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Four greats who fired the passion of the Caribbean
Last updated at 9:39 AM on 19th May 2011
It is not uncommon for modern players to be unaware of history but you might expect a former West Indies captain to know something of the West Indian team that changed the face of cricket. Not so.
'Chris Gayle came up to me after seeing the film in Jamaica,' says Michael Holding of Fire in Babylon, the acclaimed documentary about arguably the greatest cricket team of them all. 'He was totally shocked about what we did. He had no idea. That's not good.'
Band of brothers: Michael Holding, Gordon Greenidge, Joel Garner and Colin Croft struck fear into the hearts of opposing teams 35 years ago
More from Paul Newman...
Holding is back at The Oval where, in 1976, he produced some of the best and most ferocious fast bowling ever seen. He is with three of his old team-mates to talk about a film that immortalises the 10-year period between the mid-Seventies and mid-Eighties when the West Indies were transformed from happy-go-lucky 'calypso cricketers' to the most compelling and ruthless of winners.
And, 35 years later, Holding, as lean as he was in 1976, is back off his long run from the Vauxhall End. 'Every Englishman and Australian can tell you about the history of the Ashes but a lot of West Indians couldn't tell you about the history of our cricket,' says the most eloquent West Indian voice of them all.
'We don't record or read enough about our history. Young West Indians today think of cricket as a job. It is not just a job. The players are representing a group of people who need representing. A lot of Caribbean people still identify with the West Indies team. It is the only thing we do together. There are islands who have never produced a Test cricketer who still refer to the West Indies as "we".'
Fire in Babylon, which opens in cinemas nationwide on Friday, is a powerful tribute to Holding and his fellow greats. It also, unashamedly, claims that the West Indies were driven by race and politics, as director Stevan Riley confirms. 'They were trying to express black pride and ambition,' says Riley. 'This is about the abandonment of slave and colonial history and the forming of a new one. Cricket was a mechanism for the expression of this team.'
The greats, though, are not so sure about that. 'I wouldn't say I am 100 per cent happy with the connotations and all the things they are implying in the film,' says Holding. Gordon Greenidge, who says that there is a 'resentment' towards the great team from today's West Indian players, says Fire in Babylon depicts a 'reasonable picture' of what happened.
Colin Croft, a leading contributor to the film but who is criticised in it for touring South Africa with the rebel West Indians, goes further. 'It's a good film but I think it's a little too political,' says Croft. 'I guess that's because we were black people winning in a world that was supposed to be controlled by whites. We didn't win because we were black. We won because we were good and just happened to be black. End of story.'
And, boy, were they good. The West Indies gained revenge on the Lillee-and-Thomson Australian team who had humbled them and made Tony Greig's England grovel. After that there was very little looking back for 15 years and criticism of the four-fast-bowler policy that was pivotal to the transformation still rankles.
Floored: England's Andy Lloyd is hit on the head by Malcolm Marshall at Edgbaston in 1984, putting him in hospital for days despite wearing a helmet
'People were trying to detract from what we were doing by criticising having four fast bowlers but when I look back now I think we were ahead of our time,' says Holding. 'People weren't accustomed to change. We didn't ever bowl above shoulder height. Some got hit on the head, yes, but a lot of them ducked into the ball. The one that hit Andy Lloyd at Edgbaston in 1984 was almost lbw!'
Croft, perhaps the meanest fast bowler of them all, concurs. 'We may have been scary to the batsmen and spectators but we were just doing what we were supposed to do - get people out,' he said. 'All Clive Lloyd (the captain) did was look at what he had and recognised he could use us as a weapon. We all had a purpose and role in the team.'
Their like, it seems, will never be seen again and the greats are united in their lament for modern West Indian cricket. Joel Garner, now a member of the West Indies board, wants the International Cricket Council to offer more financial assistance rather than spend money on 'emerging' nations.
Holding believes the problems start at the top, saying: 'If you don't have good management you won't have good production on the ground floor. We need people who won't just sit there and expect things to get better.'
'We can understand today's team might not win all the time like we did but we want to see them fighting a bit harder and not give up so easily,' added Greenidge. 'What the current players are showing is not what you want to see individually or collectively.' And, for starters, Gayle and Co might like to learn a few lessons from a very distinguished past.
Scouting report
Jamie Dalrymple (Middlesex)
Who's this? One of your contributors to Captains Log in the World of Cricket? Doing well at the helm of Glamorgan is he?
Where have you been? After a winter of upheaval in Wales Dalrymple found himself out on his ear and replaced by Alviro Petersen. Glamorgan have never known such turmoil.
Oh dear. Take it on the chin did he? Slip back into the ranks?
Hardly. Jamie (right) left in protest and has turned up back at Middlesex. He is poised to make his first competitive appearance in his second coming with them today.
Nice little low-key second division game? Who are Middlesex playing?
Funny you should ask. They just happen to be facing Glamorgan at Lord's. Dalrymple won't have a point to prove then, will he?
Just a bit. He has broken his silence on the affair to speak to Sportsmail about his sacking. Let him take up the story. 'If I ever get to tell everyone about the whole experience you would think it's a work of fiction. 'It's the sort of script you just couldn't write. The last few months have certainly provided me with lots of motivation.'
Not in the mood to bury the hatchet with Glamorgan chairman Paul Russell then?
Hardly. Go on, Jamie. 'I wasn't told anything in the build-up to my replacement as captain and the last I'd heard was that everything was fine. Ultimately I got to the point where I was unable to continue in the environment in which I was placed.
'I think my relationship with Paul Russell has broken down to the point where it doesn't exist any more.'
Bit of a fruity reunion then. Let's hope Angus Fraser picks Dalrymple today. You know it makes sense
Bumble's world: David Lloyd's week
The good
I like what's been coming out of 'ICC Towers' with some very good ideas from their cricket committee. What really pleases me is that I'm hearing they are going to clamp down on time-wasting by threatening to suspend captains. All the delays that go on now are a nonsense and I'm all for keeping the game moving for spectators. I also like the plan to use two balls in a 50-over innings - that will bring bowlers back into the one-day game - and the idea to ban runners for batsmen. If you're not fit, get off!
The bad
It may have gone unnoticed but a former Pakistan Test player called Akram Raza has been arrested in Lahore for placing illegal bets on IPL matches. Corruption is still a blot on our game and there's been a lot of rumour and innuendo about certain World Cup matches. What gets me is that, even after last summer's goings-on, we still don't really know how the ICC's anti-corruption unit works. It all seems a bit Eric Idle - 'nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more'. What worries me is that this cancer does not seem to be going away.
Newman's talking point
Glamorgan yesterday put a positive spin on ticket sales for next week's first Test at Cardiff, saying there had been a 'surge' of interest. Mind you, as they remain 'confident' that there will be 10,000 present for each of the first three days at a stadium that holds 16,000, they are clearly not expecting to post the 'sold out' signs yet. As Glamorgan chairman Paul Russell told Sportsmail, it is crucial for the credibility of Cardiff as a Test venue for this game to be well supported. He still faces an anxious week while the Welsh public decide if Sri Lanka are a big enough attraction.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cri...#ixzz1N7ihGhAN
Four greats who fired the passion of the Caribbean
Last updated at 9:39 AM on 19th May 2011
It is not uncommon for modern players to be unaware of history but you might expect a former West Indies captain to know something of the West Indian team that changed the face of cricket. Not so.
'Chris Gayle came up to me after seeing the film in Jamaica,' says Michael Holding of Fire in Babylon, the acclaimed documentary about arguably the greatest cricket team of them all. 'He was totally shocked about what we did. He had no idea. That's not good.'
Band of brothers: Michael Holding, Gordon Greenidge, Joel Garner and Colin Croft struck fear into the hearts of opposing teams 35 years ago
More from Paul Newman...
- Paul Newman: Stuart Law will let aggressive Sri Lankans off the leash 11/05/11
- Paul Newman's diary: Sydney's warm glow but charity stops on the pitch 05/01/11
- Paul Newman's diary: How whingeing Aussies are all worked up over pitch 22/12/10
- Paul Newman's diary: Mitchell shows why Test cricket is simply the best 17/12/10
- Paul Newman's Ashes diary: Even with Reg Prior, Jim could not fix it to win 15/12/10
- Paul Newman: Tremlett, Shahzad and Bresnan battle for last bowling spot 10/12/10
- Paul Newman's diary: How we all became part of the Aussie soap Oprah 08/12/10
- Paul Newman's Ashes diary: You can forgive the odd rant... but don't swear! 03/12/10
- VIEW FULL ARCHIVE
Holding is back at The Oval where, in 1976, he produced some of the best and most ferocious fast bowling ever seen. He is with three of his old team-mates to talk about a film that immortalises the 10-year period between the mid-Seventies and mid-Eighties when the West Indies were transformed from happy-go-lucky 'calypso cricketers' to the most compelling and ruthless of winners.
And, 35 years later, Holding, as lean as he was in 1976, is back off his long run from the Vauxhall End. 'Every Englishman and Australian can tell you about the history of the Ashes but a lot of West Indians couldn't tell you about the history of our cricket,' says the most eloquent West Indian voice of them all.
'We don't record or read enough about our history. Young West Indians today think of cricket as a job. It is not just a job. The players are representing a group of people who need representing. A lot of Caribbean people still identify with the West Indies team. It is the only thing we do together. There are islands who have never produced a Test cricketer who still refer to the West Indies as "we".'
Fire in Babylon, which opens in cinemas nationwide on Friday, is a powerful tribute to Holding and his fellow greats. It also, unashamedly, claims that the West Indies were driven by race and politics, as director Stevan Riley confirms. 'They were trying to express black pride and ambition,' says Riley. 'This is about the abandonment of slave and colonial history and the forming of a new one. Cricket was a mechanism for the expression of this team.'
The greats, though, are not so sure about that. 'I wouldn't say I am 100 per cent happy with the connotations and all the things they are implying in the film,' says Holding. Gordon Greenidge, who says that there is a 'resentment' towards the great team from today's West Indian players, says Fire in Babylon depicts a 'reasonable picture' of what happened.
Colin Croft, a leading contributor to the film but who is criticised in it for touring South Africa with the rebel West Indians, goes further. 'It's a good film but I think it's a little too political,' says Croft. 'I guess that's because we were black people winning in a world that was supposed to be controlled by whites. We didn't win because we were black. We won because we were good and just happened to be black. End of story.'
And, boy, were they good. The West Indies gained revenge on the Lillee-and-Thomson Australian team who had humbled them and made Tony Greig's England grovel. After that there was very little looking back for 15 years and criticism of the four-fast-bowler policy that was pivotal to the transformation still rankles.
Floored: England's Andy Lloyd is hit on the head by Malcolm Marshall at Edgbaston in 1984, putting him in hospital for days despite wearing a helmet
'People were trying to detract from what we were doing by criticising having four fast bowlers but when I look back now I think we were ahead of our time,' says Holding. 'People weren't accustomed to change. We didn't ever bowl above shoulder height. Some got hit on the head, yes, but a lot of them ducked into the ball. The one that hit Andy Lloyd at Edgbaston in 1984 was almost lbw!'
Croft, perhaps the meanest fast bowler of them all, concurs. 'We may have been scary to the batsmen and spectators but we were just doing what we were supposed to do - get people out,' he said. 'All Clive Lloyd (the captain) did was look at what he had and recognised he could use us as a weapon. We all had a purpose and role in the team.'
Their like, it seems, will never be seen again and the greats are united in their lament for modern West Indian cricket. Joel Garner, now a member of the West Indies board, wants the International Cricket Council to offer more financial assistance rather than spend money on 'emerging' nations.
Holding believes the problems start at the top, saying: 'If you don't have good management you won't have good production on the ground floor. We need people who won't just sit there and expect things to get better.'
'We can understand today's team might not win all the time like we did but we want to see them fighting a bit harder and not give up so easily,' added Greenidge. 'What the current players are showing is not what you want to see individually or collectively.' And, for starters, Gayle and Co might like to learn a few lessons from a very distinguished past.
Scouting report
Jamie Dalrymple (Middlesex)
Who's this? One of your contributors to Captains Log in the World of Cricket? Doing well at the helm of Glamorgan is he?
Where have you been? After a winter of upheaval in Wales Dalrymple found himself out on his ear and replaced by Alviro Petersen. Glamorgan have never known such turmoil.
Oh dear. Take it on the chin did he? Slip back into the ranks?
Hardly. Jamie (right) left in protest and has turned up back at Middlesex. He is poised to make his first competitive appearance in his second coming with them today.
Nice little low-key second division game? Who are Middlesex playing?
Funny you should ask. They just happen to be facing Glamorgan at Lord's. Dalrymple won't have a point to prove then, will he?
Just a bit. He has broken his silence on the affair to speak to Sportsmail about his sacking. Let him take up the story. 'If I ever get to tell everyone about the whole experience you would think it's a work of fiction. 'It's the sort of script you just couldn't write. The last few months have certainly provided me with lots of motivation.'
Not in the mood to bury the hatchet with Glamorgan chairman Paul Russell then?
Hardly. Go on, Jamie. 'I wasn't told anything in the build-up to my replacement as captain and the last I'd heard was that everything was fine. Ultimately I got to the point where I was unable to continue in the environment in which I was placed.
'I think my relationship with Paul Russell has broken down to the point where it doesn't exist any more.'
Bit of a fruity reunion then. Let's hope Angus Fraser picks Dalrymple today. You know it makes sense
Bumble's world: David Lloyd's week
The good
I like what's been coming out of 'ICC Towers' with some very good ideas from their cricket committee. What really pleases me is that I'm hearing they are going to clamp down on time-wasting by threatening to suspend captains. All the delays that go on now are a nonsense and I'm all for keeping the game moving for spectators. I also like the plan to use two balls in a 50-over innings - that will bring bowlers back into the one-day game - and the idea to ban runners for batsmen. If you're not fit, get off!
The bad
It may have gone unnoticed but a former Pakistan Test player called Akram Raza has been arrested in Lahore for placing illegal bets on IPL matches. Corruption is still a blot on our game and there's been a lot of rumour and innuendo about certain World Cup matches. What gets me is that, even after last summer's goings-on, we still don't really know how the ICC's anti-corruption unit works. It all seems a bit Eric Idle - 'nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more'. What worries me is that this cancer does not seem to be going away.
Newman's talking point
Glamorgan yesterday put a positive spin on ticket sales for next week's first Test at Cardiff, saying there had been a 'surge' of interest. Mind you, as they remain 'confident' that there will be 10,000 present for each of the first three days at a stadium that holds 16,000, they are clearly not expecting to post the 'sold out' signs yet. As Glamorgan chairman Paul Russell told Sportsmail, it is crucial for the credibility of Cardiff as a Test venue for this game to be well supported. He still faces an anxious week while the Welsh public decide if Sri Lanka are a big enough attraction.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cri...#ixzz1N7ihGhAN
'Chris Gayle came up to me after seeing the film in Jamaica,' says Michael Holding of Fire in Babylon, the acclaimed documentary about arguably the greatest cricket team of them all. 'He was totally shocked about what we did. He had no idea. That's not good.'
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