If you believe in the Gods of Cricket
You honour Frank Worrell, CLR James and a change in the game of 1950s cricket
If you believe in the Gods of Cricket
You still hear the whispers, Malcolm Marshall overlooks Kensington, he says “run, you are wind, run you are wind”
If you believe in the Gods of Cricket
See the dust rise from the chaos, another unorthodox hook shot from Kanhai
If you believe in the Gods of Cricket
Your hands anointed Brian Charles Lara
First as ‘Sir’, then ‘Prince’, then ‘Bright Light’ for our region in dark times after Viv, Haynes and Greenidge, after the greats
Lara who burned every cricketing textbook
His back lift that defied gravity
He loaned the world record to an Australian, he reclaimed it in 6 months for fun
And believers come in many forms
They are the choir signing the cheers for every boundary in a pum pum shorts
They are the holy women and men who share pelau from coolers and Carib during Lunch
They are the nuts men who would make better as fielders than our own cricketers with the precision and long distance throws – salt and fresh
They are the shells we blow to welcome our players in the pavilion like royalty!
And we worshipped the Gods of cricket in the stands, beneath the sun, behind television sets with our families, on the streets, with our wind ball bats summoning their names and making Ms. Theodore’s window a boundary for six
But all is not good on in heaven on earth
Darren Sammy brought us to silence
For the first time, in a long while, the captain of the West Indies Cricket team spoke of his suffering
What Sammy told the West Indies Cricket Board is “Let My People Go”
What the CARICOM Cricket Review Panel Report told the WICB is “Let My People Go”
What 6,000 signatures on an online petition that drew solidarity from West Indians and fans of the art form said to the WICB is, “Let My People Go”
We are a West Indian People who must honour the Gods of Cricket and rally around ourselves…
You can sign our online petition here.
