(Part 49.) Gary Gilmour’s day. While the West Indies were breezing past New Zealand at The Oval in London in one semi-final, a relative newcomer to the Australian side had a day to remember up at Headingley in Leeds, as Ian Chappell’s men overcame their old rivals, England, to book …
Read More »1975 CWC: Genius Kallicharran spanks Lillee to take Windies to semis
(Part 44.) ‘Kalli’ the conqueror. There are just seven days to go to the 50th anniversary of the West Indies victory over Australia in the 1975 World Cup final. And on this day, we focus on the first meeting of those two teams at The Oval in London, on the …
Read More »1975 CWC: “Never before or since did I know fear on a cricket field”; Hurricane Thomson batters Sri Lanka
(Part 43.) ‘Thommo’ on the rampage. With eight days to the 50th anniversary of the West Indies’ defeat of Australia in the 1975 Cricket World Cup final, and after spending the last two editions of the series focusing on the Caribbean side’s thrilling one-wicket win over Pakistan in Birmingham, we now …
Read More »1975 CWC: Australia and New Zealand open with statement wins
(Part 39.) Winning starts for Aussies and Kiwis. They may be neighbours and both former British colonies in the Southern Hemisphere, but there is a world of difference between Australia and New Zealand; on and off the field of play. Brash and confrontational to the point of being obnoxious at …
Read More »1975 CWC: Chappell’s ‘Ugly’ Australians—why fierce ‘Aussies’ offered tough test
(Part 27.) Chappell’s “Ugly” Australians. Ahead of the 1975 Cricket World Cup, West Indies were installed as the bookmakers’ favourites to lift the trophy in the 21 June final at Lord’s. But with 24 days to go to the 50th anniversary of that golden moment in Caribbean cricket history, it …
Read More »1975 CWC: An unforgettable accident—how bad weather led to the world’s first ODI
(Part five.) History by accident. Tuesday 5 January 1971 is one of cricket’s historic days, with the first-ever One-Day International being played. As with the first-ever Test match, which bowled off on 15 March 1877, the ODI was staged at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and matched hosts Australia against England. …
Read More »Best: Berry wide of mark for praising WI style, yet blasting Lara
History, we West Indians are acutely aware, is written for the most part by the victors. So, although the West Indies have only beaten England seven times in the last 11 series since the end of 2000, in mid-April, British cricket writer Scyld Berry brought the late Tony Cozier to …
Read More »Vaneisa: Spirits of the game; West Indies’ friendly ghosts at the Gabba
“In our eras of greatness, when West Indies took the field, ghostly presences walked with the players, representing commitment to a higher cause, loyalty to the proudest of traditions and attachment to a long line of heroes—and the twelfth man in the team always answered to the name of courage.” …
Read More »Dear Editor: Windies, wake up! Why do we turn up against England and not Australia?!
“[…] Impatience was our downfall… Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul have got to have a long hard look at themselves in the mirror; they’ve got to get their bodies behind the ball or else leave it…” The following Letter to the Editor on the West Indies’ ongoing Test series against …
Read More »Pooran’s Maroon Men warm up with two T20Is in Australia; pink ball Test for Brathwaite’s side
Nicholas Pooran’s white ball West Indies side will go Down Under for this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, to be played from 16 October to 13 November. But they will not be the only regional squad in action in Australia in the last quarter of the year. Skipper Kraigg …
Read More »U19 W/C: Auguste cracks 57, but Australia down WI Rising Stars by six wickets
The West Indies Rising Stars began their 2022 Under-19 Cricket World Cup campaign with a defeat today, going under by six wickets to Australia by six wickets in the tournament opener at Providence in Guyana. West Indies won the toss and chose to bat. But by the sixth over, the …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Message from ‘Mike’; Pollard’s WI troops must strike blow for ‘marginalised’ cricket nations
“Mike,” Bruce Patterson writes in a comment appended to a piece headlined ‘The Big Squeeze’ in Friday’s London Times, “this is career-defining work. Brilliant insight into how greed and poor governance is killing the game we all love.” “The game of cricket needs more prominent figures (like you),” adds P …
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