“At a time when aggressive, proactive international captaincy is in short supply,” writes Ian Chappell, in discussing Ajinkya Rahane’s leadership in the absence of Virat Kohli, “India are fortunate to have two leaders who both understand the value of taking wickets over containing the opposition.” At a time when aggressive, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Why did satisfying [Terry] Fenwick and [Peter] Miller matter so much to Mr [William] Wallace? That is the intriguing question posed by Wired868 reader Louis Carrington to which I am seeking to offer an answer. Three more reminders: (1) This is opinion, not reportage. For my facts, I rely essentially …

November 2005, Mannie Ramjohn Stadium. Jabloteh and W Connection are locked in battle in the final of the First Toyota Classic. W Connection’s Gefferson Goulart puts the southerners ahead. He celebrates à la Imran Tahir, his exuberant sprint taking him just past the opposition’s bench. Jabloteh coach Terry Fenwick, one …

When I told Sheldon Anthony Gomes that Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards had reminded me of him, his response was immediate. “He as good as you?” I had asked in jest. “Nah, skip,” he responded, “ten times better—at least!” Richards had singlehandedly run out three Australian batsmen in the 1975 World …

David John-Williams is standing on the par-5 fifth tee at the golf course at Savonetta, addressing his tee ball with his driver.  Investigative notes in hand, Mark Bassant ‘ambushes’ him. “Is your middle name Apullnaris?” he asks. Startled, the ex-president blocks his shot. “Right!” he yells. Bassant did not need …