Cricket and that striking non-action at Sabina Park

Saturday, November 07, 2009 8:57 PM

Sport

HG Helps, Editor-at-Large

Saturday, March 21, 2009

The scene at Sabina Park, Jamaica's foremost cricket venue, was anything but lively and full of buzz on the opening morning of the anticipated start of a four-day regional cricket match.

Workers were busy putting final touches to areas that needed some dusting off. It was close to 9:00 am, when whispers started about a possible strike by players and the likelihood that there would be no play in the 11th round, four-day match between Jamaica and the Combined Campuses and Colleges.

Members of the Combined Campuses and Colleges team in their bus at Sabina Park yesterday.

"You hear anything? A true say no cricket naw play?" were some of the questions thrown to this journalist toward the rear of the ground where players would normally be warming up in the nets.

Within minutes, it was clear that there would not be a prompt start to the day's play, if there would ever be any cricket at all.

The Combined Campuses and Colleges team had arrived, but decided to remain in the air-conditioned comfort of their bus, which was parked close to the nets. The players remained in consistent, animated discussion for at least two hours before their manager, Horton Dolphin, a former Guyana first-class cricketer who has worked with the University of the West Indies here for decades, gave them the go-ahead to return to their hotel.

All that could be seen of the Jamaica team was the arrival of coach Junior Bennett and physical trainer David Bernard Jnr, who could not say whether or not their players would turn up.

A call to one senior member of the Jamaica squad confirmed that the only way that the local cricketers would be at Sabina Park that day was if someone other than Allen Stanford arranged a winner-take-all US$10 million match.

The players refused to leave their hotel and there appeared to be an arrangement for their opponents not to go onto the field of play, as they could claim the points if the other team did not turn up.

Umpires Norman Malcolm of Jamaica and Evelyn Jones of Grenada, along with third umpire Cecil Fletcher, all appeared puzzled as to what was really happening.

"We are just forced to wait it out," Malcolm said. "We have reported for duty and we are ready to start the match as soon as the teams are ready. As it is now, there is a no-show of teams," Malcolm said, around 35 minutes before the scheduled 10 o'clock start.

The ground staff had prepared what appeared to be a top of the line pitch. The sun had risen over the playing area, like it never did before, but somehow, the pitch, like the handful of match officials and security personnel, appeared lonely in the distance and in a melancholic way, desperately awaited the feel of feet, ball and bats pounding into it.

Other journalists had by now gathered and the anxiety to gather as much information as possible about the situation took on increased momentum.

As if all concerned about what was happening at the venue, some officials, security personnel and a handful of spectators found some solace in a television set toward the George Headley stand section that was transmitting live action of the West Indies v England One-Day International from Guyana.

Junior Bennett stayed clear of taking a position on the matter. "The players have supported the action of WIPA," Bennett said.

"The matter is a WIPA/WICB one and we are hoping that they will work out their differences," he said.

Dolphin, who played cricket with West Indies greats like Clive Lloyd, Rohan Kanhai and Lance Gibbs, said it appeared that things were being sorted out.

"We are hearing things, but I have to check with the match referee to confirm them," he said.

"We didn't know anything about this matter until this morning. Our guys are anxious to play cricket, but I gather that there are areas of concern for the players," Dolphin said.

Calls were coming in from all around the Caribbean about the action of the players, with most wanting to find out how the Jamaica players were handling the situation.

A while later, the Jamaica Cricket Board's acting chief executive Courtney Francis told the media that the WICB had informed the Jamaica Board that the matches would start on Saturday, sending off clear sighs of relief, that at last there would be some kind of action, albeit delayed.

If you were to grade Derick Latibeaudiere's performance over his 13 years as Bank of Jamaica governor, what grade would he get?
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