Windies 4 W.I.

New Year, new cricket, new expectations, new vision

dilion — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 02:10:51 +0000

After much sweat and tears, I have finally completed my thesis on sports and identity. For those not familiar with my topic, I examined the 2007 Cricket World Cup as a catalyst for Caribbean identity construction. The research not only familiarizes the reader on the history of the English-speaking Caribbean, but also provides insight on the opening ceremony’s theme West Indian Energy, Brian Lara’s role as representative of a Caribbean collective identity as well as Caribbean cricket culture and spectatorship.

I do apologize for neglecting my blog and do intend to improve conversations and topics, as there is much to be explored in the sport.

As you know 2011 is around the corner… February to be exact. the ICC Cricket World Cup hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka promises to bring drama and competition and I will certainly be following the sporting mega-event closely. As a refresher, here is my 2007 Cricket World Cup highlight reel I compiled as part of my thesis defense. ENJOY!!

Merry Christmas

and a Happy 2011 to the

Cricket World!

Who is W.I.?

dilion — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:21:51 +0000

Who is W.I.? This is a question that resonates amongst us and was even more apparent during the 2007 Cricket World Cup. A brief survey of Caribbean regional newspapers during the Cup revealed a fragmented region — unstable and corrupt government/political structures; Jamaicans patting themselves on their backs for a spectacular Opening Ceremony whilst other islands considered the performance lackluster, a variety show that was missing cultural and ethnic elements characteristic of the entire English-speaking Caribbean; ICC wid dem wrenk self ‘bout dem a silence the spectators; instead regional promoting there was a lot of self-promoting and the list goes on and on and on. As one reporter said during the Cup, we are a broken family, airing out our dirty laundry. Truer words were never spoken! Of course, international newspapers enjoyed watching the W.I., which was suffering from the crabs in a barrel syndrome. And, as simple as some incidents were, foreign newspapers, particularly English and Australian publications, made the most of our errors.

Can we really lay blame on Woolmer’s death, the premature exit of India and Pakistan or the hike in event ticket prices? Must we always fault Brian Lara? Nah…mi nuh tink so at all. The problem from the beginning, from March 11, 2007 was W.I.

These are the thoughts that went through my head as I conducted by daily routine of checking the WICB website. I was pleased to see a pdf file on the home page, entitled “Transforming WI Cricket”. This is who W.I. is.

The upcoming weeks and months promise to deliver spectacular cricket and I commend the WICB’s marketing efforts to finally acknowledge the West Indies fans. It seems as if the Board is on the right track.

Guess what I found in the history vault

dilion — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:44:04 +0000

A.E. Morton’s cartoon reflecting the sentiment of the Empire which saw the West Indies tour England for the first time in 1906 at the Crystal Palace.

Source: Beckles, Hilary (2003). A Nation Imagined.

ICC teams up with the Caribbean region to launch HIV awareness PSA

dilion — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:29:24 +0000

Young people told to ‘Live Up’ for ICC World Twenty20

If there are two things that unite the peoples and nationalities of the Caribbean more than anything else it could be music and cricket. So, well-known personalities from those two important cultural influences have joined together with the ICC and the Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership to launch a new HIV awareness campaign.

With the ICC World Twenty20 2010 in mind, the ‘Live Up’ public service announcement is about to be aired by Caribbean broadcasters committed to making HIV a business priority as part of the Global Media AIDS Initiative. This celebration of cricket will take place from 30 April to 16 May across four venues in Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts and St Lucia.

Top Caribbean musical artists Alison Hinds, Bunji Garlin, Claudette Peters, Fay Ann Lyons and Mr Vegas, as well as Kim Collins, the St Kitts sprinter who won 100m gold at 2003 World Athletics Championships in Paris, are among those who will deliver messaging on HIV and AIDS in a 30-second advert to be shown across the region in the coming months.

The public service announcement also features female West Indies cricketer Stafanie Taylor, who is a new Think Wise ambassador for the ICC’s global HIV and AIDS partnership with UNAIDS, UNICEF and the Global Media AIDS Initiative, which has been running since 2003.

Taylor (18) becomes the sixth Think Wise ambassador joining Nathan Bracken (Australia), Isa Guha (England), Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), Virender Sehwag (India) and Graeme Smith (South Africa). She is regarded as one of the brightest talents in women’s international cricket, having won the Jamaica Cricketer of the Year in 2009, and is currently ranked as the fifth leading all-rounder in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Player Rankings.

She said: “HIV is an important issue for young people in the Caribbean and I am honoured to have the opportunity to use my role as a player for the West Indies to encourage my peers to have the knowledge to make important life choices and protect themselves against HIV.”

The Caribbean’s leading musicians were also delighted to play their role in delivering specific messages targeted at young people within the regions. Soca queen Fay Ann Lyons said: “Though we can’t cure AIDS we can cure discrimination. Being a part of this campaign to me means that I am part of that cure.”

Dancehall reggae sing-jay Mr Vegas added: “HIV is a serious disease so I would like to advise everyone to protect themselves and get tested for a healthier world.”

The new public service announcement is now being broadcast across the Caribbean by the Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS, which unites 92 top broadcasters across 24 countries within the region. It promotes both the ‘Live Up’ initiative, which aims to inspire individual action to help stem the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean and the Think Wise partnership.

The promo will also be shown within the four venues for the ICC World Twenty20 2010 when the event begins on 30 April, as part of the ICC’s social responsibility activities during the event. At the tournament, players competing in the event will visit community projects to raise awareness of HIV, while all teams competing in the semi-finals and final of the tournament will wear red ribbons on their shirts as a show of support for people living with HIV.

Allyson Leacock, executive director of the Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership and chairwoman of the Global Steering Committee of the World AIDS Campaign, added: “The engagement of our entertainment and sports personalities as influential messengers for targeted audiences is a compelling approach that we have found to be effective in our Live Up campaign.

“Our partnership with the ICC is an exciting initiative as the Think Wise objectives align so well with Live Up as we, alongside UNAIDS and UNICEF, seek to reduce stigma and discrimination and share messages of hope and possibility to help change behaviour in an age of AIDS.

“We salute the artistes for so willingly supporting this initiative and look forward to an ongoing partnership to reach diverse audiences.”

[courtesy of West Indies Cricket Board: windiescricket.com]

WI on the rise

dilion — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:09:25 +0000

Taken from Trinidad Express...

T20 CONFIDENCE
Experts see good Windies showing in ICC tourney
Roger Seepersad
Tuesday, March 16th 2010

Despite the recent shaky performances by West Indies in the recently concluded limited overs home series against Zimbabwe, two former WI players still have faith that the home team can get their act together for a good run in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup which will be held in the Caribbean from April 30 to May 16.

Former selector and opening batsman Joey Carew expects Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and captain Chris Gayle to make up a formidable force, while former West Indies fast bowler Tony Gray believes that it’s anybody’s game when it comes to T20s.

Carew, speaking to the Express in a telephone interview yesterday, said the hosts have a ’fair chance’ of winning the T20 tournament, noting the ’hit and miss’ nature of the format.

‘I must congratulate the team on their victory over Zimbabwe. Winning is very important although the quality of cricket was not that high. We have displayed a lack of consistency in the batting and we looked particularly susceptible against spin. I have my fingers crossed and I hope that when the 20/20 bowls off, we can do well and start climbing the ladder,’ Carew said.

West Indies will be without injured pacers Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards for the tournament but Carew believes that their services with the ball would be hardly missed on the slower pitches.

joy of victory: West Indies captain Chris Gayle, left, leads his team in a victory lap after they defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the final One-day International in St Vincent on Sunday. West Indies won the five-match series 4-1.

‘Twenty20 is more about entertainment. We will be playing at home and the slower wickets will suit us. You might find that (Darren) Sammy and (Dwayne) Bravo and a spinner, I think (Nikita) Miller and (Sulieman) Benn, will be more suited to the conditions,’ Carew said.

‘The coach (Otis) Gibson will have to sit down and think about the composition of the team but I don’t think West Indies will be missing those players at this point in time, for the Twenty20,’ he added.

Gray shared Carew views, saying ’anyone can win the Twenty20 World Cup.’

‘In the shortest form of the game, a team only needs one or two players to come up trumps and they can beat the best team in the world. It is about planning but it is also about individual performances and we have some individual players who are match winners,’ Gray explained.

West Indies have a lot of players taking part in the Indian Premier League including skipper Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Adrian Barath and Kemar Roach and Gray also believes that the experience they gain during the seven-week tournament in India will be of great value in the World T20.

‘It is great that we have players in the IPL because the best preparation is to simulate what you will meet in a tournament and the IPL provides that0a place where the best Twenty20 players in the world play each other,’ Gray said.

‘What we can learn from Trinidad and Tobago’s performance on the Champions League Twenty20 is that they peaked at the right time and I think we will have players peaking at the right time,’ he added.

While having players in the IPL is a plus, Gray believes that is if very important that those players are back in training with the regional squad at least a week before the start of the tournament so that they can share their experience with the team.

‘When we look at Trinidad and Tobago and the eventual winners of the Champions League Twenty20 New South Wales, we see that these are teams that were together for long periods working together as a team and forming a bond. That will be beneficial for West Indies and hopefully we can get everybody together before the tournament,’ Gray said.

Carew shared Gray’s sentiments saying: ’It is always a disadvantage when you don’t have a team together before a big tournament but when the times comes I think there will be enough unity created that they will understand what they are all about.’

That’s what WI do

dilion — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:11:44 +0000

Windies player Daren Powell uses a coach’s head to stretch before a match against England at Bridgetown.

The Caribbean region to host upcoming ICC World Twenty20

dilion — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:47:47 +0000

Below are two of four giant bats used to promote the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 taking place in four venues in the Caribbean region — St. Lucia, Barbados, Guyana and St. Kitts — from April 20-May 16.

My take on the giant bat? Overall, the giant bat idea is genius with website information and sponsorship visibility. I like the graphics because at the end of the day, cricket is about the fans and I am a fan of the fans! The ONLY problem is the material used for the bat. It looks cheap and light. I guess that’s what they could afford after hiring a bunch of women in batty riders! I’m sure Julian Hunte’s grandson loved hanging out with Gran’pa!.

According to the St. Lucia Star, ICC President Julian Hunte believes the ICC World Twenty20 is “the biggest single sporting event that we have hosted in the West Indies, in addition to the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2007.”

I hope the Local Organising Committees (LOC) and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) suppress the greed and “red yeye” mentality evident in 2007. This time please remember the locals - the vendors, bars owners and patrons, taxi men/women, and most importantly, the fans who were silenced and angered by ICC’s dictatorship.

WI-cked Action Pics

dilion — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:50:13 +0000

Compton cricket??

dilion — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:49:35 +0000

Aaaahhh…ok…it’s different

Happy Earthstrong: Sir Viv Richards

dilion — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:18:52 +0000

An extra BIGUP to Sir Viv Richards, who in my opinion is THE greatest batsman. My admiration for this 58 year-young Antiguan is based not only on his remarkable batting ability but his personal principles and mental approach to cricket. Rarely will you find a news article not addressing Richards’ confidence, which some have interpreted as arrogance. I would have to agree with his admirers – Richards is the master and definition of swagger! From subtle political statements such as wearing a Rasta coloured wristband on field; to devastating batting, revealing his frustrations with and opposition to racism; to candid commentary on South Africa’s Apartheid, Sir Viv Richards carried the hopes of West Indians from the initial stages of nationalism onwards.

Intimidating with a broad smile, refined yet ruthless; fearless yet relaxed; aggressive yet respectful – these are attributes beyond his athletic achievements that made Sir Viv Richards a favourite on and off the field.

TOP SIX QUOTES BY SIR VIV RICHARDS:

“If you are so much better than I am, you’ll be able to cut my ass when it comes to cricket and you didn’t”
“One day cricket is like fast food. No one wants to cook.”
“I have no regret in saying this. I don’t think there is anyone on Earth who is better than I am. So whatever you saw…the way Viv Richards walked out…that’s because I’m proud. It wasn’t an arrogance of such. I’m proud and I just wanted to send that proud ness that I’m here to stay and God has given me this and I’m going to administer it the best way. The only way you gonna do it is to shoot me dead. I didn’t mind that either”
Greg Thomas was bowling to Viv Richards in a county game. Viv missed a superb outswinger, and Thomas said “It’s red, round and weighs about 5 ounces.”Next ball Viv hits Greg Thomas out of the ground and replies, “Greg, you know what it looks like. Go ahead and find it!”
“This thing must stop and the authorities must treat this like someone with a nuclear bomb. If you have the fabric which is human civilization and human society being brought down because of color and race, to me, that is like a killer with a nuclear reactor in his hand.”
“Some of our players today don’t seem too sure who or what they are representing. Even though the board is not behaving well they must still have personal pride.”

Sir Vivian Richards Stadium located in St. John’s, Antigua. The stadium was built for use in the 2007 Cricket World Cup where it hosted Super 8 matches.

For more information on Sir Viv Richards, click here.