‘Fire in Babylon’ brings great nostalgia
Published: Sun, 2011-04-17 20:40
Colin E H Croft
Colin E H Croft If you have not yet heard of “Fire in Babylon”, I expect that you certainly will, in the very near future too. It will definitely, definitively, soon be coming to a cinema, an arena, or some very VIP event, near you! “Fire in Babylon” is a film; a very special film. It describes, with a truly interesting slant; severely politically; the annals of West Indies cricket, circa 1975 to 1985, when West Indies cricket had just started its incredible period of excellence. One could only dream, now, for the return of such exploits!
West Indies did not lose a Test series from 1980 until 1995, with only two series losses – Australia 1975-6, a 5-1 drubbing by Greg Chappell’s boys, and New Zealand 1979-80; 1-0; played with much acrimony – in the 20 year period between 1975 and 1995! “Fire in Babylon” depicts the very start of that period! Last weekend, for once, I felt like a very important person in West Indies cricket. I was invited, by the film’s producers, to attend the premier, in Jamaica, of the film. Now I know what Denzil Washington, Angelina Jolie, Ice Cube, Cathleen Zeta-Jones and Will Smith endure when tripping the red carpet!
This special Caribbean and world premier of the film; only shown at London’s film festival last year, to great ovations and acclaim; also coincided with the launch of West Indies Cricket Board’s 2011 Digicel Cricket Series, featuring Pakistan and India. What great, wonderful cricket we have to look forward to! Among the 500 attendees to last Saturday’s night of great nostalgia and gala, ‘M-Ceed’ by broadcaster Simon Croskill, were Jamaica’s Minister of Youth, Sports & Culture, Mrs. Olivia “Babsy” Grange, former Jamaican Prime Minister, Edward Seaga, and West Indies Cricket Board Vice President Dave Cameron. The film features music and oratory of Bunny Wailer, Bob Marley & Wailers, Gregory Isaacs, Burning Spear, King Short Shirt, and the most devastating fast bowling and power hitting ever seen anywhere!
There were also West Indies cricket royalty there too, including me, I guess. We nearly made up a full West Indies cricket team, had we been in our pomp; some might say that even now. Most featured in the film—Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Lance Gibbs, Jeffrey Dujon, Chris Gayle, Jimmy Adams and me. Hey, that is not a bad line-up! We would have a great fast bowling attack, our best spinner ever, a brilliant wicket-keeper, and two batsmen who could hold their own well in West Indies cricket history.
All that we would need is Clive Lloyd, as captain, batting all-rounder Sir Viv Richards, heavily featured in the film, and Andy Roberts, Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, who also featured well there too. Both the Jamaica’s Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, and WICB V-P, suggested, in their addresses, while acknowledging cricketing excellence of that time, that they simply hoped that the film would act as a great inspiration to the present and future West Indies cricketers. If only we can be that very lucky!
As if to confound that thought, Dave Cameron also praised Jamaica for winning the final of regional four-day competition, our premier cricket competition, in two days, beating Combined Campuses & Colleges. To mention cricket excellence, and a championship 1st class four-day game, between our two best teams in 2011, that ended in two days, mind you, must be a massive but obviously odious oxymoron! Yet, the possibilities are also still infinite, starting in 2011. When Clive Lloyd started his sojourn as West Indies captain in 1974-5, while he may have had thoughts of what he needed, he certainly had no idea that things would evolve so stunningly well by 1985. Life has a way of sprouting up great surprises!
That Lloyd was so successful very had much to do with his age and seniority that he had over most of his team - a ‘father figure”. He was a full generation ahead of most of the players he captained. Only Deryck Murray and Roy Fredericks, as regulars, could have been judged as being in Lloyd’s age group. Of the rest; the bowling “fire” came then from Holding, Roberts, Garner, Croft, Malcolm Marshall, Wayne Daniel, Sylvester Clarke, all extremely athletic, intelligent, totally fit and talented fast bowlers.
The batting “fire” was also as dynamic, determined and destructive as ever—Fredericks, Haynes, Greenidge, Alvin Kallicharran, Lawrence Rowe, Viv Richards, Larry Gomes, Collis King and Lloyd. Even the wicket-keepers were in a special class of their own— Deryck Murray, Dujon and David Murray. Babylon has not changed much, at least not geographically. Politically and cohesively, we are much further away from where we were back in 1979-84, the absolute apex of West Indies cricketing supremacy. After all, we still have to show passports to traverse from one part of Babylon to the next!
So Pakistan is here, for two Tests, five ODI’s and a T-20, with India to follow, for three Tests, five ODI’s and a T-20. If the experiment and suggestions are correct, then there should be much more fire in the bellies of those who have been selected to represent us here in that region from Jamaica, in the north, to Guyana, in the south, that is sometimes favorably, maybe even romantically, called Babylon! While the initial T-20 and first two one-day internationals, against Pakistan, will serve as warm-ups for especially the Tests, the names selected for these games in St. Lucia tell many stories. The West Indies have issued a statement that experienced seniors Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shiv Chanderpaul have not been permanently axed; a play on words. They simply will play no more! Dead!
But WICB have stuck to its guns. When I spoke to chairman of selectors, Clyde Butts, a few weekends ago, he confirmed that there would be upsets, upheavals and uproar, with good things in mind. Consistency, though, is the main key. Players have shown themselves in our T-20 and earned selection. That Christopher Barnwell, Guyanese batting all-rounder, Danza Hyatt, Jamaican opening batsman, Ashley Nurse, Barbadian bowling all-rounder, and Marlon Samuels and Lendyl Simmons have all been selected for the 1st T-20, and Davindra Bishoo too, shows great gumption. We hope that it is real fire!
For the 1st two 50-over games, also against Pakistan, Dwayne Bravo is back from injury, Kirk Edwards and Devon Thomas retain their World Cup places, and, very pleasantly indeed, Leeward Islands leg-spinning all-rounder Anthony Martin have been selected. Martin really deserves his selection. Great! If players already selected, and those who will also play in Tests, have what it takes is certainly another matter. I know that Shahid Afridi, Pakistan’s ODI captain, Misbah ul Haq, his Test compatriot, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India’s overall captain, will certainly bring brimstone to our cricket arenas.
I do not know about you, but if you cannot take heat, leave the damned kitchen. It is that simple! Our players desperately need fire in their bellies. We cannot afford to be what we have been since 1995 anymore, certainly not what we have been over the last year, especially ending with the whimper of ICC CWC 2011. We need boldness, honesty, endeavor, enterprise, blood even, real fire in Babylon! Enjoy!
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