Jamaica's fast men

dcsiva — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:06:00 GMT

Michael Holding and Courtney Walsh are surely among the greatest fast bowlers in the history of the game. Unsurprisingly enough both have been interviewed on the thorny subject of the decline of the West Indies as cricket team. Here's Holding—he of that over fame—from an interview a year ago on American sports, economic decline, and a mal-functioning Cricket Board:

The increasing popularity in the Caribbean of American sport is often blamed for the dearth of top-class youngsters, but Holding thinks this is exaggerated.

"I don't see any kids in the Caribbean playing baseball, or American football," he says. "It's only basketball, and the reason for that is that politicians are building basketball courts everywhere to get the kids off the streets. So we have to make cricket as accessible as basketball. Another factor is that the Caribbean economies are changing. When I was a young man, a lot of companies in Jamaica would hire sportsmen and give them time off to play or practise. They hardly worked at all. But that doesn't happen any more. And the other big factor, of course, is that the team is not doing well. Kids don't see anything they want to be a part of. But for the team to achieve success on the pitch, the West Indies Cricket Board has to sort itself out. For the last umpteen years it has been dysfunctional, to put it mildly."

And Courtney Walsh talking 5 years ago about coming out of retirement:

The decline of quality fast bowling in the Caribbean has hurt not only the fans, who still believe the fast bowler is king, but also those who proudly made the West Indies into the best side in the world.

"It has been a real disappointment to watch the way our guys have been performing," Courtney Walsh said when I caught up with him in Jamaica. "Our bowling is a real concern. We are not bowling anywhere near as well as we can. The potential is there but there has been a real lack of consistency. The word on the street is that Curtly [Ambrose] and myself should come out of retirement."

We laughed at the prospect. Walsh is enjoying retirement. The body is no longer the lean, mean bowling machine that claimed a record- breaking 519 Test scalps. The hips are wider and the hair around his temples now has a distinguished grey tinge to it. Our chuckling ended when he raised his head and looked me in the eye. "No they're serious," he said.

I have no wise words to say about the dearth of fast bowling in Jamaica and the West Indies generally. But surely the joy that watching this represents has something to do with it.

Bhajji fines and Cappy Clive

dcsiva — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:43:00 GMT

Bhajji has been banned from the rest of the IPL this year. But all the players are paid pro rata...so the fine is around 2.67 crore rupees! And the BCCI haven't got their hands on him yet.

Meanwhile, Chrispy rounds up the action in county cricket this week. Q goes over the stats so far in the IPL. And Rain No Play congratulates Jamaica on the triple. Finally, a lovely review of the biography on Clive Lloyd, Supercat, by Tooting Trumpet:

But to have seen him live (as I did many times) was to stare as this long, stooped figure, so very black in the bright sun, loped to the wicket, looked up at the umpire through his famous glasses and took guard. Hush, and then the unveiling of those uncoached, but perfectly honed strokes, all around the wicket, with a shot for a ball of any line, any length. Like everyone who has ever met him or seen him at work, my life was enriched by Big Clive and I am very, very grateful.

Cover Points : Jamaica

Jamaica's fast men

Bhajji fines and Cappy Clive