The Willow in the WIndies – innings no. 35

11th July 2016

The Caribbean cricket podcast

Episode 35 – Denesh Ramdin is dropped and takes to Twitter

Welcome to edition no. 35 of The Willow in the WIndies.

Reds returned from a week covering basketball in Guyana – though our weekly chat was delayed by a day thanks to the latest ‘updates’ for Skype and Voice Notes. After four and a half hours of endeavour, our producer (Mrs Oram) got Skype functioning again – although Voice Notes was pronounced dead.

We begun by looking at the CPL, where Guyana are the early pace-setters, and noted the fine imposed on Krishmar Santokie for on-field misdemeanours. Off the field, the tournament organisers were quick to stamp on illegal pitch side betting.

Denesh Ramdin is now available to play for the Trinbago Knight Riders, having apparently been dropped by the West Indies selectors for the upcoming Test series versus India – as he himself revealed in a series of angry tweets. 

‘Howzat??!’ ‘$100 please’

17th May 2016

Around the World in 2 – a few occasional off-breaks

Each week for ‘Mason & Guests’ I put together a brief summary of cricket events outside the Caribbean, round-up the week’s notable WI birthdays & anniversaries, & throw in a few ‘Did You Know?’ facts:

“Hello! This is David Oram taking you ‘Around the World in 2‘:

“Eng’s 3-Test series v SL starts on Thur, & the tourists are unfancied underdogs – underperforming in their 2 drawn not-so-warm-up matches, struggling with conditions – & the weather.

“Meanwhile, Eng’s women, who’re touring the Caribbean in Oct, will do so without Charlotte Edwards, who’s retired after being sacked as Capt. She played over 300 times for Eng over more than 20 yrs, captaining them 220 times.

“In the IPL, it’s very close, with Sunrisers Hyderabad top, but any of 6 teams could still win it. Virat Kohli’s now hit 752 runs with 3 centuries, while Mitch McClenaghan has 17 wkts.

“Elsewhere, Spare a Thought for Bangladesh’s former intl umpire Nadir Shah, who was knocked near-unconscious during a Dhaka League match. He was hit flush on the forehead at square leg by a full-blooded sweep & had to be helped from the field. It was Shah’s 1st professional game since 2012 – when he was banned after an undercover TV program revealed he was among several umpires willing to give decisions for a fee. Inside information about pitch conditions, the toss & the selected XIs was also available. What’s not clear is whether the info & decisions would be sold on a sliding scale: maybe $10 for a no-ball; $100 for an lbw; & $1000 for obstructing the field.” 

A Willow in the WIndies Xtra – Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira pays tribute to Tony Cozier

14th May 2016

The Caribbean cricket podcast

Special Edition: An appreciation of Tony Cozier by Reds Perreira

Welcome to this extra edition of The Willow in the WIndies.

The West Indies lost its voice this week with the death of Tony Cozier.

His great friend and colleague in the radio commentary box of over forty years, Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira joins me to recall Tony Cozier, and reflect on his unparalled contribution to Caribbean cricket.

You can listen to Reds’ tribute here.

David Oram

The Willow in the WIndies – innings no. 30

10th May 2016

The Caribbean cricket podcast

Episode 30 – Good News from the WICB

Welcome to edition no. 30 of The Willow in the WIndies.

In this programme Reds looked at the following:

There appeared to be a fair amount of good news around this week: concerning level 3 coaching courses in Barbados, including one on suspect actions; the readiness of Guyana to host upcoming ODIs in the country; and the news of more money being injected into the region. There was also news of the introduction of a Women’s U19 regional tournament, and the WICB’s desire to play day/night Test cricket, and possibly even introducing some day/night matches in the regional four day competition.

The Guyana Cricket Board was recognised with some awards this week – but there are many who still contest its legitimacy, including this show’s regular contributor, Colin Benjamin who in a letter to the Guyanese press called for a boycott of the nation’s matches.

In Trinidad, Andre Baptiste wrote a damning article about WIndies Director of Cricket, Richard Pybus. One of our listeners responded strongly to the piece. Meanwhile, Samuel Badree called for unity in West Indies cricket. 

The Willow in the WIndies – innings no. 29

1st May 2016

The Caribbean cricket podcast

Episode 29 – The ICC Reprimands the West Indies players

Welcome to edition no. 29 of The Willow in the WIndies.

Reds are I kicked off by discussing the ICC’s press release which condemned the West Indies players for their behaviour after the T20 World Cup final. Sir Viv Richards accused the ICC of double standards; while Philo Wallace on the Line & Length show endorsed the reprimand.

Presumably, Marlon Samuels was one of those the ICC had in mind in its comments; and this week Ben Stokes suggested Samuels should have been more magnanimous in victory. Meanwhile, Andre Russell said that Samuels was ‘a little different’ from his team-mates.

Much of the West Indies players’ disquiet arises from their stand-off with the WICB, in which they have appeared to have been supported by the Prime Ministers of Caricom. However, Barbados PM, Freundel Stuart seemed to distance himself from his fellow outspoken PMs who have called for the Board’s immediate dissolution. Clearly, the Caricom leaders are not unanimous in their opinions where the WICB is concerned.

Seemingly similar was Sir Andy Roberts (who was among the group of Legends supporting that call in Grenada recently), who seemed to backtrack in an interview with the Mason & Guests show. He said their call is for restructure, not dissolution.