'Down on the Mound'

??Trini to di bone? blares from the speakers over at the Red Stripe Mound, where cricket is the last thing on patrons? minds?.

Remember that sentence from last year?s article during the Australia home series? This was my firm view, shared most recently by Fazeer Mohammed who said of party stand go-ers, ?the so-called "new" fans have little interest in the game?.

I got a call soon after last year?s article to ask how dare I make a statement like that?! The caller said, with confidence, that at least 60 percent of the Moundites (my phrase) were serious cricket fans, who just wanted to watch cricket in a different (read: lively) atmosphere. So this year, I felt I would take my beliefs to the Moundites, young and old, and get their reaction.

Well so ah get cuss...again! David, one of the organizers, contemplated albeit jokingly, whether he should let me in to do my ?research?. He eventually did and I wended my way through the crowd over several days, to hear them out.

But first, a little background on the Red Stripe Mound.

Conceptualized from the balcony of the Kingston Cricket Club (KCC), by a group of young ardent cricket fans who grew up playing cricket, the Red Stripe Mound was set up in 1995 to offer a similar atmosphere to that of the party stand in Antigua. Having been previously attracted by the excitement of the party stands during the televised matches, the group of friends had gone to Antigua for a few years to experience the famous Chicky?s Hi-Fi stand. They came back hooked and in high spirits (no pun intended!) from what they experienced.

Just prior to 1995, the area now known as the Mound was the dump site for the rubble of the then newly constructed Air Jamaica stand. David?s cousin Jason looked over there from his position on the KCC balcony and said to him ?why don?t we do something over there...bring Antigua to Jamaica?? That was the genesis of the Red Stripe Mound.

The former President of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA), the late Rex Fennell, was instrumental in making the idea a reality, so too was O.K. Melhado who was at the time involved with Desnoes & Geddes, the makers of Red Stripe beer.

The aims of the Mound were very clear:

- To bring in a younger crowd, especially ladies

- To create a place where West Indies could rally their team to great performances

One they might have achieved, but the other, sadly, is yet to materialize.

The organizers have an Event Agreement with the WICB and a lease on the physical property with the JCA. For the price of a ticket, many things are included ? food, drink (and lots of it), music and live entertainment, washroom facilities, and security, plus Moundites get to see the game on television as it is happening (necessary if the crowd prevents you from seeing it in live and living colour).

That?s it for the ?Mound-ane? stuff. Now on to the serious business at hand. What do the Moundites think about my statement?

Let?s start with Stella. Sporting a dazzling head of grey hairs, this ?groovy? retiree has been watching cricket since she was about 15, ?from that India match at Sabina Park when we were tear gassed? she said. Stella admits that in the first year or so the ?teeny boppers came who thought they?d drink liquor and that was it, but after about two years, the serious cricket lovers took over?. Ah ha! So at one point my statement would have been correct. And even now on a Saturday or Sunday the profilers do come out, the ones who ask ?who?s winning?? Said Stella ?we don?t take offence?.

Stella = serious cricket fan.

For Denise, her baptism to the Mound happened because ?as a former box holder in the George Headley Stand, I lost financially when the game against England was called off?. She got together with a group of friends and decided to try the Mound, attracted by the all-inclusive aspect to it. ?I think it is still a fair assessment or perception that over at the Mound, if you want to have a good time and get your liquor and drink, you don?t really come over here for the cricket?.

But Denise?s aim when she first defected was to expose the Mound to people who had that false perception. As a serious supporter who has traveled around the islands with the WI team, who better to win Mound skeptics over? ?People who you are trying to expose the game to, will come to the Mound because that?s how you capture them, that?s how you get the interest?. The ?profilers? she said, come out mainly for the One Day matches.

Daniel, a Jamaican working in Cayman, said he comes for the atmosphere and dollar value. ?I used to be a regular at George Headley for 15 years. They have knowledgeable people there to discuss cricket with yes, but after doing that for 15 years it reached a point where there is nothing else to talk about. Here, I can diverge from the serious issue of cricket and discuss a little more leisure with my friends. The ladies walking in front is a nice view, and it is just a good ambience over here."

So, the drawing card is the diversion eh? Maybe that?s what Gayle, Sarwan & Co were looking for after that disastrous first Test.

One kind of diversion is the music, and David told me that the music is chosen very, very carefully. As an example, Renaissance disco was pumping out ?Lord give me strength to face another day? and ?It?s not an easy road? when Devon Smith went caught and bowled by Matthew Hoggard for 12. The score was then 21 for 5 with West Indies still 7 runs in arrears. Lord, we do need a diversion and badly so.

How about a Red Stripe?

This was the drawing card for Ian from Blackburn, England and his English friends. Ian said with glee ?we?re here for the free Red Stripe!? Having watched the series in 1994 from a different stand at Sabina Park, he made the switch this year. Asked to respond to my statement, Stephen said ?no way, that?s not true. We travel all around the world to watch cricket? in between his sips of the ?Great Jamaican Beer?. His friend Bill said ?I?ve never seen cricket as good as this. It?s like a big party?. Aye.

Donald, a Jamaican, was vociferous in saying ?we are serious cricket people. We speak about cricket like anybody else in Kingston Cricket Club. We know our cricket. We critique our cricket just as much as them. It?s really sad when I hear people say we are not serious. Why? Well we have our music here which they don?t have, so we have to jig?.

You can?t let the music go to waste. Spotted ?jigging? was 100 metres hurdles specialist Bridget Foster. Hmmmm, I wonder if she?s a serious cricket fan? She took off before I could ask her.

Shane is from Barbados and said ?when you?re at the Mound, you feel that you?re on the field. It is a good angle to watch cricket from. It?s not directly behind the bowler?s arm but you get a good up and down feeling?. ?Bowler?s arm?...only a serious cricket fan would know that term, ent? Added Shane, who?s been to South Africa, Trinidad, and Antigua as well ?the music behind me, drink in my hand, cricket before me, scoreboard easy access, this is the best place I?ve watched cricket in my life...and I?m from Barbados?. What an endorsement.

?The Mound is the blend of everything - serious fans, the party goers and those who would not have come to cricket at all. So whether you are serious or not, at some point you need to be introduced to the game? said Sean, a Jamaican graphic artist. The Mound, he said, adds another element to Caribbean Cricket, which needs to be differentiated from Australian cricket or English cricket.

That brand that Sean mentioned is exactly what the organizers wanted to create. Said David ?we want to inspire our team and intimidate the opposition? and the music is a part of that. David further said that one of the things which make the Mound special is that ?it?s like a reunion, with supporters who travel from island to island?.

So after enjoying the hospitality of the Red Stripe Mound, what?s my verdict? My informal survey indicated that there?s enough evidence for me to retract my statement and say,

- if you like good vibes and pulsating music

- if you want to spot a celebrity or two, like Courtney Walsh or Francois of Fame-FM fame

- if you want the convenience of not having to carry cash

- if you want a variety of food

- if you must have Johnny Walker Black or Smirnoff Ice, or a constant supply of Red Stripe Beer

- and if you want to be able to see what?s happening on the field while you?re titivating in the posh bathrooms

then the Red Stripe Mound at Sabina Park is the place for even you, yes you ? the serious cricket fan. And you certainly wouldn?t need to be reminded of the ?Mound Rules?...

?Down on the Mound? please. It?s cricket!