I wonder what took them bloody
two years to release this fantastic 2010 British Documentary on West Indian
cricketers one year in our part of the world. But I am glad it did finally and
we get to see the ups and down in Windies cricket with some real good insight
thrown in by the some of the greatest crickets of world cricket like Viv
Richards, Michael Holding, Gordon Greenidge, Sir Clive Lloyd, Joel Garner etc. With
never seen before footage – this is too good to be missed by anyone who loves
and lives cricket. How cricket changes not only the lives of the people who
play it – it makes a big difference to their culture too – you’ve got to see
this to believe that. I can never forget those days in early 80’s, my mom was
and is still a big fan of Windies – whenever their matches will be on TV and
Viv Richards or Clive Lloyd is playing – we will not be served lunch, as she
refused to go to kitchen as her favorites played on. As long as they played
against the world she will be cheering, praising and even praying for them but
when they played against India
– she will be the one to curse them. I can never forget the way Marshal and
Holding bowled those dreadful bouncers. I guess that was the best time for the
game of cricket, now a day it’s so technical and commercial that it isn’t that
much fun. They were unbeatable for guess what? Fifteen years on the trot from
1980 to 1995 – never lost a test series.
Rowe, Roberts, Garner, Croft and Richards |
The Documentary: West Indies is one team which has been my favorite right
from my school time days – when cricket wasn’t that much available on TV.
Whenever they would visit India
or India
will go to play with them to foreign destinations – it will be a sight to
behold. Fantastic was the way they batted, bowled and fielded. I was shocked to
see Sunil Gavaskar playing against the best of the bouncers that too without
wearing a helmet – I guess he was the only cricketer who did that during those
days. Now a days, you should see the way they come prepared wearing so many pads
and stuff to not to get hurt. This is one of its kinds of documentaries that I
ever saw on West Indian cricketers. It was heartening to see them up close and
personal in this one, I guess this was the first time I saw Vivian Richards
talking his heart out and telling us so many never known facts of their life. How
and why they became a powerful side, what took them to beat the world and prove
that they weren’t a spent force. It was stunning to see what they did against England on their own turf and against Aussies in
Australia .
How that changed the life of millions of black migrants world over. This proves
very clearly that cricket is just not a sport, its way too more than just a
game. How the new crop of cricket players emerged in early 70’s in West Indies
and later when Clive Lloyd was appointed as captain in mid 70’s – it changed
the game in totality for Windies. I still remember my mom rated him too high
and realized he was respected world over as one of the greatest cricketers of
his own times; he is still respected
big time.
Sir Clive Lloyd |
The documentary talks about the
struggle West Indian players had faced in the initial years; their pay packets were so thin that it was tough
for them to keep up with the changing times. It talks about the ban they faced
by playing against the apartheid South Africa and its effect on
Windies cricket. The arrival of Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Joel Garner
and Malcolm Marshal (My all time favorite bowler) in West Indian cricket team. They
were unstoppable and unbeatable for so many years in Test Cricket especially. I
remember those days very clearly when they were one of the most feared cricket
teams ever. It shows us everything about them, the good days, the struggle, the
emergence of modern cricketers. Even today when I see their new age Chris
Gayle, Simmons, Bravo, Sammy or Kieron Pollard batting, it reminds me of those
great criketers. One of the best part of the documentary was its background
score and music – I totally loved Bob Marley’s presence in it, although brief
but it was too good. It was heartening to see him meeting the team and telling
them to win for the country. He even sang songs to motivate them.
2 comments:
Thanks a ton for stating your opinions. Being a writer, I am always in need of unique and different solutions to think about a topic. I actually uncover fantastic creativity in doing this. Many thanks
Thanks a bunch my friend.
Thats pretty encouraging.
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