It was not just the Clive Lloyds, the Gordon Greenidges, the Gary Sobers, and the Brian Laras just to name a few, who took the world by storm with their phenomenal batting exploits.
It was the fear of having to face up to four genuine quick bowlers, who can be devastating in any conditions. The names Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose on any team sheet would send shivers through opposition batsmen. These men dominated the game for a long time, and they did not do it by simple brute force; a large degree of their success was due to skill, and thoughtful bowling, and not to mention, superb fitness levels.
The late, renowned British sports columnist Ian Wooldridge once told me he was perplexed by how a group of separate, miniscule former British colonies scattered across hundreds of miles of water, from Guyana on the South American mainland to Jamaica in the northern Caribbean, could produce such a profusion of great players to unite into such powerful teams.
He described it as "one of the wonders of the sporting world". It was a widely shared sentiment. That was many years ago when the legacy of George Headley, Garry Sobers and a host of similar greats was still strong and teams led by Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards had gone 15 years without losing a Test series.
Even then, there was always the insularity inevitably created by the unique structure of the West Indies Cricket Board that has managed the regional game since its formation in 1927. Its decisions are made by a directorate of 14, two from each affiliate board along with the president and the vice-president.
THE LONG waited town hall meeting scheduled for Trinidad and Tobago and organised by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will be staged on September 25, 2015 from 7 pm in the auditorium of the Chaguanas Borough Corporation.
This was confirmed on Friday by Azim Bassarath, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) who said he was extremely pleased that the inter-active session with WICB president and vice president Wycliffe “Dave” Cameron and Emmanuel Nanthan will finally take place.
The TTCB and the WICB had traded words on the venue proposed by the WICB for the local town hall meeting and the decision to stage the session in Chaguanas represented a significant triumph for the local cricket organisation.
From today, Saturday September 12, the Berbice Cricket Board will commence its premier round robin fifty overs first division cricket competition, the TENELEC TOURNAMENT. This very important tournament is sponsored by Bobby Deonarine, the uncle of West Indies all rounder Narsingh Deonarine and his business partner Tom Gruntzel, both based in Washington, USA. Many top players are products of this tournament with names such as Deonarine himself, other West Indies cricketers Devendra Bishoo, Veerasammy Permaul, Assad Fudadin and Royston Crandon. Many other West Indies junior cricketers and national players are also products of the TENELEC Championship.
As the second edition of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Professional Cricket League (PCL) nears, the franchises are another year closer to their deadline of having to become sustainable or face collapse.
The WICB opted to financially prop up the PCL for the first four years, with the hope that the franchises work on sponsorship, so that they can stand on their own. Currently the WICB allocates a total of US$45,000 per month for each of the six franchises to run their business in terms of paying players’ salaries and preparing their teams.
If the franchises can’t find sponsors, then the WICB will have to continue their search for an overall sponsor to take care of the bill. Chairman of the Barbados Pride franchise Conde Riley says that the WICB would have to be more innovative and find ways to get sponsors on board. “The world economy is in recession and this of course has affected all the Caribbean governments which we can go to for assistance.
