by now one of the main talking points of the world cup will be is Hetmyer the best T20 batsman in the world. As a boy I saw Lennox Blackmoore beat Claude Noel convincingly twice. However it was Claude Noel that ended up a world boxing champion. I also saw Guyana match Trinidad kick for kick in a football game. I also saw a few years ago Jamal Shabaaz a Trini coach lead Guyana past Trinidad in a world cup qualifying match. Yet when we talk about Caribbean football no one will mention Guyana. Trinidadians are fearless promoters of their high level talent, Guyana is the direct opposite. For as many super talented batsmen Guyana had, Trinidad got more marketing mileage from Brian Lara than all of them combined.
I always knew that across the vast South American land that we call Guyana there is as much or even more sporting talent than Trinidad. Trinidad however, maybe because of their early discovery of oil and that they are a cosmopolitan country confidently advertise their talents to the world. Crawford, Iean Pierre, Noel ,Stewart, Lara, Bolden, Bovell, Walcott, Yorke and Latapie are not accidents. Trinidadians believe that their super talented sportsmen belong on top of the world. It is now part of the Trinidad DNA. David Rudder who wrote the West Indies anthem also wrote the song "Trini to the bone" and in that song he says "God is a Trini".
Well! who is there to do the promoting for the Guyanese athlete? There is no Guyanese on the world cup commentating team. In this world cup there is Badree and Bishop. In the last world cup add Ganga to that duo. Fazeer Mohammed is a long time commentator for West Indies. In track and field Atto Bolden is on NBC for major meets including the Olympics. They are all relentless promoters of Trinidad talent. Hetmyer, Rutherford, Sheperd, Motie and Joseph are as powerful a group that any country contributed to a West Indies world cup team. Yet, I wonder if there is even a Guyanese media team in India. In the last world cup the Trinidad commentators promoted Hosein to the tilt. In this world cup Motie might have already outdone what Hosein did in the last world cup but the only person calling him a magician is Badree.
Some think that going it alone is the answer to more visibility, the answer is players getting more promotional support from their countries. Franchises across the world and in various sports believe that Trinidadians can be instrumental in leading teams to championships. Narine, Pollard and Bravo helped paved the way for Pooran being the most expensive player in an IPL auction. Kevon Cooper never played for the West Indies but played several years in the IPL.
It was a lack of Guyanese diplomacy that cost them the highest run scoring record in West Indies test cricket. As a fan of Guyanese sporting talent I will like to see their diplomacy improve to match their country's talent.