Dave Martins to perform ‘Not a blade of Grass’ at grudge match this weekend

Aug 23, 2010 Sports

By Sean Devers
Dave Martins’ message in his hit single ‘Not a blade of Grass’ written during Guyana’s border dispute with Venezuela was clear.
“We int giving up no mountain, we int giving up no tree, we int giving no river that belong to we” sang Martins; letting our Spanish neighbour know that we were not prepared to give up what was rightly ours.

Dave Martins

The big talking Trinis are coming to play Guyana in two much anticipated 20/20 matches and Martins will be at the Guyana National Stadium to remind them that by virtue of winning the Caribbean 20/20 Champions this country has earned the right to represent the entire West Indies in next months Champions League in South Africa and to be deservedly called the most successful 20/20 team in the region.
Already motivated by plenty of talk in Trinidad that Guyana is not as good as T&T to represent the West Indies in South Africa, Martins will provide further inspiration for the Guyanese in their two ‘grudge’ matches against T&T this weekend by singing ‘Not a blade of Grass before each match.
T&T all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and T&T journalist Andre Baptist have publicly branded Guyana as inferior to T&T in regional 20/20 cricket although Guyana beat T&T in both 2006 (in the final) and last month (semi-finals) to take regional 20/20 Championship honours.
Guyana has won 2 of the three regional 20/20 tournaments played so far and is the only regional team to beat the Twin Island Republic side in 20/20 cricket.
With tickets (which go on sale tomorrow) just $1,000, a sell-out crowd is anticipated to urge on the Guyanese in their matches against T&T on Saturday from 20:00hrs and again on Sunday from the same time as the Ramnaresh Sarwan led team aim to prove that their consistent success against T&T in 20/20 cricket is no fluke.
The Trini fans will be hoping that the Daren Ganga led side will reverse their losing ways against Guyana and back up their talking with victories in matches which are being used as Guyana’s final two practice games before they depart for South Africa where they face the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their opening match on September 12.
The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has confirmed that Martins will sing ‘Not a blade of Grass’ before Guyana face T&T on Saturday and Sunday to further inspire the Guyanese to show the opposition how serious they are about national pride and glory.
While T&T showed the world how good they were in last year’s Champions League in India and are expected to provide a keen contest between bat and ball, the two matches will be massive mental tests for the Guyanese since they should understand that National pride, a point to prove and bragging rights are up for grabs for both countries.
The GCB has now gone past the contractual dispute with the players and the Guyana Government has stepped in with support. The focus is now on proper preparation for South Africa and the nation is fully behind this team.

Ramnaresh Sarwan

Darren Ganga

A sea of green and gold at the Stadium this weekend should show the team the magnitude of the support from their fans.
When it comes to patriotism there are few more patriotic than Martins. There is no doubt in the pride of being a West Indian in such Tradewinds classics as “Caribbean Man”, “Boyhood Days”, “Where Are Your Heroes” and “We Are The Champions”. Other compositions such as “Cricket in the Jungle”, “Civilization” and “Copycats” make you step back and reflect on the Caribbean way of approaching life, at home and abroad and the 1997 release “Gie Dem Shiv” which is a tribute to Guyanese-born West Indian Cricket star Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Known for their witty songs of Caribbean life, the Tradewinds have become one of the most revered groups in the West Indies. Led by the versatile Martins with his guitar, vocal and composing ability, the group, like it’s name, reflects the span of the Caribbean.
The band achieved almost instant celebrity when a Dave Martins’ original, “Honeymooning couple”, one of four songs the band recorded in Toronto in 1966 six months after it was formed, became a runaway hit in the Caribbean. Following on that success, Martins’ song-writing ability (he has written 110 Tradewinds originals) kept the band at the forefront of Caribbean popular music for decades as this unique group became part of Caribbean life.
This weekend’s cricket at Providence promises to provide pulsating action as Guyana aims to show T&T that action speak louder than words and Martins performance of ‘Not a blade of Grass’ is an added reason for the fans to come out in their numbers wearing gold or green to throw their support behind the Guyanese who should be ready to defend their reputation in their own backyard.