@voiceofreason
As a calypso winner from Tortola, you've spent years carrying such music from island to island, watching how the things we love can unite us when we choose to protect them.
That’s why efforts like Pondie’s have always meant something to many. For more than a decade, he’s been using his BBC talk show to keep West Indies cricket alive in people’s hearts, especially for those living abroad. When I was in England, I called in a few times, and you could feel it: this isn’t just “sport” to him. He lives and dies with the emotion of it, proudly promoting West Indies cricket in a place far from where it was born. Reliving those days on the radio from Sabina, QPO, Oval, and Borda are special to many.
And truth be told, you can hear the frustration in his voice now. Not because he enjoys complaining, but because it hurts to watch. It hurts to see boards and management making decisions that seem to chip away at one of the things that truly pulls the entire Caribbean together.
When you look at the opponents we faced, so many of them minnows heading into the 2026 World Cup, it raises hard questions about where we really stand. And when players start stepping away from representing CWI yet still find space to play in leagues all over the world, that says plenty. It speaks to a deeper disappointment, not just with selection or strategy, but with the way the game has been handled.
It’s a sad story, honestly, and one that has been building for three decades. And for those of us who love West Indies cricket, it’s not anger as much as it is heartbreak. Because we know what we are capable of, and we remember what it used to mean.
Sarge