The Windies Blog - Part One

It's Sunday 11th November 2018 and I'm sitting at my desk looking out to the north west from the top of the Caribbean island of St Lucia. Several hundred metres below the sea is lapping gently onto a white sand beach sporting the usual paraphernalia of an upmarket resort hotel - sun beds, volley ball net, kayaks, two-man catamarans (I'm sure they have a proper boaty name, but I don't know it). It is a beach we have tried to get down to, but have so far failed. A trek on foot had to be aborted when we were confronted by a neighbour's rottweiler and impossibly dense undergrowth. An excursion by car was met with a barriered entrance to the swanky hotel and two hefty guards. A night raid is being planned...

It is just coming up to 9am and there is some hazy sunshine. It makes a pleasant change. Our group has been in our villa just north of Gros Islet, in the very north of the island, for three days and sunshine has been something which has been in short supply. Rain, on the other hand, has not! Sweeping showers over the first two days gave way to biblical rain yesterday, which left the precipitous roads gushing with water. It was not ideal timing as England were due to open their account in Group A of the Women's World T20 (and I use the term "women's" deliberately. When the men play it is the Men's World T20 - I use the terms not to be sexist, but just to distinguish between the two).

By the time photographer Don and I had  made it into the ground having picked up our Press Passes and negotiated the muddy rivers that flowed around the car park, not to mention the somewhat treacherous stairs to the Media Centre, it was already apparent that the day's game against Sri Lanka would not be taking place. In fact the games scheduled to take place tomorrow here in St Lucia (England v Bangladesh and Sri Lanka v South Africa) are in serious doubt. That would be more bad news for England, as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are both teams that England would expect to beat comfortably - not so South Africa and West Indies - the other two teams in Group A.

Shortly before 4pm the game was officially called off and CRICKETher's Raf and Syd dutifully went off to the "Post Match Press Conference". Mainstream media want quotes, no matter how bland and inane they may be. I'd rather Heather played cricket than had to answer questions to which everyone knows the answer she is going to give. Buzz words - disappointed, looking forward, ready, move on.

In an effort to spice up proceedings journalist Adam Collins lobbed in the grenade question "With the forecast as it is, do you think consideration should be given to moving the games to another country?" Pull pin, count to seven and then lob.....It was not a question that Heather could possibly answer. It was posed to create a hook for a story on a quiet news day and perhaps as a barb at the ICC for scheduling these games here in St Lucia at the back end of the rainy season. It was always a risk, as is our being here to watch the games. The ICC are apparently "considering the idea", although no-one from the ICC has said this is the case. Given that it is now "an issue" it IS probably now being discussed, but at what level and with how much vigour, who knows?

As it is the tournament goes on. Group B based in Guyana - Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and Ireland - has no such weather issues and got off to cracking start with a fine victory for India over New Zealand, which puts them in the box seat to take one of the two semi-final places allocated to the teams that finish first and second in the group. A majestic 103 off 51 balls for Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was possibly one of the best T20I innings that I have ever seen. Superb timing and magnificent shot selection. Not power hitting, but powerful cricket.

Australia then thumped Pakistan, but probably not as hard as they would have liked. They will have tougher games. And then West Indies took on Bangladesh in a Group A clash, presumably scheduled so that the hosts could appear on the first day of their home tournament, despite all their other games being in St Lucia. On a slow, worn pitch Windies would have been worried when they stumbled to 18/3 and then 50/5 with 3/5ths of their overs gone. But they managed to get beyond a 100, and then bowled Bangladesh out for 46, with Deandra Dottin helping herself to a World T20 record of 5/5 by bowling quick and straight. The Bangladeshis lack of a straight bat accounting for most of the carnage.

Which brings us back to today. Two more games are due in Guyana - India v Pakistan and Australia v Ireland. We will all be sitting in front of the tv with the aircon blasting away watching intently.

MD
11/XI/18