Dear Editor,
Firstly, let me offer my condolences on the recent passing of Mr David De Caires, a man who fought for his principles. May his soul Rest in Peace.
Antigua and Barbuda celebrated their 27th anniversary of independence from England on Saturday, November 1, 2008, the date of the 20/20 match between the Stanford Superstars and England. It was our English masters who imported cricket into the colonies and after emancipation, the game became the new institution by which the populations were socialised and hierarchies reinforced.
The English side were the favourites to win, and Sky Sports suggested, “England, on the face of it, should take the purse. They are a side significantly ahead of their opponents in terms of development, and in Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff they have players tailor-made to excel in the Twenty20 game.” What sweet irony for the regional side to demolish the former colonial masters who taught us the game.
The Stanford 20/20 tournament was not without its critics, and the English newspapers carried several stories of complaints by the English players about the pitch, the lights, the sponsor’s access into their dressing room and his conduct with some of the player’s wives. The pitch and the lights would have affected all the teams, so it was not an instance where England could cry discrimination. Sir Allen apologised to the English side for the other complaints.
As a West Indian, I cannot imagine a West Indian player’s wife cavorting with Sir Allen. We must have been excellent students, not only at cricket, but in terms of the appropriate conduct of ladies.
Sir Allen Stanford may have his own motives, and former West Indies pacer Michael Holding disassociated himself from the tournament calling it “a farce,” but this recent tournament has demonstrated that there is a wealth of talent in the region and once sufficiently prepared and remunerated, we can once again retain our position as number one in the world.
At a time when youths in the region were shying away from cricket and dreaming of becoming another Lebron James or Kobe Bryant and playing in the lucrative NBA, they could now visualize themselves as an Andre Fletcher or a Darren Sammy.
It was a great match, and wherever it was shown, some of the same West Indians who’d grown frustrated by a team that looked unable to win, were celebrating and rejoicing over every English wicket and every boundary by Gayle and Fletcher.
Well done Stanford Superstars. You’ve shown all your detractors that success is the sweetest revenge. Congratulations again.
Yours faithfully,
Dawn A. Holder
