Former West Indies cricket great: ‘We have to put a lot of things right to sustain that level of play’ · Global Voices
<PERSON>, former West Indies international test cricketer. Photo by Commonwealth Secretariat, CC BY-NC 2.0.
Until March 10, 2019, cricket fans the world over will be focused on the Caribbean, where the Wisden Trophy Test Series is in progress. Thus far, England have faced the West Indies in two test matches, first in Barbados and then in Antigua. The “Windies”, as the home team are fondly called, emerged wildly victorious in both, beating England—currently ranked Number 3 in the world—by an emphatic 381 runs in the first match and by ten wickets in the second.
For West Indian cricket fans, each astounding win has been as delicious as the first drops of rain after a long, harsh dry season. Some are even hoping that the Windies’ performance could signal a return to the glory days of the 1970s and '80s, when the team dominated the sport.
The West Indies is currently ranked Number 8 out of the ten teams that play first-class cricket. Even if they beat England in the third and final test match, which begins on February 9 in St. Lucia, their position may not change. But on the heels of a one-match ban for Windies captain <PERSON> due to an International Cricket Council (ICC) rule that West Indies officials have questioned, the team may be more determined than ever to win.
<PERSON>, who was wicketkeeper, batsman, and vice-captain during the golden era of West Indies cricket, and who later served as president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board, spoke with me by phone to discuss the series, the ban, and whether or not cricket fans should once more feel confident to “rally round the West Indies”.
Former West Indies cricketer <PERSON>. 1019
Photo by <PERSON>, used with permission.
Global Voices (GV): The final test match of this series is coming up and Captain <PERSON>, a great all-rounder, is barred from playing…
<PERSON> (DM): As I recall, that rule was instituted in 1976, and solely introduced to discourage the West Indies from playing four fast bowlers. Our team was fairly dominant at the time, and we had fellas like <PERSON> and <PERSON> plus a battery of reserves, and we were winning — so to stop that, they introduced the rule — 90 overs in a day. That was its genesis: our side was too powerful, so rather than figure out what they could do to improve other teams, the approach was, ‘Let's cut them down to size.’ It's a punitive rule that suited most other countries at the time, and was presented under the guise of avoiding time wasting, which of course appealed to the public.
GV: So it's flawed logic.
DM: Well, you have players like <PERSON> — fast bowlers bringing a different thing to the game and running long — whereas spin bowlers take two steps and deliver: they can't possibly bowl an over in the same amount of time.
The ban against <PERSON> is justified by the existence of the rule — they didn't make the 90 overs, so they can fine the players and enforce the ban — but the rule is a glaringly stupid one that does not address the issue of time-wasting.
Back when I was playing, Australia or the West Indies would win a test match in four days. To get through 20 overs an hour was normal, and we had to accomplish that within the set time of six hours’ play a day, on average — but now, if at 5 p.m. you haven’t bowled 90 overs, the umpire can can decide to extend the play.
In the second test of this series, <PERSON> was leading the team to resounding victory. England, on the other hand, failed to be competitive and carry the game for the full five days, and what happens? <PERSON> gets punished for ‘wasting time’. So on the pretext of preventing time-wasting, the rule was actually engineered to allow the flow of the game to be more leisurely than urgent.
Fortunately, this situation has brought the shortcomings of the rule into focus. Instead of depriving spectators of more play per day, the ICC should empower the umpires to penalise players for deliberately delaying play on the field.
Screengrab of West Indies captain <PERSON> celebrating after England was 132 all out during the second test match of the Wisden Trophy Test Series, held in Antigua on February 2, 2019. Image taken from a YouTube highlights video posted by Windies Cricket. 830