Tour Diary

If not for a phone call from Ranjib Biswal, the Indian selector who is doubling up as the team manager, Rahul Dravid might have not addressed the press after the game. In what was a blatant lapse, Dravid left with the rest of the team after the game, forgetting his customary meeting with the members of the media. To his credit, though, he made sure he returned, termed it as a "miscommunication" and was pretty apologetic.

32nd over of the West Indies innings. Yuvraj Singh to Lara, back of a length delivery outside off, glided to third man delectably. Harbhajan and Raina give chase. As they near the boundary line, a yellow object is hurled from someone in the bottom tier of the Cyril L Duprey stand. Raina is mortified; Harbhajan has a puzzled look. Play is held up for a couple of minutes, Dravid has a word with the umpire and security personnel try and hunt out the culprit.

It was an unfortunate blackmark in a series that's witnessed some outstanding crowd behaviour. Watching cricket in the West Indies is like being amid a giant party and, despite all their banter and sledging, the crowds have shown a deep understanding of the game. Dhoni may not get the cheers he does in India but there's a wave of anticipation whenever he strides out to the crease. Sehwag's clattering at St Kitts was applauded, as were a number of other efforts.

The spirit has been a far cry from what West Indies experienced when they toured India in 2002. The game at Rajkot had to be stopped because of bottles being thrown into the playing area and other games were affected by unruly behaviour as well.

With direct flights all taken, I had chosen to go from St Kitts to Port-of-Spain via Antigua. With seven hours to kill, there was enough time to drop in at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium, which is being readied for the World Cup next year.

Located in Northsound, around 10 kilometres from the Antigua Recreation Ground, the stadium lies in isolation with large empty spaces surrounding it. With mountains enveloping the ground, though from a fair distance, the top view is more like a giant crater.

Q: Chanderpaul appeared to bat better once he got the runner. Why was that?

The 100 metres race at the forthcoming IAAF meet at Gateshead in England, just about three weeks away, is arguably the most-hyped athletics event in recent times but Asafa Powell, the Jamaican sprint king, appears completely unfazed.

In a quiet setting in the National Stadium at Kingston, he seems unflappable, going through his paces undisturbed, preparing to take on Justin Gatlin, his arch-rival. Gatlin recently, for a few days at least, broke Asafa's record but now, after a few scientific adjustments, they stand on an equal 9.77 seconds.

The five epithets inscribed on his gravestone tell the story - keen cricketer, unselfish friend, worthy hero, loyal disciple, happy warrior. They all refer to someone who Sir Garfield Sobers felt was a greater allrounder than himself; someone who was the "people's hero" in Jamaica; and someone whose magical spirit was tragically cut short at the tender age of 26. O'Neill Gordon Smith, or Collie to most, will never be forgotten in these parts, especially in the regions around Boys' Town.

When Sobers devotes an entire chapter in his book, Cricket Crusader, to a fellow cricketer, you realise he must have been special. In the chapter titled 'Collie', Sobers wrote: "He had the heart of a giant, an unquenchable ecstasy of spirit, a joyous nature and unmatchable zest for living - and for cricket." The performances show Collie to be special: at 21, in 1954-55, he scored centuries in consecutive games against Australia on his first-class and Test debut respectively; and at 24 he produced a hundred in his first appearance against England, during the course of which he hit a six off Jim Laker which broke the tiles on the ladies' balcony over long-on.

According to a few who saw Collie the "Mighty Mouse", he was a "more than useful" offspinner, modelling himself on Laker; an "exceptional" fielder; and an "awesome batsman", one who attacked with a dash comparable to Sobers. More importantly, he played a carefree brand of cricket - his first scoring shot in England was a six - and always believed that sportsmen needed to entertain. But Collie's most significant achievement was to inspire a whole generation of young West Indians, and make them believe that dreams can be realised.

Once you enter Trench Town, it doesn't take too long to realise that you're in Bob Marley territory. The walls have caricatures of Marley and bright screaming headlines concerning the Wailers. In a lane opposite Boys' Town cricket and football club, is arguably one of Jamaica's most famous houses – the one where Marley lived.

There's a flag of Jamaica outside, music blaring from a speaker, and a couple of men, decorated with Rastafarian braids, smoking. We're not allowed inside the house but take a tour of the backyard. There's Marley's van, now in a dilapidated state, on the verge of collapse; there's Marley's statue, a medium-sized structure erected from plaster of Paris, with a guitar in his hand and a football at his feet. On the plinth, are drawings of Haile Selassie I, the Ethopian emperor who was a strong advocate of Rastafarianism, and Marcus Garvey, one of the pioneers of black emancipation in these parts. Hens cackle at Marley's feet; the music in the background gets louder.

It's raining on the eve of the match and the Indian batsmen are forced into a makeshift indoor arrangement. It's interesting to observe how they practice mastering their catching, with a pseudo hand table-tennis kind of game.

Two tables, one smaller than the other, are placed one next to the other. One player underarms it on the table and the other is supposed to catch it clean - no fumbling, no use of body, no juggling. He also can't catch it with his hands in the table area. Each fumble or drop costs a point. The first to five loses. Sehwag joyfully registers victory after victory, in a winner stays format, before Yuvraj ends his reign.

Yuvraj stays on to eventually beat all but there's one hurdle even he can't clear. Chappell arrives right at the end and upstages him 5-4 in the most thrilling event of the day. Frazer says Chappell can play this game all day and recalls a tour of the USA when Chappell went undefeated. Playing a similar sort of game called twisty-twosty, BJT Bosanquet invented the googly. Watch this space for further developments.

Joseph Charles Morris, or simply Charlie, is integral to Sabina Park. Way back in 1959, he came to the ground as a volunteer ball boy. Soon he was part of the groundstaff, earning a royal sum of five shillings a week. Thirteen years later, he was elevated to the post of curator. Where there's Charlie, there's a story. He has the memory of an elephant and the cheekiness of a squirrel.

In 1972 both Charlie and Lawrence Rowe made their Test debuts, one with a roller and the other with a bat. Charlie did his bit by giving the local hero a belter; Rowe responded by smacking 214 and 100 not out. Charlie remembers the knock, tells you how Rowe's grip was one of a kind, tells you that there was no batsman more beautiful to watch, repeats that there was no batsman more beautiful to watch. "He whistle when he cover-drove maan, we soon whistle with him."

It's all happening at the Kingston Cricket Club at Sabina Park. Nothing to do with cricket, but a small matter of around 40 fans watching Arsenal take on Barcelona in the Champions League final. Support is divided. Raucous noise threatens to shatter a few glass bottles in the bar. The referee, being an easy target to vent spleen, dies a thousand deaths. Either way he is doomed – the abuses are guaranteed.

Arsenal lose one man. Mayhem. Arsenal score. Mayhem. Soon after half-time, the bar manager realises that people are more interested in the football than in his beer. He promptly switches off the television. Says there's construction work to be completed ahead of the India-West Indies cricket match.