Party Stands and W.I Cricket

I am at a loss to understand the furore about four players walking over to the Mound at Sabina Park after the West Indies atrocious performance on Sunday.

Let me make it clear that I am not a party stand supporter, but if people want to party and if the WICB sanctions Party Stands in our grounds, then we are making a mountain out of a mound.

Contrary to the rumours circulating, not one of the four players was seen partying over at the Mound. They were seen chatting with cricketers and fans. Not one was seen laughing or partying ? indeed they were as shell-shocked as the fans and like most normal persons in a situation like Sunday, they sought out their friends.

Party stands are promoted by many of the WICB's sponsors and the managers of these stands have gone out of their way to encourage past cricketers from all teams to join the fun. I have seen former board president, Rev Wes Hall, posing with the Carib Girls in the party stand in Trinidad; I have seen several persons associated with the WICB in the party stands and I know that several of our past players and even fringe players are given free passes for the mound.

It is a fact that many national and test players who are not on the squad also watch cricket from the mound. What is more, several fans from a variety of Caribbean territories flock to the mound with their national and West Indies flags. What is wrong with our cricketers seeking out these people after a match, particularly after such a debacle?

I need to hear from the WICB if it is okay for players to visit stands after victories or defeats and I mean the George Headley stand, private boxes, Eastern stand, Air Jamaica stand and every other stand in the region.

If it is okay for players to seek their friends, relatives of supporters from their home territories (in all the other stands) after a match has been completed, someone at the WICB better tell me why they should not seek out these same people if they happen to be in the party stand.

I hate seeing tangential matters being spun across the region when there are serious matters to be addressed.

What we need in this region right now is support for our team and this nonsense about players being in the mound does nothing but confuse both the players and serious cricket fans. The WICB has encouraged the party stands and the sponsors encourage cricketers to visit these stands.

The time has come for the board to stop sending mixed signals regarding the party stands. If the party stands are off limits to players, then close them down. Players have the right to go to every stand in every ground in our region. Was it poor judgement to go over to the Mound given the perception of these Party Stands by some persons in the region? It is only poor judgement if we continue to send mixed signals about these stands to players and fans.

I will not sit by and watch people make scapegoats of four West Indian cricketers who were not partying. The young men went over to the stand to be with their relatives, friends, and fans.

Am I upset about our disgraceful performance on Sunday? Yes. I am still in shock, but this is my team ? win, lose or draw, and I'll be backing them to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and start all over again.

* Dr Christine Cummings is a Lecturer in the Department of Government, UWI, Mona. Among her courses are Sports, Politics and Society and Media and Sport. Her primary area of research is The Politics of West Indies Cricket.