West Indies cricket still being run by stupid people: Stephenson
Tue, Sep 20, '16
Ganeshbabu Venkat has an interview in Wisden India with Barbadian cricketer Franklyn Stephenson who was barred from West Indies cricket after taking part in the rebel tour of South Africa and never played a match for the West Indies. Looking back, Stephenson says:
"My first year with Notts, I was the Wisden Player of the year, taking 125 wickets and scoring 1018 runs. I achieved the ‘double’ in England. I was barely 30 at that time, with lots of cricket left to offer for West Indies. I’m not saying this to brag but to put things in perspective. Only short-sighted people could keep me away from West Indies cricket. Our cricket was run by stupid people then and not much has changed now."
He also reflects on his illustrious first class career:
The two centuries and 11 wickets against Yorkshire in 1988 was a moment to cherish. I loved playing for Free State under the captaincy of the late Hansie Cronje. Winning the 1993-94 limited-overs tournament for Free State was special. We had to play a best of three semifinals against Western Province. By finishing ahead of WP, we had the home advantage.
When we walked out to bowl, I told Hansie, “There is no second or third spell in this game for me. I bowl my 10 overs straight”. I put them under pressure by getting three quick scalps. Having reached 140 for 9, they needed six runs from the final over. Allan Donald castled the last man and we won by 5 runs. I won the man of the match for figures of 10-3-12-3. In the finals, we blew Natal away. That was special, since you don’t expect to win those games.
The full interview is at Wisden India.
