Edward Craig: Five reasons why I want a Windies win against England
February 3rd, 2009 by Edward Craig in England, Test cricket, west indies and tagged edward craig, England, west indies1. The West Indian crowd and atmosphere, all screams, reggae, banter and dancing – it is the best in cricket but only when people turn up. And this happens when they’re winning. In the 1989-90 series, you could watch in the UK the first, live, televised overseas England Tests. The first match came from Sabina Park and I watched. It was cricket but not as I knew it (perhaps because England won convincingly). This was as far from Lord’s as is possible – and it was magical. (The games are also on at the perfect time, just when you’re getting home from work/school.)
2. Shiv Chanderpaul. If West Indies do win, he’ll have scored loads of runs. I don’t want to watch him do it – he’s never that fun – but I do want it to happen. Chanderpaul deserves a great Test record and he’s getting there. He is the Grand Lord Megachief of Gold.
3. If West Indies win, new players will have to emerge in the process; Fidel Edwards will have to keep driving that bowling average down; Chris Gayle’s character will have to be all over the team. These are all good, entertaining things.
4. Cricket needs as many strong and viable Test-playing nations as possible. West Indies are close to not being one of those at present. A win against the original colonial enemy should reinvigorate interest within the islands. The old love of the game is still there, it just only comes out when quick bowlers are scaring the opposition and home batsmen are thrashing boundaries.
5. England are particularly charmless and dislikeable at present. Either the players love themselves or are petrified of voicing an opinion. There’s a swaggering expectation of success, in my view, which deserves to be shown up. It’ll give them a fright that will help the Ashes bid. And I certainly don’t want the Aussies to win that.
Edward Craig is deputy editor of The Wisden Cricketer
Posted in England, Test cricket, west indies | 9 Comments »
February 4th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Oh Dear!
All that England needs right now is Brits shouting for the opposition. Perhaps you are just making a (weak) journalistic point. But if you do, as you say you do, want England to regain The Ashes a better way to encorage them might be to hope that they play out of their skins and get on a roll. Winning is a habit - so is losing.
February 4th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
At present?
Did they have charm before?
March 11th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Charmless England didn’t fail to disappoint, Sarwan was epic, Strauss timid, the wickets led to obscure cricket - but England weren’t good enough to adjust and re-think strategies. How about bowling first, declaring early, risking losing…?
Well done West Indies.
March 11th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
I found your original story shameful and your latest snivelling little bit of crowing more so. How very English it is to sneer and berate and knock. Was the one word of constructive criticism in your story? Was there one bit of encouragement to England? One bit of understanding that playing sport at the highest level is no walk in the park? I watched a fair bit of the series in the West Indies and I saw zero evidence of your original charges of charmlessness, dislikeability or swagger. I much preferred England’s honourable attempt to square the series in Port of Spain to the Windies decision from the start to go for a draw.
Your original post secured no comments other than mine - and a bit of inane abuse from Jrod. But then that is par for the course on the TWC Blog which, despite its pretensions, utterly fails to generate any interest in the cricket blogosphere.
The charge against you Edward is that of crap journalism rather than your childish anti England bias. I don’t like your bias, but I suppose that you are entitled to have it. I do despise though your amateurish and ignorant journalism and I’m surprised that its given any space at all.
March 11th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Paddy
Since when has blogging been journalism? It tends to be only bloggers who are failed journalists who think that
March 11th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I agree, it’s weak journalism, coming out with things for the sake of it. Craig Edwards is an awful journalist and an even worse blogger.
March 11th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Paddy, i’ve been thinking that for ages - this piece really riled me.
Your observations are accurate (even if your use of apostrophe’s's is not).
March 11th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
D Charlton, I think that you protest too much.
March 11th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Has Paddy been turned over for a job by TWC or something?
Who is Paddy anyway? I click on his name and it takes me to a website with a picture of some comedy character from the 1960s that I can’t remember the name of. A bit like Benny Hill?
I think, under Strauss, England appeared far less charmless than in the last 3 years. Despite the declarations i though strauss showed himself to be a very promising captain.