da prosport bet： Finally, apparently begrudgingly, one man short, and only just, the WestIndies have left their sunny islands in the Caribbean for Sri Lanka
Charlie Austin01-Nov-2001Finally, apparently begrudgingly, one man short, and only just, the WestIndies have left their sunny islands in the Caribbean for Sri Lanka. If youbelieve what the doom-doctors have been saying during recent weeks, theywill spend most of the next seven-weeks looking over their shoulders for BinLaden look-alikes and cowering in their plush five-star hotels.During past weeks, in the aftermath of the September 11 bombings, widespreaddoubts had been raised by some commentators and players about the wisdom oftouring Asia, or “in the region,” as they put it. Suddenly, the first WestIndies tour of Sri Lanka for eight years, and the first ever three-Testseries between the two sides, looked likely to be cancelled.Thankfully, for cricket lovers and the penny-strapped Sri Lankan cricketboard, surely the most enchanting tour in the forthcoming international schedule, was saved 10 days ago by discussions between cricket board officials from both countries during the ICC meeting in Kuala Lumpur.We don’t know exactly what was said, though we can assume themilder-mannered Sri Lankans are unlikely to have adopted the bullishapproach used by Jagmohan Dalmiya, who twisted the arm of English CricketBoard (ECB) with threats of retaliation, but the West Indian officials wereprobably quietly informed that, although Sri Lanka was “in the region,” itwas actually thousands of kilometers away from Afghanistan. In fact, incomparative terms, the distance is only just short of the distance betweenLondon and Kabul and much, much greater than that between Barbados and theUS, the number one terrorist target in the world.Culturally and ethnically it is also a world away. Only seven per cent ofthe population are Muslim and they have not shown any violent inclinationssince the US led invasion of Afganistan.Frankly, a cancellation of the tour because of hostilities in Afganisatanwould have been ridiculous, and the West Indian board officials haverealised that in time and successfully bundled the team on to the plane onTuesday night.It wasn’t an easy task, though. For a start, a handful of the players werecarrying injuries, including star batsman Brian Lara, who has decided to touranyway; Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who has backed out with a lower back problem;and Ridley Jacobs, the only wicket-keeper, whose injured thumb prevented himfrom keeping wicket throughout a week-long training camp.Unfortunately, new safety fears were fuelled by the announcement of freshelections in Sri Lanka. Hurried changes were made to the itinerary so as toavoid potential election hot spots, and the players were promised bodyguards.The WICB announced themselves satisfied with the measures taken and the tourremained on.After Lara and Jacobs’ presence was confirmed, the West Indies sports therapist,Ronald Rogers, would have started to relax, but over the weekend, another tourist, Jamaican Wavell Hinds, who was to have been the replacement forChanderpaul, walked into a short delivery from the 48-year-old former WestIndian fast bowler Joel Garner in a festival match and broke his nose. Hewill now join the team later after surgery on Friday.Then, just when the players were packing their suitcases, a suicide bomberexploded himself in a foiled attempt to assassinate the Sri Lankan Prime Minister in Colombo. By that time, though, it was too late to pull out, althoughthere are bound to have been mutterings of disquiet.Marlon Samuels may well have been glued to CNN World News after the bombingbecause he then contrived to miss his connecting flight to Barbados onMonday, although a local Jamaican newspaper reported that the real reasonhad been that he had got “stuck in road-works” on his way to Norman ManleyAirport.The team arrives in Colombo on Thursday morning. A Sri Lankan board releasetoday informs potential prying journalists that “the West Indies team willbe fatigued,” which is quite understandable considering the confusing twoweeks they have just been put through.Let us hope that they can quickly settle down and put aside whatevermisconceptions they may have about Sri Lanka. Yes, there will bedisturbances because of the elections. There could even be further bombs,but none of these are going to be directed anywhere near the cricketers.During the past two decades of internal conflict between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government, no touring cricketer has been killed, injured orthreatened.No, their safety cannot be guaranteed 100 per cent, but nor can it anywhereelse in the world, and Sri Lanka is no more dangerous than any other cricketplaying country in the world at the moment.Furthermore, West Indian cricketers are revered in Sri Lanka. When cricketwas taking off in the island after full Test status was granted in 1982, theWest Indies were the “Harlem Globetrotters” of world cricket, and the Sri Lankans could not help but admire the cocksure and natural way they played the game. Even though the team has been in decline since the late 1990’s they remain a big hit and will be treated with hospitality wherever they go.Well, almost everywhere. Since they last toured, in 1993, times havechanged; local cricketers have hardened up and learnt a new aggressive brandof cricket. Indeed, armed to the teeth with a host of strokeplayers, anexciting battery of young fast bowlers (I wonder who inspired thatdevelopment?) and the best off-spinner in the world, Sri Lanka’s cricketersrepresent the real and only threat to the West Indian’s peace of mind.