At 34, Darren Bravo probably did not have his eyes on a place in the West Indies squad for the 2027 ODI World Cup. West Indies lead selector Desmond Haynes is certain that he should not have been looking towards the South Africa/Namibia/Zimbabwe tournament. But was Bravo a shoo-in for …
Read More »Benjamin: Why WI never got the best out of Sunil Narine
By his own admission a man of few words, Sunil Narine once found enough of them to point accusing fingers at the TTCB and its president. Azim Bassarath had emailed TTCB board members using language that highly offended the then high-profile national player. “Let him start to Bowl !!!!!!” the …
Read More »Orwell’s take on Maxwell’s incredible no-foot batting, Cummins’ wotlissness and West Indian purblindness
The spirit of George Orwell lay heavy over Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday evening after favourites Australia got past underdogs Afghanistan in the 50-over World Cup match. Over the entrance to the losers’ dressing room, my mind’s eye saw, adapted, the legend from his Animal Farm: ‘Two legs good, no …
Read More »Challenging Dr Rowley—after Colm doesn’t cough up cash for cricket clubs
Budget Day. As usual, many citizens are waiting to hear what goodies are coming their way this year. Most are focused on Finance Minister Colm Imbert. What, they are asking, will the Finance Minister deliver today? But some others, not so much. What ball, we untypical Trini cricket fans are …
Read More »Remembering Shirvan Pragg: “one of the best all-rounders West Indies never had”
It’s coming up to 41 years since Shirvan Pragg left us. The car accident that took his life in November 1982 will never be forgotten by so many of us. I was on the other side of the universe, in southern France, when news of Shirvan’s fatal accident reached me. …
Read More »Vaneisa: Saluting cricketers in a league of their own
So far, in not writing about cricket for eight columns straight (I am sticking to my story that they are really about Caribbean societies), I have avoided naming any contemporary players. But I want to veer away a bit and talk about some CPL events, and that entails some name-calling. …
Read More »Early Bird: Echoing Denyse Plummer; TKR support nah leaving—it’s more than cricket
That Monday morning when Bobby sent me back to the 1950s and an old Sparrow kaiso about Carnival queens, Denyse Plummer was still with us… Fo’daymorning. I pull up in front of his house as usual to start our walk to the Eddie Hart Savannah. On the way, he makes …
Read More »Vaneisa: Build communities by teaching youths “histories of ourselves”
When Gordon Rohlehr and Brinsley Samaroo died recently, the torrent of tributes celebrated their contributions to the world. Especially significant was the consistent references to their generosity with knowledge—the way they shared without regard for financial remuneration or public recognition. Along with the indefatigable Bridget Brereton, they have been exemplars …
Read More »Vaneisa: Teaching our history to younger generation would enrich our societies
Discovering Frank Worrell through a comic book was a powerful moment in my primary school days. A voracious reader, I was growing up with the idea that heroic figures were remote figures from faraway lands. The one major investment in books in our home had been a set of encyclopaedias …
Read More »Orin: Pooran, a global superstar on the rise, bridges political divide
“[…] Last month, the 27-year-old Nicholas Pooran made what turned out to be a smart decision. He made himself unavailable for the One Day International series against India, and opted to play in the first American Major League Cricket final in Dallas. His stunning 137 not out off 55 balls …
Read More »Vaneisa: The rush of blood—education changes minds, not violence
We are already far down the road where even if we can string words together, we cannot process ideas. There was a time when our oppressed peoples fully embraced the concept that the way to shake off their shackles was through education, and they went at it with great commitment …
Read More »Can Dr Rowley resurrect T&T cricket and keep self-help from wrecking the enterprise?
Booty, you have probably heard, is in the eye of the beholder. Ask Jack Warner. Haitian officials complained that the lion’s share of US$750m—sent to Warner-controlled accounts by Fifa and a presidential candidate for the world governing body—never made it to the impoverished island, who were desperate for relief after …
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