Windies Pundits Under the Microscope
Thu, Apr 18, '02
The media coverage of cricket in the Caribbean ticks me off and
it?s time I start a cussout.
The West Indies has thrown up some of the worlds best
stroke-players and if you are lucky enough to go to a regional game
or a home Test series, some of the funniest and wisest cricket
watchers you can find. Rum not only looses the tongue it also
unshackles the mind.
However, at another level, one you would hope would sit at a
higher plane, we can only wring our hands in collective horror at
what is happening in the Caribbean.
Here is a simple breakdown of some of the issues:
In times of fat, when we were kings, cricket commentary carried a
universal theme in praise of our boys. Yes the odd murmur of
discontent could be heard, but the overbearing excellence of those
in place kept all insularity and parochialism in check. Note to the
reader, even South Americans can
be insular, forgetting the classic meaning of the word if you will.
In times of lean it is like last lap on Carnival Tuesday night.
Every man for himself, to quote a popular 'liming' term. Translated
for those of us who have graduated to more sophisticated grammar:
when the team doesn't do well, media from each of the Caribbean
cricket playing territories
embark on a mission of spot the village idiot.
Let us delve into this sermon a bit more.
Keith Holder, the somewhat respected cricket writer for the
Barbados Advocate adding colour commentary (he painted a pretty
picture indeed) for the Barbados vs Bangladesh Busta Cup game. Our
hero has already been roundly attacked in Antigua over an incident
there, but we will not hold this against him.
Holder is an intelligent cricket watcher. He has followed West
Indies cricket for a long time. Two issues were brought up by one
of his sidekicks. Firstly, reference was made to Dominica hosting
the Jamaica vs Windies 'B' game. And here I must issue a
disclaimer. I know the Botanical Gardens well. It is indeed a
National Nature Reserve with a cricket ground in the middle. Small
but incredibly beautiful. A short walk from my home. Am I
compromised ? No, simply better informed than Mr Holder. For it is
indeed a small ground. Not the smallest first class ground in the
world as he intimates, but small.
However our expert cricket watcher and media representative went
into a tirade about how sub class the quality of the ground was,
how many grounds in Barbados deserved first class status above that
backwater location because of its size and generally ignoring any
observations that could be made about the scores being relayed. Of
course Holder mentioned in 'passing' that he hadn't visited there
for some time. You know, like the disclaimer you get after an
insurance ad. You never quite hear it well.
Then said sidekick relayed scores of a match at Albion between
Guyana and Trinidad, which pushed Holder over the edge. In a
continuation of his tirade he asserted that the Albion was a waste
of time being so far in the bush and it took too long to travel to
the ground. Once again the need for
Barbados to have more first class grounds approved came to the
fore. A small side conversation
then took place on which grounds could be used for the World Cup in
the Caribbean.
Of course you could say that he was not digressing, but connecting
his dissaproval of these grounds with the likelihood that they even
might be in consideration for the World Cup.
But this article is not meant to cussout Keith Holder, fan of Pedro
Collins and all things Bimshire that he is. It is meant to give a
small example of how two scores could result in a 20 minute
diversion into the ridiculous without giving a listener any
valuable feedback about the Botanical Gardens and Albion and
why they might be considered for these first class games.
I'll give you a clue. Its called spreading the game to the regions
that are most deprived of first class cricket in the Caribbean.
And that is just the beginning of the problem of Cricket coverage
in the Caribbean. I however must commend the Trinidadian trio of
Fazeer Mohammed, Anthony Gray and Valentino Singh.
They were by far the most accurate, the most knowledgeable and the
least parochial of cricket commentators in the region. Equally
criticising their own and others with observations that had to be
taken seriously because they were not only balanced but did not
insult the listeners intelligence with examples that came from the
Keith Holder school of 'it too far' or 'it too small'.
I despaired everytime I heard the Windwards commentator travelling
with the team around the region singing the same old song of how
Junior Murray had been cheated of his West Indies place. The
whining was so loud I often wondered whether he paused to breathe.
Not once did the same gentleman observe that Ridley Jacobs
had outperformed Murray at every level they could be
compared on.
Neither did he pause to reflect on the general state of
wicket-keeping in the region and in the Windwards. Oh no, our man
was busy generating greater platitudes that could be used to
describe Murray's batting and 'keeping. His eyes were truly on the
prize.
Then I listened to Sean Devers gleefully embracing the fact
that a Guyana 'B' team would be playing the Indians, reeling off
name after name of replacements who could demonstrate Guyana's
cricketing depth whilst totally missing the point being quietly
passed by Joseph 'Reds' Perrerra.
The ground breaking point? Wouldn't it have been more useful to
play a West Indies representative side rather than cobbling up a
Guyana 'B' to play against India? Of course, the point went
whizzing by faster than a Nagamootoo legbreak (now that's fast) as
Devers prattled on about the Poorans and Arjune twins and
Chanderpaul lookalikes...on and on and on...
You get the gist. All man for himself. And I haven't even spoken
about the esteemed Andrew Mason yet. Or the slightly more esteemed
Colin Croft. Or what about our doyens, Cozier and
Becca. Soon come folks.
Along with a lesson in the dynamics of how reporting and coverage
affects us and the general tone of selections in the Caribbean.
Till then dear readers, I encourage you to make what you will of
the Trinidadian commentators this weekend. They are the best in the
region. The fact that their regional team is so bad must have
enforced wisdom on them.
In this case, West Indies commentary will probably soon be the best
in the world, because mediocrity on the field will surely force us
to drink more rum, and get wiser with every passing day.
Commie has cussed.
