For 32 years since Viv Richards’ West Indies beat Australia by nine wickets at the Gabba, no other country successfully breached that fortress. Of the 31 matches played there between that defeat and this year, the home side had drawn seven and won 24. But without its appointed captain and …
Read More »WI look past Bangladesh ODIs, as hosts sweep Mohammed’s men out of their way
In today’s Third ODI, West Indies won the toss, the only outcome that was not seemingly pre-ordained. They opted not to bat first; cynics who watched all three games might be tempted to omit the last word. When they did eventually take their turn at the crease in Chattogram, halfway …
Read More »Waiting for Wehby action, WI wonders about Pollard’s promotion and the Peter Principle
It’s enough to wipe the smile off your face. Or make you disrespect anyone else who is within earshot. On the radio on Friday morning, the announcer broke the news this way: “As expected, Bangladesh defeated the West Indies by seven wickets in the second ODI earlier today.” That she …
Read More »Media Monitor Mondello Pt-2: Trump’s number comes up; 45 in the books—in the red column!
“Shakespeare, yuh go dead before mih.” If, as children, we happened to say the same words at the same time, my sisters and I used to blurt out those six words. And we used to hear Billy Graham on the radio on Sunday mornings. All four of those sisters eventually …
Read More »Media Monitor: Is Mondello leaving a ‘shithole country’? Or returning to one?
It wasn’t, we knew then, the best of times; it wasn’t, we now know, the worst of times. When, in July 1990, Yasin Abu Bakr opened a door and, in David Rudder’s well-weighted words, showed us our other side, like Adam and Eve, we went frantically in search of a …
Read More »Best: WI-Bangladesh reality check; can Sir Clive’s statement stand serious scrutiny?
Under normal circumstances, you’d struggle to be well represented if 12 of your top players suddenly announced that they were unavailable for an imminent tour. But with the world in the throes of a global pandemic for the last year, January/February 2021 is anything but normal. So, unsurprisingly, Sir Clive …
Read More »Harping on the vexed WI Test captaincy question; is Pollard the answer?
Five overs. For an ODI captain, those 30 balls are sometimes a real test. Think West Indies Test captain Jason Holder bidding just to keep the ball in the park when AB De Villiers took a liking to his bowling in the ICC World Cup in Sydney in 2015. Five …
Read More »Best: Happy with Harper? Emotions high, expectations low as WI head for Bangladesh
As the West Indies second-string cricketers prepare to fly out to Bangladesh for a three-ODI, two-Test tour, expectation levels are way, way down. Unsurprisingly, not too many people seem terribly optimistic about the account this depleted bunch will give of itself. And it’s not just the man-in-the-street who’s making little …
Read More »Best: Holder has to go but is captaincy really WI cricket’s problem?
A cricket match, a very wise man once wrote, is played in the minds of the opposing captains. The leader’s performance between the two sets of stumps may well contribute to the eventual outcome of any given match. But if he fails to perform consistently between the ears, his team …
Read More »Best: Why a teacher-led classroom is still a locus of a lot of learning
Like the archer’s arrow into the flame cauldron at the Barcelona Olympics, it sailed out into the arena from beneath the old wooden scoreboard at the Queen’s Park Oval. It’s a Shell Shield game. Inshan Ali, the left-arm unorthodox spinner who first made the national team as a teenager, has …
Read More »Media Monitor: Chalkdust’s advice, Fourth Estate allies and education today
Until David Rudder came along to fill our hearts and minds with his inspirational repertoire, Ah Fraid Karl ranked up there with the best. And Ah Put on Mih Guns Again was among my top dozen favourite calypsoes. So having long recognised his worth as a calypsonian, I have no …
Read More »Media Monitor: Chalkdust’s embarrassing offering on education in the age of smart boards and laptops.
Education kills … by degrees! That graffito leapt off the walls of the London Underground at me about half a century ago. And stayed with me. Last weekend’s Sunday Express brought it back to the front of my mind. And reminded me as well of this idea, long espoused by …
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