May 23, 2018 issue
Cricket
of all time...
two legendary Guyanese sports icons
By Albert Baldeo (Kaieteur News)
At a time when the West Indian sporting public endures disappointment after disillusion, defeat after humiliation, bowlers like Lancelot Richard Gibbs remind us of the cricketing legacy, professionalism and pride players like him bequeathed to the Caribbean nation, and indeed, to the world – so sadly lacking today. It is a testament to his greatness and professionalism that Lance would have been an asset in any form of the game today.
He proudly held the World Record for the most Test wickets in cricket history from 1 February 1976 to 27 December 1981, an achievement lost on many people today, with 309 wickets at an average of 29.09 in 79 Tests, statistical confirmation to his value and the present paucity of players of his caliber, pride and work ethic today in the West Indies team.
He was one of the great spinners of all time, the first spinner to reach 300 test wickets, and had an exceptional economy rate of under two runs per over. He added the arm-ball to his repertoire, and reminisces how he always “thought out” batsman, like when he outfoxed and bowled the great Sir Viv Richards with it after deceiving him with 4 consecutive off-breaks and forced him to play down the wrong line in a regional first-class game. He never bowled the same delivery twice in the same over, always varying his spin, flight, line and length.
At a time when the West Indian sporting public endures disappointment after disillusion, defeat after humiliation, bowlers like Lancelot Richard Gibbs remind us of the cricketing legacy, professionalism and pride players like him bequeathed to the Caribbean nation, and indeed, to the world – so sadly lacking today. It is a testament to his greatness and professionalism that Lance would have been an asset in any form of the game today.
He proudly held the World Record for the most Test wickets in cricket history from 1 February 1976 to 27 December 1981, an achievement lost on many people today, with 309 wickets at an average of 29.09 in 79 Tests, statistical confirmation to his value and the present paucity of players of his caliber, pride and work ethic today in the West Indies team.
He was one of the great spinners of all time, the first spinner to reach 300 test wickets, and had an exceptional economy rate of under two runs per over. He added the arm-ball to his repertoire, and reminisces how he always “thought out” batsman, like when he outfoxed and bowled the great Sir Viv Richards with it after deceiving him with 4 consecutive off-breaks and forced him to play down the wrong line in a regional first-class game. He never bowled the same delivery twice in the same over, always varying his spin, flight, line and length.
Gibbs took three wickets in four balls at Sydney and a hat-trick in the next Test at Adelaide in West Indies’ historic 1960-61 tour of Australia, snaring KD Mackay, ATW Grout and FM Misson at Adelaide. This double feat was emulated amongst West Indian players only by another great bowler, Wesley Hall, of “Pace like Fire” acclaim. Hall’s hat-trick victims were Mushtaq Mohammad, Fazal Mahmood and Nasim-ul-Ghani of Pakistan at Lahore in the 1958-59 series, and his three wickets in four balls was done at Port-of-Spain, Trinidad in the 1961-62 series against India.
After these heroics by Wes and Lance, only Jermaine Lawson has taken another test hat-trick for the West Indies when he captured the wickets of Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill and Justin Langer for the West Indies against Australia at Bridgetown, Barbados, in the 2002-03 series. Sylvester Clarke is the only other West Indian bowler to get 3 wickets in 4 balls, a feat he performed against Pakistan at Karachi in the 1980-81 series.
Lance also spun one of the game’s greatest spells at Bridgetown, where he single-handedly destroyed India, despite their batting strength against spin bowling. Against his combination of guile, flight and spin, India collapsed from 149 for 2 to 187 all out, with Gibbs taking eight wickets in 15.3 overs at a total cost of just six runs! His final innings return of 8 wickets for 38 runs was his best in a Test match.
His career culminated in his inclusion as one of Wisden’s Cricketer of the Year in 1972, a deserving accolade.
After these heroics by Wes and Lance, only Jermaine Lawson has taken another test hat-trick for the West Indies when he captured the wickets of Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill and Justin Langer for the West Indies against Australia at Bridgetown, Barbados, in the 2002-03 series. Sylvester Clarke is the only other West Indian bowler to get 3 wickets in 4 balls, a feat he performed against Pakistan at Karachi in the 1980-81 series.
Lance also spun one of the game’s greatest spells at Bridgetown, where he single-handedly destroyed India, despite their batting strength against spin bowling. Against his combination of guile, flight and spin, India collapsed from 149 for 2 to 187 all out, with Gibbs taking eight wickets in 15.3 overs at a total cost of just six runs! His final innings return of 8 wickets for 38 runs was his best in a Test match.
His career culminated in his inclusion as one of Wisden’s Cricketer of the Year in 1972, a deserving accolade.
This month, we had the pleasure of renewing acquaintances with a world class umpire, and a Guyanese brother who made it to the top in his field – Eddie (Edward) Nicholls, now 70 not out. Officially retired, he is still giving back to the game he loves so much and which made him a household name. He officiated in 17 Tests from 1997 to 2001 and 46 ODIs from 1995 to 2005.
Nicholls was one of four West Indian umpires on the International Cricket Council’s elite panel of international umpires, and umpired international matches throughout the Caribbean and in many famous grounds across the globe, including the Oval, Wellington, Brisbane, Bulawayo, Colombo, Cape Town, Manchester, Nairobi, Sharjah, and Melbourne.
A former police officer, who rose to the rank of an Acting Assistant Superintendent with the Guyana Police Force, Nicholls played club cricket for the Guyanese police force cricket team. He is married and has a son and two daughters, was a senior cricket coach in Guyana from 1990-1997, a Committee member of national umpires’ association 1992/193, 1996/97/98; treasurer 1994 and 1995, and played club cricket for the Guyana Police Force and Demerara.
He is part of a respected group of Caribbean umpires headed by umpires like Steve Bucknor (“Slow Death”), Douglas Sang Hue, Ralph Gosein, Stanton Parris, Compton Vyfhuis, Lew Kow, Cortez Jordan, Errol Gillette, Ralph Gosein, David Archer, Cecil Kippins, Lloyd Barker, Clyde Cumberbatch, Tulsi Kumar and others.
Nicholls was one of four West Indian umpires on the International Cricket Council’s elite panel of international umpires, and umpired international matches throughout the Caribbean and in many famous grounds across the globe, including the Oval, Wellington, Brisbane, Bulawayo, Colombo, Cape Town, Manchester, Nairobi, Sharjah, and Melbourne.
A former police officer, who rose to the rank of an Acting Assistant Superintendent with the Guyana Police Force, Nicholls played club cricket for the Guyanese police force cricket team. He is married and has a son and two daughters, was a senior cricket coach in Guyana from 1990-1997, a Committee member of national umpires’ association 1992/193, 1996/97/98; treasurer 1994 and 1995, and played club cricket for the Guyana Police Force and Demerara.
He is part of a respected group of Caribbean umpires headed by umpires like Steve Bucknor (“Slow Death”), Douglas Sang Hue, Ralph Gosein, Stanton Parris, Compton Vyfhuis, Lew Kow, Cortez Jordan, Errol Gillette, Ralph Gosein, David Archer, Cecil Kippins, Lloyd Barker, Clyde Cumberbatch, Tulsi Kumar and others.
West Indies legend Joel Garner has added his voice to those supporting the massive goodwill effort to rebuild stadiums affected by the passage of deadly hurricanes Irma and Maria last September.
West Indies clash with an ICC World XI on May 31 at Lord’s in a fund-raising Twenty20 International and Garner noted that cricket was again showing it was a unifying force for good.
“Our players have always been willing to be involved in any kind of charitable working going back to my playing days and even before,” said the former Windies team manager.
“It is great to see the youngsters have again joined that rich tradition and they are happy to participate and give back to the community and those in need.”
The great former fast bowler was Windies team manager last year during the one-day tour of England when several Caribbean islands were devastated by the tropical cyclones.
He joined the outreach then by volunteering to collect funds and this year will be involved as part of the delegation to Lord’s for the high-profile match.
“Last year we had a good day at the Oval where we interacted with the spectators in an effort to raise funds,” he explained.
“This year will be no different. I think over 6 000 tickets have been sold so far and the match is still two weeks away. Based on these sales, it seems we will have a great crowd at Lord’s for the upcoming game.”
He continued: “Cricket is again showing it can be a ‘force for good’ and it can help to bring people together. We have a situation here where cricket has stepped forward to help those in need. We have to say a huge thanks to the players who will participate.
“All around the world sports helps to bring a smile to people’s faces and sportsmen are hailed as heroes, so it’s always great to see when those players give back in a meaningful way.”
The Windies will be led by T20 World Cup hero Carlos Brathwaite and includes two-time world champions Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Samuel Badree.
The match will also mark a return to international cricket for Andre Russell following his recent year-long ban.
England white-ball captain Eion Morgan will skipper the World XI which will feature exciting Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, Pakistan batting star Shoaib Malik, Bangladesh stroke-maker Tamim Iqbal as well as Sandeep Lamichhane, the sensational 17-year-old wrist-spinner from Nepal.
The match will be played under lights starting at 18:00hrs (13:00hrs Eastern Caribbean time).
By Frederick Halley
The predominantly Guyanese side, Hawaiian Arctic Cricket Club (HACC) started the 2018 season in a blaze of glory with an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Knightly Cricket Club when the Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA) Elite League got underway last Saturday at the L’amareaux ground, Scarborough.
The victory was engineered by a masterful spell of swing bowling by Abdul Ramzan who claimed an amazing six for 36 from his quota of 10 overs and former Guyana youth player Harrinarine Chattergoon who backed up with four for 34 in 9.2 overs, as newly promoted Knightly were skittled for a paltry 86 in 22.2 overs in the 50-over affair.
HACC, who had to settle for the runner-up spot to eventual winners Highland Creek in last year’s final, reached the required target in 21.2 overs on a heavy outfield.
It should be noted that Chattergoon who was vacationing in Guyana arrived back in Toronto a few hours before the game started and was “escorted” from the Pearson International airport to the venue.
Leading the way for HACC in the batting department was opener Reyaz Prahalad with an attacking 33 which included two sixes while Azhad Amidon was unbeaten on 28 when victory was achieved. Prahalad, one of HACC’s most consistent batsmen, missed the entire 2017 season due to injury.
While HACC were making light work of Knightly, defending champions Highland Creek suffered an early setback, going down to Scarborough Cricket Club (SCC) by five wickets at Ashtonbee Number One.
Set a challenging 267 for victory, after Highland Creek were dismissed for 266 in 47.1 overs, SCC eased to 270 for five with former Canadian player Asif Mulla smashing a brilliant 119 while Aarif Talati and Samad Abdul supported with 62 and 39 respectively. Talha Kirmani took two for 38.
Earlier, Highland Creek got consistent performances from Vishal Adlakha (58 with seven fours and two sixes), Farhan Khan (56 with nine fours) Ali Khan (34), Rayyankhan (33) and Kartik Desai (23). Mustak Variava claimed three for 46 from 10 overs, Samad Abdul three for 80 and Basir Lokhat two for 58.
Also in winners’ row were Victoria Park Cricket Club who trounced Ambassadors by a whopping 213 at Ashtonbee Number Two ground.
Taking first strike, Victoria Park reached a formidable 394 all out in their allotted 50 overs with opener Krunal Patel leading the way with a swashbuckling 177 while Yug Rao and Arjoon Sood supported with 69 and 54 respectively. Ryan Ramnarine was Ambassadors’ best bowler with four for 65 from eight overs.
Ambassadors were rolled over for 181 in 40.1 overs with Ryan Lall resisting with a fine 74. Vishnu Pothugunta bagged four for 14 from 6.1 overs and Meet Shah three for 19 from six.
The other two teams in the eight-team tournament – Superstars/Islanders and Armor – were not in action on the opening day.
The predominantly Guyanese side, Hawaiian Arctic Cricket Club (HACC) started the 2018 season in a blaze of glory with an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Knightly Cricket Club when the Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA) Elite League got underway last Saturday at the L’amareaux ground, Scarborough.
The victory was engineered by a masterful spell of swing bowling by Abdul Ramzan who claimed an amazing six for 36 from his quota of 10 overs and former Guyana youth player Harrinarine Chattergoon who backed up with four for 34 in 9.2 overs, as newly promoted Knightly were skittled for a paltry 86 in 22.2 overs in the 50-over affair.
HACC, who had to settle for the runner-up spot to eventual winners Highland Creek in last year’s final, reached the required target in 21.2 overs on a heavy outfield.
It should be noted that Chattergoon who was vacationing in Guyana arrived back in Toronto a few hours before the game started and was “escorted” from the Pearson International airport to the venue.
Leading the way for HACC in the batting department was opener Reyaz Prahalad with an attacking 33 which included two sixes while Azhad Amidon was unbeaten on 28 when victory was achieved. Prahalad, one of HACC’s most consistent batsmen, missed the entire 2017 season due to injury.
While HACC were making light work of Knightly, defending champions Highland Creek suffered an early setback, going down to Scarborough Cricket Club (SCC) by five wickets at Ashtonbee Number One.
Set a challenging 267 for victory, after Highland Creek were dismissed for 266 in 47.1 overs, SCC eased to 270 for five with former Canadian player Asif Mulla smashing a brilliant 119 while Aarif Talati and Samad Abdul supported with 62 and 39 respectively. Talha Kirmani took two for 38.
Earlier, Highland Creek got consistent performances from Vishal Adlakha (58 with seven fours and two sixes), Farhan Khan (56 with nine fours) Ali Khan (34), Rayyankhan (33) and Kartik Desai (23). Mustak Variava claimed three for 46 from 10 overs, Samad Abdul three for 80 and Basir Lokhat two for 58.
Also in winners’ row were Victoria Park Cricket Club who trounced Ambassadors by a whopping 213 at Ashtonbee Number Two ground.
Taking first strike, Victoria Park reached a formidable 394 all out in their allotted 50 overs with opener Krunal Patel leading the way with a swashbuckling 177 while Yug Rao and Arjoon Sood supported with 69 and 54 respectively. Ryan Ramnarine was Ambassadors’ best bowler with four for 65 from eight overs.
Ambassadors were rolled over for 181 in 40.1 overs with Ryan Lall resisting with a fine 74. Vishnu Pothugunta bagged four for 14 from 6.1 overs and Meet Shah three for 19 from six.
The other two teams in the eight-team tournament – Superstars/Islanders and Armor – were not in action on the opening day.
While legendary batsman Javed Miandad has endorsed International Cricket Council’s proposal to abolish toss from the game, another former Test cricketer Salim Altaf says instead of doing away with the tradition, the game’s governing body should introduce international curators to produce standardised pitches.
The ICC’s cricket committee will debate removing the toss when it meets in Mumbai later this month.
The panel, which operates in an advisory role and can only make recommendations to the ICC chief executives’ committee, is due to consider whether the choice to bat or bowl first should be given to the visiting captain to encourage fairer pitches.
“There is no harm if the ICC tries to go with the new system of abolishing the toss. Ultimately, the move may force the home team to prepare pitches of good standard instead of focusing on preparing tracks that [completely] suit them,” Miandad said while talking to the media on Saturday.
“No doubt, toss is an integral part [of the game] but you have to experiment in order to achieve better results in the game; and this move [of abolishing toss system] may also prove helpful in introducing the tradition of producing good-standard pitches, as tracks giving unfair help to home teams has become a major hurdle in recent years for touring squads,” Miandad, a veteran of 124 Tests, added. On the other hand, Salim insists that toss should remain part of the game. “Toss is an integral and traditional part of cricket. Therefore, abolishing it does not make any sense. In fact, toss is also a source of judging the wisdom of a captain who is required to make a call in case he wins the toss. And his acumen is then proven right or wrong at the end of the match which may result in victory or loss for his team,” Salim said.
“As PCB’s chief operating officer, I have been attending ICC meetings during which there were discussions regarding introducing international curators to maintain the standard of pitches.
“I think having international curators with a set guideline to make sporting pitches would be a better option instead of ending the toss,” Salim reckoned.
“In India and Pakistan slow-and-low pitches are prepared which help home sides win matches rather easily as this region generally has [world’s] best spinners. However, when the same team [from sub-continent] tours England, Australia or New Zealand it fails to produce good performance mainly because pitches in these countries are in complete contrast to sub-continent tracks,” Salim elaborated.
“Every cricket board wants to prepare pitches [in home games] that suits its own team whereas an international curator will prepare pitches according to the standards set by the ICC, giving equal opportunities to both home and touring teams to excel with their available resources.
He added, “It is better for cricket that it should be played on sporting wickets, giving equal help to batsmen, spinners and seamers and that is a big challenge for the ICC.
“And to achieve this scenario [of sporting tracks], the ICC should come out with a comprehensive programme to install international curators having the ability to prepare sporting wickets all over the world,” he said.
“I remember in 1987, Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir had taken nine wickets on the first day of the first Test against England at the Gaddafi Stadium while other bowlers remained wicketless,” he recalled.
Asked if drop-in pitches could be the alternative of having equal standard pitches throughout the cricketing world, Salim did not agree. “It would create other problems; rather than drop-in pitches, expert curators can be a much better option.”
The ICC’s cricket committee will debate removing the toss when it meets in Mumbai later this month.
The panel, which operates in an advisory role and can only make recommendations to the ICC chief executives’ committee, is due to consider whether the choice to bat or bowl first should be given to the visiting captain to encourage fairer pitches.
“There is no harm if the ICC tries to go with the new system of abolishing the toss. Ultimately, the move may force the home team to prepare pitches of good standard instead of focusing on preparing tracks that [completely] suit them,” Miandad said while talking to the media on Saturday.
“No doubt, toss is an integral part [of the game] but you have to experiment in order to achieve better results in the game; and this move [of abolishing toss system] may also prove helpful in introducing the tradition of producing good-standard pitches, as tracks giving unfair help to home teams has become a major hurdle in recent years for touring squads,” Miandad, a veteran of 124 Tests, added. On the other hand, Salim insists that toss should remain part of the game. “Toss is an integral and traditional part of cricket. Therefore, abolishing it does not make any sense. In fact, toss is also a source of judging the wisdom of a captain who is required to make a call in case he wins the toss. And his acumen is then proven right or wrong at the end of the match which may result in victory or loss for his team,” Salim said.
“As PCB’s chief operating officer, I have been attending ICC meetings during which there were discussions regarding introducing international curators to maintain the standard of pitches.
“I think having international curators with a set guideline to make sporting pitches would be a better option instead of ending the toss,” Salim reckoned.
“In India and Pakistan slow-and-low pitches are prepared which help home sides win matches rather easily as this region generally has [world’s] best spinners. However, when the same team [from sub-continent] tours England, Australia or New Zealand it fails to produce good performance mainly because pitches in these countries are in complete contrast to sub-continent tracks,” Salim elaborated.
“Every cricket board wants to prepare pitches [in home games] that suits its own team whereas an international curator will prepare pitches according to the standards set by the ICC, giving equal opportunities to both home and touring teams to excel with their available resources.
He added, “It is better for cricket that it should be played on sporting wickets, giving equal help to batsmen, spinners and seamers and that is a big challenge for the ICC.
“And to achieve this scenario [of sporting tracks], the ICC should come out with a comprehensive programme to install international curators having the ability to prepare sporting wickets all over the world,” he said.
“I remember in 1987, Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir had taken nine wickets on the first day of the first Test against England at the Gaddafi Stadium while other bowlers remained wicketless,” he recalled.
Asked if drop-in pitches could be the alternative of having equal standard pitches throughout the cricketing world, Salim did not agree. “It would create other problems; rather than drop-in pitches, expert curators can be a much better option.”
After 57 games in this year's 11th IPL season, the tournament is now down to the wire with just three matches left - the Eliminator between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) (today), Qualifier 2 (Friday) and the Final on Sunday. Yesterday, in a tense match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SH), CSK for the 7th time in IPL history has moved into the tournament finals. So the battle in Sunday's Final will be between CSK and the winner between whoever is victorious in today's Eliminator playing against whoever wins Friday's Qualifier 2 to be played between SH and today's winner.