Young, Gifted and West Indian

When the tiny island of Montserrat was overcome with lava flows from the Soufriere volcano's massive eruptions, many Montserratians were forced to take refuge in other countries. A young Lionel Baker was one of those displaced in 1997. Baker joined his mother, two brothers and a sister in England. The new environment proved to be a shock to the young cricketer's system.

Lionel Sionne Baker began playing cricket at age 12, learning the game from Tyrone Greenaway at primary school in Montserrat, then later from someone who the fast bowler could only remember as 'Fitzroy'. He chose bowling because "I like the big man Ambrose. So I decided to become a bowler. In primary school I used to be a batsman and then after a while I switched and then I realized I was better at bowling so I stuck to bowling."

Thousands of miles across the Atlantic, Baker found himself in an odd situation. In Walthamstow, on Black Horse Road, Baker was one of only about four black children in the school. "The whites wanted to pick on me and I wouldn't let them, so I was in detention sometimes for a whole week", said Lionel. Eventually, he was asked to leave after two years. It was back to Montserrat in 1999 as his mother thought that was the best thing for him at the time.

Baker continued playing cricket in Montserrat, and his big break came when he was selected for the Leeward Island under-15 team. Soon after, he was a part of the West Indies U-15 squad which won the Cost Cutter Challenge tournament. The ever smiling right arm fast bowler exchanged conversation with me at the Academy over lunch earlier this summer, and again briefly during the recently concluded regional one day tournament.

MM: How did you feel the first time you were called to represent the West Indies?

LB: I was excited at first and afterwards, it's just like I don't really study those things. When I go to a tournament and they have a West Indies side picking, I don't really study those things. I just study on what I have to do and if I do those things well, I'm guaranteed to make the side. When we were down in Trinidad for the U-15 tournament everyone was studying who's going to make it and I was just going with the motions and next minute they call me.

How did you do in the Cost Cutter Challenge tournament?

I didn't play in U-15. The first game I slid and injured my bowling hand and I didn't get any more games.

You played in the Youth World Cup in Bangladesh. How was that experience for you?

I played six games. I didn't play in last two because my foot got damaged. In the pre-tournament tour in Sri Lanka, in the first game, I twisted it and I never really checked up on it, and in the sixth game then I felt the pain. It was shin splints. Did some work on it, massaging, physiotherapy. It's kind of good but it's still hurting me. I did an x-ray and the people at Academy know about the injury.

What will you do after the Academy?

I am supposed to go back home and play in the Leeward Islands one day tournament to see if I can make the Leewards side for the regional one day tournament. I would have to do better than Kerry Jeremy, Adam Sanford, Gavin Tongue, and Curl Simon. Those four.

Do you think you are better than them?

I'm as good as them, not better.

Baker was successful in his bid and turned out for the Leeward Islands in their first game against Jamaica. That was his solitary match, returning figures of 8-0-55-0 for an expensive economy rate of 6.87 runs per over. He said he would be working hard to improve on that performance in order to get into the Leeward Islands team for the Carib Cup four day tournament beginning on January 7. Baker was successful and was included in the Leeward Islands squad.

In the last Carib Cup tournament, Baker was chosen to play on the West Indies 'B' team. I asked the Montserratian cricketer about his performance as part of the 'B' team, his cricket aspirations and the work he did with Kenny and Winston Benjamin among other things.

LB: Last year, the first game they dropped some catches off me so I was about 100 runs in my first game, no wickets.

Did you curse?

(he slips into his native dialect) Mi can't cuss. Is first class cricket, it's not U-19. Man say he didn't see the ball so...you feel it inside but you can't go do that. Next game I got 2 for 30-something off 7. And I didn't play no more. I was dropped.

Why?

I don't know. I played the first game, I was dropped until we came to Montserrat, I played a game in Montserrat and I was dropped for the rest of the tour.

So you didn't ask why?

I'm a rookie, the rest of them are big players. It was my first year so it didn't make sense to make any noise.

You played for the West Indies at U-15 and U-19 level. Are you expecting to one day play for the West Indies?

I don't think I will automatically play for West Indies just because I played for U-19 in the World Cup. You have to work hard, right?

Are you a celebrity in Montserrat then?

I wouldn't call it that.

Are you very popular?

I don't really know. I'm not a flashy boy.

Are you always a comedian?

Not really, it's just the way I am. I'm always smiling, even when Coach vex. Anyhow I play cricket and the batsmen get on top of me and you hear I'm vex, that means the batsman got me where he want me, so I try to smile a lot even though I'm down and out, I still smile even if they hit two fours or two six, I'm still smiling.

Which bowlers do you admire?

Glen McGrath and Sean Pollock.

What's your best ball?

An away swinger. The ball pitches and then moves away to the slips. That's to a right hander. It's an inswinger to a left hander. That's my natural ball.

Can you reverse swing?

Reverse swing is all to do with the ball. If one side is rough and the other side is shine then the ball will reverse swing naturally, is not really me.

Smart answer. I learnt about reverse swing from Kenny Benjamin.

Yes, that's one of my coaches. Kenny Benjamin and Winston Benjamin. I went to Antigua before I went to the World Cup. They helped me with my action, because I had a loose action. I have a semi open action, like Winston Benjamin.

What else did they help you with?

They helped me with my action, and with couple of the balls like jumping wide of the crease when you come to deliver. Some people deliver close to the stumps, in between or wide. I was jumping wide of the crease and pushing the ball into the batsman's pads so he told me not to do that, to jump wide of the crease, and keep it outside off stump and angle it away more because when you jump wide of the crease, they look for the ball coming back in, but the ball will come back in with angle and when you hit the pitch, it will deviate and go to the slips.

Do you practise a lot?

Not back home, because we have one ground and sometimes the ground is covered with ash, so I hardly get any practice and the youngsters nowadays are rude and indisciplined.

I try to be calm when I am around the youngsters. If they don't play, I can't play init, so I try and help them out as much as possible, give them some gears, anything I have, but that don't work.

What's you ultimate cricket goal?

Eventually I want to be the first Montserratian to play for the West Indies.

Suppose you don't make that goal, what would you do? What's your back up plan

I don't have that yet.

How are you going to earn money?

Work with my Dad, he has a business, he does carpentry.

Can you make a table?

I don't really do that, I do roofs, hang doors, do the casings, make cabinets, some of the things to do with that. Do the shelf and stuff like that. I am the one that does the shelves. When he is building the cabinet I will do the shelf.

Do you pay attention to detail?

Yes, he tells me how to do it and I do it that way. If it's not done properly, I have to take it back down and do it again, so it don't make no sense doing it twice, so you just do it once.

Did you like England?

Not at first, because I couldn't really go to clubs. I went back there this year one day. Next year I am planning to go up there, after Carib Cup.

From an island that at one time had lost hope when houses and towns were completely buried and topography redefined, Lionel Baker represents a bright spark and reflects that with his ever present 'Colgate' smile. All West Indians wish him well in his endeavours to reach the highest pinnacle in cricket.