As expected, India duly completed their win in the Second Testimonial in Mumbai on Saturday before the end of the third day. But on the occasion of the formal ascension of the latest member to join their pantheon, the gods of cricket were not in generous mood. In the first …
Read More »Rain spoils West Indies contest at the Oval
When time was called this afternoon at the end of the rain-ruined day’s play at the Queen’s Park Oval, there was one question on all lips – especially those of Virat Kohli’s Indians. Will the West Indies be able, all were asking, to drive home their early advantage and keep …
Read More »India favoured for Champions Trophy; ICC finally gets its way
Were you, brother and sister international cricket fan, responsible for organising the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy tournament in England, where would you stage the final? I want you to answer honestly, not just to give me the answer you think I want to hear. At Lord’s, right? For me, it …
Read More »Captain Caribbean: Bravo’s blueprint for brilliance
Not for nothing were West Indian teams prior to Kerry Packer’s crucial intervention in the late 1970’s ritually called “Calypso Cricketers.” Sparrow’s “Slave” contains a line that perhaps epitomizes the regional attitude to the game. In that classic tune, the Calypso King of the World as first person narrator describes …
Read More »The great bungle: The real reason for West Indies’ flop
So the reigning T20 champions will miss out on the June 23 Edgbaston Champions Trophy final which, with luck, could feature India and South Africa. But it was neither Mother India nor Mother Africa that did the West Indies in, as the conspiracy theorists might argue. No, say the apologists, …
Read More »Yea, Denesh, Talk nah!
A still tongue, Denesh Ramdin would have heard over and over after the 2012 Test versus England in Birmingham, keeps a wise head. I confess that, with my “Yea, Denesh, Hush Nah” and “A Right Royal Ramdin Ruckus” articles in the July and August editions of the Trinidad and Tobago …
Read More »Thanks and goodbye to Sammy and silent WI selectors
In Charlie’s Angels, an American television series later adapted into a movie, three attractive private investigators work for a boss that they never met and who gives instructions through speaker phone. It is tempting to believe that the West Indies cricket team shares a similar relationship with its selection committee, …
Read More »Stabilising the West Indies cricket team
The West Indies cricket team’s 3-0 One-Day International (ODI) triumph against Zimbabwe marks the 16th time that the regional team has swept an opposing nation since a 1976 whitewash away to England under legendary captain Clive Lloyd. There is little similarity between those two emphatic series. Zimbabwe is clearly a minnow …
Read More »West Indies cricket can still regain footing
On 12 January 1997 at Perth, Brian Lara’s classy innings of 90 runs propelled the West Indies cricket team to a four-wicket win over Australia in the 1996/97 Carlton & United Tri-Nation Series and meant the then dominant Australia failed to qualify for the tri-series finals, which was eventually won …
Read More »Bravo’s U Report enrages cricket czar
The superb timing of Trinidad and Tobago cricketer Darren Bravo’s strokeplay has already won him global attention. His “tweets” aren’t bad either. Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) Azzim Bassarath is not a fan, though. Bravo recently posted two unflattering photos of the dressing room used by national players on …
Read More »T&T cricket needs you
Rayad Emrit will lead out the Trinidad and Tobago cricket team for the first time on Friday against defending champions, Jamaica, and without the benefit of more than half the team. Denesh Ramdin, Darren and Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Adrian Barath, Lendl Simmons, Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul and Daren Ganga …
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