After the shame of Bourda and Kensington Oval
ANALYSIS BY RICKEY SINGH
FOR THE first time in cricket's history in the West Indies, two heads of government have found it necessary to express, within five days of each other, "sincere regrets" and "apology" for ugly incidents by spectators at international matches at Bourda in Guyana and Kensington Oval in Barbados. The agony for so doing fell last month to President Janet Jagan in Guyana as her government faced the threat of strike by public sector workers over increased pay; and to Prime Minister Owen Arthur in Barbados amid a swirling controversy over the removal of Lord Nelson's statue from Trafalgar Square in Bridgetown and the renaming of the area as National Heroes Square. What, first the invasions of the ground at Bourda during the fifth One-Day test between Australia and the West Indies and, secondly the seventh and final in the one-day series, have revealed, is the disturbing level of indiscipline and intolerance running through the societies of our Caribbean region at a time of increasing tension. The shameful, depressing behavior of two invasions of the ground by the Guyanese during the final tension-filled session of the fifth One-Day that led to a most regrettable tie decision by the International Cricket Council's match referee, Raman Subba Row, was `deja-vu' for an identical development some six years earlier at Bourda. But in four days time Barbados, which has traditionally prided itself in its image of a stable, orderly, tolerant and sophisticated society in the Caribbean, was to explode in a manner far worse than the Guyana incident. Bottles, beer cans and other missiles were hurled on the field at Kensington Oval on April 25 as spectators gave vent to their anger over a controversial run-out decision by the umpire for West Indies opener, Sherwin Campbell of Barbados. That shocking behaviour was made even more threatening by a deliberate attempt to cause personal physical hurt to the Australian captain, Steve Waugh, at whom a bottle was hurled, narrowly missing his head. The separate expressions of deep regrets from Jagan and Arthur were preceded by international media coverage of the mob rule incidents by both the BBC and CNN that could hardly have been welcomed by the Guyanese and Barbadian people whose shame for the behaviour of their fellow country folks are shared across the region and the West Indian diaspora. Until the very disgraceful behaviour of the Barbadians at Kensington Oval, it seemed to have been fair game for all kinds of contemptuous criticisms to be made against Guyanese who have, over the years, developed a penchant for mob protests. But the wild, threatening bottle-throwing crowd at Kensington were to chalk up a score that have woefully shamed the country and its Prime Minister to offer a public apology. As the ICC considers a plan later this month to rate grounds for security fitness for test and one-day match series, and the West Indies Cricket Board discuss their own initiatives to prevent the tragic recurrences and the punishment of rowdyism at cricket, there should be no rush to exclude Guyana, as some are agitating, because of what transpired at Bourda on April 21. Head of the Presidential Secretariat in Guyana, Dr Roger Luncheon, has already disclosed, following President Jagan's expressions of deep regret, that in collaboration with the local sports bodies, the government intends to have measures in place to ensure the international sports world - not just cricket - that the country "is indeed a safe and welcome location on their agenda". For Barbados, which has long been looking forward to the time when it could host a cricket World Cup series, I have no doubt that every effort will also be made to distance itself from that nightmare bottle-throwing rampage at Kensington Oval on April 25. The tie-decision at Bourda by the ICC's match referee remains controversial, whatever the spins of some in defence of the Aussies and in condemnation of the Guyanese invasions. The first invasion of the ground had resulted, let us not forget, from an apparent error in the scoreboard that had wrongly stated that the 30th and final over had been bowled. The misled enthusiastic Guyanese had dangerously invaded the field while the police, including the mounted ones, sadly behaved as if they were not there, or themselves too emotionally caught up in the excitement of the moment. When the last over was indeed delivered and the final ball bowled those overwhelmed by the psychology of the invading mob were running wild, seizing bails and stumps when two, and not three runs had been completed by Steve Waugh and Shane Warne. If, indeed, the time has come to make a critical appraisal of the security dimension and also practising and other facilities at venues for international test series and one-day matches, then some effort should also be made to review the powers vested in an ICC match referee. For it is amazing that the ICC's representative at Bourda could have come to the same conclusion as he did some six years ago. Some are also arguing whether it was "cricket" to have forced a return to play by Sherwin Campbell, instead of abandoning the match, once the umpires were indeed convinced that he was not deliberately impeded. Outstanding cricket commentators like Michael Holding and Tony Cozier, were among those who had declared, even as the ICC's referee was seeking a resolution, that tragic as it was, the rules of the game made it necessary for Campbell to walk instead of lying there, appealing to the umpire. Others have claimed "unfair blockage" by Australian bowler, Brendon Julian, a view clearly held by the bottle-throwing spectators. Ironically, Campbell was to be named "man of the match" for that very painful, unforgettable final one-day battle on April. To have sent back Campbell to resume play, may have been, in the end, a triumph for common sense. But was it also a triumph for international cricket? While we ponder on this, let there be no haste to penalise Guyana for Bourda on April 21, or to discriminate against Barbados for Kensington Oval on April 25 when future international test series and our bid to host the World Cup by 2007 come up for consideration.
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