The Controversies of Cricket in the Caribbean

Jul 02, 2024 Letters

---

Dear Editor,

Politics and cricket, the ultimate but unavoidable combination, is not a unique or unorthodox mix with drinks, but an unending conversation when Guyanese congregate to imbibe intoxicants, critique the critics and entertain the entertainers. The men’s ICC T20 World Cup Title has just concluded in Barbados, but the fever follows the West Indies team as they tour England. Then, the cavalier type cricketers return to the West Indies to smash bat and ball for the 2024 CPL games as the Guyana Amazon Warriors will defend the title.

As the cricket final was playing out in the field, politics was having a field day with the AFC and PNC delivering yorkers and smashing aces as they defended the avoidance of paralyzing the game with bravado over boredom and with the convenience of cancelling candidacy, comes into play. A walk over seems inevitable and bad weather is not to be blamed as the ground umpires do not have to resort to the third umpire to juggle, finagle or fumble for a result.

It was hallelujah and bacchanal time for those castigated, chastised and criticized as “mentally lazy,” proved that their metal was made of steel, and, their mental stamina was not latent but live, last Saturday at the Kensington Oval. Trinidad’s Carnival overspilled in Barbados to leave a lamentable and laughable hangover from patriots and patrons partying the whole night. It was a nail-biting finish, suspense perhaps suspending the adrenalin and spectators crossing fingers as they hang on to the edge of their seats or stood up, too nervous to be still and eyes glued to bowler and batter!

Perhaps, what will go down as ‘the catch of the year,’ may prove to provide the pivotal penultimate point, when SKY (Suryakumar Yadav), caught the ball by the rope, bowled by Hardik Panday who was defending 16 runs in the last over. SKY threw it to the sky, jumped out of the boundary and back in to catch the ball again to dismiss the dangerous David Miller from South Africa. Guyanese see everything through the lens of politics while using the race eyes, and, the nostrils to smell the scent of discrimination. Did the sports world desire, depend and deserve the Indian and South African teams to end up in the finals so that, the insatiable crave of the bookies will influence the placement for high stakes in betting, winning or losing?

It was déjà vu for Rohit Sharma and his side as they reminisced on Kapil Dev’s catch and the Indian players when, the underdog India, defeated two-time champion, Clive Lloyd’s West Indies team, to win the coveted 1983 World Cup Series played at Lord’s. Having won two ODI World Cups, two T20 World Cups, and two ICC Champion Trophy titles, India has established herself as an all-time world leading contender and challenger in the game of cricket and can classify herself as ‘the’ and not ‘a’ cricket icon.

Founded by the Cricket Board of India in 2007, the IPL (Indian Premier League) has outgrown all other cricket series in the world to be the most sought-after franchise series to play by cricketers throughout the world. It is the most lucrative, lavish and luxurious series organized to attract all the best players internationally, to join their ten teams to display their skills in the game of Twenty20 format, while receiving handsome payments. This has not failed to attract the green eyes of enviousness and, has even caused the interruption of some players failing to represent their respective country or team because of IPL commitment which holds a special priority.

India is very resourceful, having being blessed with a population of over a billion to choose her cricketers, her cup is never saturated with talent. Her difficulty lies in choices. Unlike the West Indies, choices are free and fair and not tainted with favoritism or overlooking the obvious choice. West Indian selection is garlanded with glorious uncertainties and decorated with questionable decisions. There is always the aftermath of pointing fingers, resorting to the blame game and punching holes. At the end of the day, it’s the game that suffers, some players’ talents are suppressed due to frustration from being ignored and the pride of the fans is dented.

Though India is historically grounded in the principle of truth and non-violence through Gandhi’s teachings and her rich ancestry of philosophy and religion, sports and entertainment have catapulted the nation from a less sedentary stage to migrate to more rigorous activity. Bollywood is now synonymous with Hollywood. Transforming from colonialism to commercialism, a democracy fueled by capitalism, the servants defeated their masters at their own game on their home turf in England in 1971. India never looked back with their caps now feathered and blazed a trail featuring from Gavaskar to Tendulkar, Bedi to Bumrah, Kapil Dev to Dhoni, Ganguly to Gambir, Srikhant to Sewag, Kumble to Kohli and the melody is unstoppable and gets sweeter. Calypso, soca and chutney, all revere Gavaskar, “the Little Master.”

How were the venues “fixed” for the ICC T20 2024? Barbados is also referred to as “Little England” but has a 300,000 population with less than 8,000 of Indian origin. Was there a compromising anticipation for a certain expected outcome? England was the defending champion having defeated Pakistan in 2022. Although Guyana has less than a million people, Trinidad and Jamaica have over a million each, with Trinidad having a high proportion of Indian descendants.

Cricket in the Caribbean is controversially political. CARICOM Day is being celebrated the first Monday in July in the Caribbean. Perhaps, sports closely followed by politics and economics, provide the necessary hat-trick for cricket to survive in the West Indies. Former CARICOM Chairwoman, Mia Mottley, recently noted that, “there must be space for all, regardless of who wins and who loses”. How ideal for politics and cricket!

Yours respectfully,

Jai Lall

---

• Caribbean, cricket, ICC T20 World Cup, Jai Lall., Politics

---