan. These fans will stay up all night if necessary to urge on their team, and stumble to their workplace or school the following day, dazed and bleary-eyed. "It's an unhealthy obsession", are the comments that are often heard. Some employers become annoyed when  staff members venture to work with portable radios and televisions, complete with headphones so that they may follow those matches that are played in Europe and the Americas. What is it about this sport that results in friendships being torn apart, rallying songs being composed, and nations enduring diplomatic rifts? What is it indeed?
	Analysts and social theorists have pondered this in several writings both in the Caribbean and abroad, and they all seem to agree on one observation - West Indies Cricket is the single success story that showcases West Indian Unity among its peoples. Indeed, no other sport or event in recent memory has managed to capture the imagination of the West Indian people - of all ethnicities, colours, religions, classes, age groups and sexes - than a West Indies cricket match.  Interestingly, the fact that we are all separate countries tend to be forgotten temporarily when we are watching, listening to and discussing cricket, and the unity of the West Indies people takes precedence at these times.
	Who can forget the collective outpouring of emotions expressed when the West Indies dramatically came from behind in 1992 to beat South Africa in the first ever Test between the two nations? Or when Brian Lara (375) broke the Test Match scoring record previously held by Sir Garfield Sobers in 1994? Or when Shivnarine Chanderpaul finally scored his first Test century? The examples are too numerous to mention here, but the collective nature of these feelings are undeniable. Team members and West Indians wept together when we lost against Australia at home in 1995 and we were completely devastated when the team was decimated against Pakistan in 1997. Talk Shows on radio and television for days and weeks afterwards focused on the problems and pitfalls facing the West Indies team; arguments abounded in the office, in rumshops, and on the street as to who should be in team, who should be captain, and who should resign from the selection panel, etc.
	Obviously, there are going to be instances when national pride seeps back in, and insularity is often best exhibited when we are expressing our deepest emotions about the team (good and bad) . . . but when our feelings are stripped down to the basics, the success of the WEST INDIES TEAM is always paramount.  June Sooner, writing in the anthology, Liberation Cricket : West Indies cricket culture (eds. Hilary McD Beckles & Brian Stoddart, Ian Randle : 1995) has made an interesting point on this very issue : "The influx of Leeward Islands cricketers into the West Indies team in the last decade has caused the traditional suppliers to suspect a conspiracy. The selection of Richie Richardson as captain of the team and the overlooking of Desmond Haynes has caused an uproar in Barbados. The issue was accentuated by the scant respect with which the WICBC treated Malcolm Marshall and Gordon Greenidge, who recently retired. To add fuel to the flame, the decision to omit Anderson Cummins from the team which played against South Africa, caused Barbadians to call for a boycott of the Kensington Oval test match. The success of this boycott revived the traditional anti-Barbadian sentiment throughout the region. Yet, despite what was seen as an extreme act of insularity, a situation when a player took precedence over the team, once again the calls were for renewed support of the team in its attempts at rebuilding. These situations point to the deep involvement of West Indians in the game. Everyone is a cricketer, a commentator, a critic, a captain, a selector, an umpire and a supporter. The alienation from other facets of West Indian life has created an integration where the people can assert themselves even when they do not make the final decisions."   What is it about West Indies cricket indeed?

 

	Rally Round the West Indies  (David Rudder) For ten long years We ruled the cricket world Now the rule seems coming to an end But down here Just a chink in the armour Is enough, enough to lose a friend Some of the old generals have retired and gone And the runs don't come by as they did before But when the Toussaints go the Dessalines come We've lost the battle but yet we will win the war     CHORUS : Rally, rally round the West Indies Now and forever Rally, rally round the West Indies Never say never Pretty soon the runs are going to flow like water Bringing so much joy to every son and daughter Say we're going to rise again like a raging fire As the sun shines you know we gonna take it higher Rally, rally round the West Indies Now and forever Rally, rally round the West Indies
	Way Down Under a warrior falls Michael Holding falls in the heat of the battle "Michael shoulda left long time!" I heard an angry brother shout Caribbean man, that, that, that is the root of our trouble In these tiny theatres of conflict and confusion Better known as the isles of the West Indies We already know who brought us here And who created this confusion So I'm begging, begging my people please CHORUS
	Now they are making restrictions and laws to spoil our beauty But in the end we shall prevail This is not just cricket, this thing goes beyond the boundary It's up to you and me to make sure that they fail Soon we must take a side or be lost in the rubble In a divided world that don't need islands no more Are doomed forever to be at somebody's mercy? Little keys can open up mighty doors . . . CHORUS

For more information on West Indies Cricket, visit these sites :

Upcoming West Indies Cricket Team Fixtures

1998 Wills International Cricket Council Tournament in Bangladesh

The Touring Squad to Bangladesh 1998

The South Africa Tour 1998/99

The Touring Squad to South Africa 1998/99

Tune in to the following sites for tour updates :

    The Caribbean Broadcasting Union

    CANA Online

    Caribbean Tempo 105 FM (Audio Feed)

    Sky Sports (from the U.K.)

    United Cricket Board of South Africa

 

Unofficial West Indies Cricket Sites :

    A West Indies Cricket page

    West Indies Cricket

    CricInfo's Unofficial West Indies Home Page

The Australia Home Series 1999
(1999 Cable & Wireless Series )

Click here to go the official Cable and Wireless Cricket Series site

World Cup 1999 Fixtures

West Indies "Warm Up" Matches

Full World Cup Schedule

(Note : venues are located in England, unless otherwise specified)

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This page was last updated on October 14, 1998.