CATEGORY:COMMENTARY ----------------------- INSIDE GRENADA Thursday April 05,2007 by Wallace J.A Adam Gilchrist, vice-captain and wicket-keeper/ batsman for the Australian cricket team - the defending Cricket World Cup champions - has added his voice to the world-wide public commentary surrounding the very small crowds showing up at the West Indian stadiums to look the World Cup matches. Gilchrist says that he knows that West Indians are interested in the cricket matches because they are talking quite a lot about them. He noted, however, that the cost for tickets to view the games were very expensive, a view shared by many persons not only in the Caribbean, but around the globe. The star player is making the recommendation to the powers that be to drop the price of tickets and have a ‘sale.’ He stated that it is very disappointing for the cricketers to perform before extremely small crowds. Many people from around the world have been very critical of the ICC. They see the body as being mainly responsible for the almost empty stands in the multi-million, state of the art stadiums that Caribbean countries had to construct in order to host the cricket tournament. The cost of tickets for the cricket matches is extremely high (by West Indian standard), out of the reach of the average Caribbean man/ woman. As a result, many persons who would have liked to see the cricket matches at the various venues are unable to do so. In addition, the never-ending list of restrictions seems to almost completely smother the unique, effervescent West Indian ‘ambiance’ which has become part and parcel of West Indian cricket over the years. Going to see a cricket match in the West Indies involves walking with home-cooked food, drinks, rum, conch-shells, drums, bottles and spoons etc. It involves non-stop chanting, dancing, drumming, music and the list can go on and on. This is the sort of ‘cricket atmosphere’ that West Indians look forward to when entering a regional cricket stadium. If this atmosphere is non-existent, people may just not go to see the matches. The spectator turnout at the past cricket matches will support me on that. The regulations that the ICC have in place are therefore seen as culturally insensitive in the sense that it has effectively stifled the passionate expressions of our Caribbean cultural identity at a time when the eyes of the entire world are on the region. Could it be that the atmosphere created inside our cricket stadiums is not good enough to show to the rest of the world? Is this something that we should feel embarrassed and ashamed about as West Indians? Should we start going to look at cricket matches with our cup of coffee, wearing our suits and bowler hats? Does the chanting and dancing make us seem ‘uncivilized’ in the eyes of some people who enjoy a ‘superior form of cultural expression?’ These are all fair questions to ask. The mediocre performance of the ‘local boys’ in cricket matches is again a major factor in the ‘phenomenon of the almost empty stadiums.’ The regional Cricket tsars had more than ample time to assemble the best team that the region could put together for this very special, historic event. Whether it is because of the ‘large island / small island bias (which has plagued West Indies cricket for decades and has destroyed many promising cricketers who were born in the wrong islands) or the poor selection of the final 11, or bad captaincy or lack of any discernable strategy or plan to win a cricket match, or players being disgruntled over money issues, or players simply lacking the skill and intestinal fortitude which will enable them to perform better and with more grit and consistency on the cricket field; the West Indies team has just not been performing in a manner that could bring pride and joy to the peoples of the region. Many fans have therefore lost the zeal to follow the team. If the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) was hoping that by hosting CWC 2007, they would be able to rekindle an interest in the playing of the sport (cricket) which would then fuel a resurgence of West Indies cricket and enable us to once again rise to the very pinnacle of success, they were seriously mistaken. Most young people are deflated and depressed with the sub-standard performance of the team and join the choir of disgruntled fans in the region in singing that song which calls for drastic changes to be made to the present structure of regional cricket. Without doubt, some heads have to roll and sacrifices would have to me made in order to serve the bigger interest of the survival of West Indies cricket. It would seem that in our haste to get to host the 2007 Cricket World Cup, those who negotiated on our behalf may have ‘blindly agreed’ to a number of measures which is now beginning to haunt the region and cause deep consternation and regrets in some quarters. Hotel occupancy is way below the numbers that some hoteliers had catered for and the ‘unprecedented boom’ in economic activity throughout the region is just not materializing. When CWC 2007 is over and governments of the region realize that the vast majority of the things that they had hoped for (through hosting the CWC 2007) did not materialize, one could only imaging the amount of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth that will take place. CWC 2007 will go down as the most painful and costly economic lesson that the region would have experienced.