Cricket Tour Programme

JOHN WOODCOCK OBE OSE, President of the Cricket Writers’ Club (1986–2004), Editor of Wisden (1981–1986), Times Cricket Correspondent (1954–1988).

All three were among the finest batsmen of any generation, and all were born and lived within six months and a few miles of each other on an island comparable in size to our Isle of Wight. Barbadians are among the most natural of all cricketers – not quite as dominant collectively, perhaps, as when they took on a Rest of the World XI and held their own, but still tremendously keen and a real handful on their own island. If the local teams you play were to be competing in the John Harvey Cup, I have no doubt they would be in the running were it held in the West Indies – though perhaps not in the Home Counties – so you can expect a stern test unlike those you will face on your own circuit. The average Bajan enjoys nothing more than emulating the greatest fast bowlers of the day. Tony Lewis, the former England captain, tells the story of a couple of waiters in one of the fine hotels up the west coast, the Coral Reef Club, who asked him if they could bowl at him in the nets. Thinking it was a good opportunity for some batting practice he agreed, but he got rather more than he bargained for as one bouncer after another rained down upon him! Take note that the locals, for their part, can be seriously uncomfortable against accurate spin. Whatever you do, keep smiling, respect the sun, remember that one rum punch is dangerous and two can make a fool of you, have a marvellous time and thank your lucky stars for the experience of a lifetime.

This is probably no bad time, so soon after England’s two heavy defeats by the West Indies, to be having to play cricket in the small Caribbean island most renowned for its flair and love for the game. It will serve as a reminder that Teddies will need to be at their best to match the excitement of the environment and to make up in their own way for England’s recent setbacks. Only India produce batsmen as instinctively talented as those from Barbados. The island’s reputation as one of the great cricket nurseries dates from the 1940s and the emergence of three legendary batsmen: the three ‘Ws’, as they were known, of Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell.

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