'Not a Damn Match For Them'
(Trinidad Express)
This column will not be a boastful prediction that the West Indies will beat everybody following the modest but encouraging success of Lara's committed leadership this cricket season. I dislike intensely the arrogance that fills much sporting commentary. As soon as things start going well we lose our heads. Imagine one report of last weekend's game brayed that "the West Indies could even afford the luxury of four dropped catches".
How could anyone in his right mind write such a thing? The television commentators last Sunday afternoon were not much better. They started crowing much too early. They must have also been blind to the amicable but totally professional attitude of Muralitharan, who repeatedly beat the bats of Lara and Sarwan right to the bitter end.
One of the richest sound bites in our politics was the assessment of former prime minister George Chambers of the prospects of the ONR running against the PNM in 1981. He told a delighted crowd: "Not a damn seat for them." I am adopting that assessment in relation to the prospects of Trinidad and Tobago being allocated any events or matches of significance in the World Cup schedule of 2007.
As I have suggested before, this forthcoming event, whether you like cricket or not, provides a business opportunity and, for us in Trinidad and Tobago, a badly needed opportunity to mitigate the considerable reputational damage that our country has suffered as a result of successive Governments being unable to deal with the crime problem. However, I would not be surprised if the International Cricket Council (ICC) decides in relation to Trinidad and Tobago that there will not be a damn match for them unless we put together a credible case for presentation to those making the decisions.
During the last World Cup, certain teams did not want to go to Zimbabwe and Kenya for fear of personal safety. Some teams forfeited points rather than go to those countries. This is a problem the ICC will not want to face again and the stealing of Australia's cricket gear certainly has not helped our cause, blighted as it is with kidnapping and gang warfare. Do I hear the usual defence that we are no worse than Jamaica? Persons who want to rely on that will no doubt consider how difficult it is to prove a negative. Not too many sites of dubious safety will be accepted. Jamaica is also known and loved as the land of Bob Marley.
I do not know how many venues are to be chosen but Barbados and St Lucia may be near certainties. Barbados has an impeccable reputation in international cricketing circles and a formidable and seasoned tourism product. St Lucia also has quality tourism plant and its new stadium was talked up very highly by the foreign commentators during the games there. In fact, as a measure of the standing of Barbados, in their eyes, they described St Lucia as being "just 35 minutes from Barbados".
Grenada, too, has a new stadium and there are other potential nails in our coffin. The World Cup authorities have mentioned scheduling matches in the United States. I do not know how that is part of Caribbean cricket but I heard them myself. Finally, there is a requirement that the chosen grounds be available free of all encumbrances. Has an arrangement been made with the Oval to release members' seats and hospitality boxes? Correctly, therefore, our organisers have recognised that there is no guarantee for Trinidad and Tobago.
I note that on June 26 last the Minister of Sport installed (such a pompous word) a Local Organising Committee (LOC). Let us hope they get something to organise. I did not see any destination, travel or entertainment promoters of any kind, let alone such persons with international experience, among the ranks of the LOC. If one studies how Atlanta won the Olympic Games venue in 1996, how the United States won the Soccer World Cup venue in 1994 and how London is going about bidding for the Olympic Games for 2012, you will see in each case that a campaign team with the specific mission of selling the venue and winning the bid was formed with a Titan at its head. This is an entirely separate exercise from organising the tournament if you get it.
The campaign team has to be a formidable marketing entity able to sell the best known features of the venue. For example, for the 2012 Olympic bid, London is using the reputation of Wimbledon as a tennis venue and is looking to involve David Beckham, England's best known soccer player, in the marketing effort. If I were bidding for an opening ceremony, I would make sure that the first person on board my marketing team would be Peter Minshall and the Callaloo Company, who have gained international recognition for their work in this field. Other Trinidad and Tobago personalities who made it internationally should also be an essential part of this mission.
Two weeks ago, I was enjoying another great Friday in Port of Spain. Popular exhibitions of where pan can reach have moved me to think further about the tragedy of our country not being near the top of the international league of places where one can travel and have a great time. The Pan Trinbago/Tidco initiative for panyard concerts has brought out large crowds. We could not even fit into the car park opposite Playboyz yard on Tragarete Road, four blocks from the Oval. We could hear some of the music from the pavement and there was even a rudimentary projection onto a nearby wall. I stood there on the pavement and looked up and down between Maraval Road and Cipriani Boulevard and conjured up in my mind what if those blocks on Tragarete Road were cordoned off and the music concert and the Minshall characters were in the road. I explored this dream recently in "Lara's Theme".
What a stunning experience we can provide for cricket World Cup visitors. This foundation should have been laid a long time ago. Will we be selling this vision of the native land of Lara to those making the decision about match venues? Or will we be relying on our conceited self-assessment that Trinidad is paradise, regardless of the murder rate, and that the world is supposed to know that without any polished marketing effort?
* This column was first published in the Trinidad Express newspaper.