“People are like animals,” a long-running promo for the two weekly I-Sports programmes asserts, “and sometimes they need to be treated that way on I-Sports.” The Reckless One, who hosts the bi-weekly sessions, has launched a public campaign for us all to boycott this month’s two West Indies versus England …
Read More »Bravo and Boycott: They’re both not playing; WI must resist insularity
As if West Indies cricket does not already have enough problems, what with our failure to qualify for the last two white ball World Cups (20 and 50 overs), we now have the spectre of insularity rearing its ugly head once more. It takes me back to the late 1960s …
Read More »Dear editor: Why not Bravo for Dowrich? ICC should normalise CWI!
“[…] The last straw is in [the CWI’s] media release of Shane Dowrich’s retirement announcement, indicating that a replacement won’t be named. What the hell is that supposed to mean? “[…] Every squad announced by the West Indies is supposed to have reserve players selected. It’s a home series for …
Read More »Discarded Darren bides his time, DJ Bravo throws WI selectors under the bus
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 …
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