The pages of history that are written on West Indies cricket have not identified which of those recorded events that occurred over the years is to be regarded as the genesis of its history.

It therefore remains a matter of choice as to whether its history originated when the first inter-colonial match between British Guiana and Barbados was played in 1846; the occasion when a West Indies side, because of the expenses involved, included seven Jamaicans from the Kingston Cricket Club and visited Canada and the United States in 1886; when a West Indies team first toured England in 1900; when the West Indies Cricket Board of Control was established in 1926; or was it when West Indies was awarded Test status and made their debut at Lords in 1928 under the captaincy of R K Nunes — a Jamaican lawyer.

But regardless of which event is to be regarded as its origin, it is indisputable that its history is enriched by some monumental exploits by those who have played the game, among them being George Headley’s achievement of becoming the first and only cricketer to score a century in each innings of a Test match at Lords — 106 and 107 in 1939 Lawrence Rowe’s unique feat of a double century and a century not out at Sabina Park in 1972 in his first Test match in which — incidentally, I made my debut as a Test umpire — and Brian Lara’s highest Test score of 400 not out versus England at Antigua in 2004, performances which made jubilant spectators respond with ecstatic and wild celebration and made commentators and journalists exhaust their vast inventory of words in describing the magnificence of these performances.

Its history is also replete with many commendable references pertaining to players’ sportsmanship and conduct. But, despite such amazing achievements, West Indies cricket is tarnished by a chronicle of deplorable incidents which occurred at various venues and instigated by indisciplined and partial spectators which have severely blemished its history and made many enthusiasts of the game hang their heads in shame and disgust whenever they are recalled.

Those who read this narrative may not find pleasure in being told or reminded about these incidents if you are among the many cricket lovers who do not condone any form of misconduct by players and do not see any justification in spectators conducting themselves in a disorderly manner by interrupting a game in order to avoid defeat or in protest of an umpire’s decision.

Since history is usually a combination of jubilant and sad news, it is not expected that the decision to reflect on those deplorable episodes which occurred on so many occasions at our established venues will not be considered as an inappropriate subject to write about nor regarded as a matter of trivial importance.

In view, therefore, of this assumption, for the benefit of those interested in West Indies cricket, and on behalf of the younger generation who have admitted their ignorance of such incidents and are interested in learning about them, I have refreshed my memory, reminded by history ,and narrate in this presentation a comprehensive account of these events which should attract curiosity and which readers will find informative but contemptible.

Many cricket fans will have uncherished memories of these atrocities and the displeasure of witnessing them, while others through this medium will be made aware of them for the first time, but everyone will realise that they were connected with that controversial but indispensable facet of the game known as umpiring.

When players, mostly batsmen, displayed various forms of dissent to umpiring decisions, thereby creating doubts about their dismissals and breaching one of the basic and treasured traditions of the game which was the immediate acceptance of the umpire’s decision, but a custom now on the verge of becoming obsolete, the unwarranted and irrational conduct of biased spectators to such dissent was a deplorable form of response deserving of severe condemnation.

The first recorded occasion of a crowd disturbance in West Indies cricket occurred as far back as in 1923 during an inter-colonial triangular match between British Guiana and Trinidad at Georgetown — a tournament which was launched in 1891 and involved a Trinidadian umpire by the name of Goveia. The famous Learie Constantine, who played in the match, reported in his book Cricketers Carnival that rivalry was intense and declared that players had been warned that serious trouble was likely to occur.

He further claimed that he knew that several players carried revolvers — obviously as a weapon of defence. It is reported that Goveia, who the visiting team had provided as one of the umpires — as was the custom in those days — did secretly participate in the pre-match betting usually associated with such matches, so when he gave out the Guiana Captain M P Fernandez, caught by the keeper, H A Croal, LBW, and J K Phillips run-out, verdicts considered dubious and inviting trouble, the home crowd became irate and invaded the field.

A boisterous group, unable to locate Goveia, later assembled at the Victoria Hotel to await the arrival of the vehicle which was to transport him. A strong police patrol was summoned in order to clear the sidewalks, compelling the Trinidad Captain Nelson Betancourt to withdraw Goveia from the match and agreed for him to be substituted by H E Belgrave, a Guyanese umpire for the remainder of the game.

Within a year after the three initial territories involved in the tournament — British Guiana, Trinidad, and Barbados agreed to abolish the system of each participating team providing an umpire, thus allowing the host country, instead, to provide both umpires — a practice which existed for many years at both Test and first-class level.

It is recorded that the first disturbance during a Test match in the West Indies occurred in 1954 in British Guiana when Badge Menzies — Georgetown Club groundsman and an umpire held in high esteem at club level — gave out the local favourite Clifford McWatt run out at 54, just when West Indies were recovering from a precarious position versus England. Prior to this incident, to have at that level of cricket any disruption occurring over an umpiring decision would have been inconceivable, as that was an era when competing teams were obliged to display the virtues of the game, promote its principles, and respect the edit of the Imperial Cricket Conference, founded in 1909, the then governing body of world cricket.

Any controversy arising therefore from umpiring decisions would just not have been cricket, since the game was conceived to be contested not only with intensity, but with strict adherence to its fundamental principles, and so extreme one’s sportsmanship and respect for your colleagues were expected to be that a keeper in executing a stumping or run-out of an opponent by spectacularly up-rooting all three stumps would be considered unsportsmanlike, undignified and inappropriate.

It was during this 1954 tour that Jamaica’s promising umpire Perry Burke became the victim of excessive abuse and threats from a partial and angry group necessitating the need for police to escort him home when he gave out J K Holt Jr, LBW, at 94, playing in his first Test match at Sabina Park.

It is interesting to note that when Australia first visited the Caribbean in the following year, 1955, it was the first occasion that neutral umpires were appointed for Test matches when Cortez Jordan of Barbados and Lee Kow of Trinidad stood in two Tests in Trinidad and Barbados.

Editor’s note: Johnny Gayle, OD, is a former honorary secretary and Test umpire – West Indies Cricket Umpires Association. This is the first of a three-part series.