In The Papers Today (Oct 21, 2005)

Fri, Oct 21, '05

Tony Cozier writes from Australia on how the outcome of the ICC Super Series has affected the West Indies chances of leaving Australia as a successful unit.

Cozier refers to comments made by former Australian captain Ian Chappell, who went on the record saying: ""If Australia had to go into the (West Indies) series without anything in the interim they would have still had the doubts raised by their loss to England hanging over them."

His article appears in the Trinidad Express, Barbados Nation and Guyana's Stabroek News.

Chappell appears to be the man of the hour, with a second Cozier piece relaying his opinions. Those are, that the West Indies need a father figure and that Shivnarine Chanderpaul cannot fill the role.

He says Chanderpaul's captaincy in Sri Lanka was predictable and reactive, and he noticed a positive change in approach when Sylvester Joseph took the reigns as skipper.

As the highly contentious Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board general elections draw closer, the Trinidad Guardian reports that the Queens Park Cricket Club has had to find a last minute replacement for one of their members, who will be out of the country at the time of the election and therefore unavailable to cast a vote.

Interestingly enough, Roop Chan Chadeesingh will be in England conducting business in his role as Betting Levy Chairman and has been replaced by Dave Francois.

National captain Daren Ganga will miss playing in the second trial match from which the Trinidad & Tobago Carib Beer Series squad will be selected.

Ganga is still hampered by the injury which sidelined him, along with Ricardo Powell, Ravi Rampaul, Dave Mohammed and Reyad Emrit, during the first match.

Sports Arena, the Guardian?s weekly magazine, has a Vinode Mamchan-written Q&A on World Cup preparations.

In it, Mamchan reveals that 35,000 volunteers will be required to stage the event and the LOC (we assume Trinidad & Tobago?s) explains World Cup facts and addresses issues such as security, tourism and economic benefits.

Everard Gordon poises a controversial question when he asks if the likes of Clive Lloyd, Sir Garfield Sobers and Andy Roberts ? directors of the Stanford 20/20 tournament ? are interested in supporting cricket or money.

The three were among a group of twelve legends on hand for R Allen Stanford?s US$28 million announcement, and Gordon suggests that the competition is merely another instalment of the dramas invoked by Kerry Packer?s World Series Cricket.

Gearing up for the Antigua & Barbuda Sports Tourism Alliance Independence Cricket Fest, to be held from 28-30 October and Richie Richardson, the organisers? chief executive officer, says that it could become a major international event for Antigua.

As reported by Elwin Francis in the Antigua Sun, more than just cricket is in store. Richardson says, "We will play cricket during the day and party at night. We will have international artiste coming in and performing and stuff like that." Ah, don?t you just love ?stuff??!

CMC will televise the matches, which will be played by West Indies and England legends sides along with teams from Guyana, Jamaica, Lashings International, a West Indies Select XI and an Antigua & Barbuda XI, throughout the Caribbean, the United States and around the world.

A ten year old Barbadian girl by the name of Chazelle Cumberbatch has made headlines in the Barbados Nation, with Ezra Stuart reporting on her amazing bowling figures of eight wickets for seven runs.

The outstanding show came in the Guardian General Herman Griffith Primary Schools Cricket Competition on Thursday. However, as Stuart?s article went on to say the child sporting prodigy won the Cricket Ball Throw event at the Barbados primary schools athletics championship, alarm bells sounded for Media Watch. A player with exceptional bowling figures also won the cricket ball throw? Time to call in the biomechanists...

As reported in the Barbados Advocate, the Cricket World Cup 2007 Local Organising Committee is taking the event to sporting associations throughout the country.

Chief operations officer of the Barbados LOC, Vancourt Rouse, made a presentation to sports officials at the University of the West Indies recently, explaining the ways in which local associations can get involved.

On the Web site Cayman Net News, Philip Hackett writes about rowdy spectator behaviour at Bourda during the final of the KFC Cup. Indiscretions included booing and throwing ?missiles? at the Barbados team, and a skit involving a bench put on in reference to the infamous treatment of Guyanese at Grantley Adams International Airport.

Booing the opposition is a standard tactic and throwing things onto the field is definitely out of order, but you have to admit the bench skit was pretty funny!

In the Stabroek News, Michael Da Silva reports from the opening Carib Beer inter-county four-day cricket competition with news that Krishna Arjune built on his day one score of 141 not out to finish the second day on 204 not out. As a result, Demerara declared on 491-6.

Essequibo put up a strong fight in reply, with an unbroken partnership of 136 between Wayne Osbourne and Ramesh Narine, on 65 and 81 not out overnight. Narine survived an early chance, as Ryan Ramdass continued to display the stellar fielding ability demonstrated on the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year. With five batsmen out for 253 runs, they need a further 88 runs to avoid following on.

Elsewhere in the paper, it is reported that Bryce Cavanagh, the not-so-new Aussie 'Fat Blaster', put the West Indies team through their paces with a light pool workout soon after touching down in Brisbane.

The squad left the Caribbean on Monday, arrived in Australia on Thursday and were put straight to work by the man Stephen Partridge, team physiotherapist describes as a "drill sergeant type."

The Guyana Chronicle reports on the West Berbice Cricket Association's 20/20 competition which is currently underway with the primary objective of bringing spectators back to the game of cricket. The tournament final will be played on November 6th.

Reading Jennifer Dudley?s Courier Mail piece on the West Indies team antics in Brisbane brings a smile to the lips of Media Watch.

As members of the squad are criticised for shopping rather than sleeping, and their choices in clothing, accessories and women are analysed, we can only assume the Queenslanders, who prefer a uniform of navy blue singlets, stubbies and thongs, are jealous of the West Indian style.

Or, that every young Australian female read Richard Nowell?s report after the last tour down under and figured they might as well try to make the cricketers? little black books...