Tour of Duty
Onward to Barbados, backpack and all
As I put my backpack behind the security guards desk at the entrance to the ground I walked once more past the myriad barbeques and stalls that abound in the Antigua Recreation Ground
Paul Winslow
25-Feb-2013
As I put my backpack behind the security guards desk at the entrance to the ground I walked once more past the myriad barbeques and stalls that abound in the Antigua Recreation Ground. Stopping off for one last rum punch at Camile's stall and exhorting her to fly over to Barbados to make us some more when were there, I climbed one last time up the rickety stairs to the top tier of the Oil Stand.
This had been an emotional week and it was just about to get worse. I don't usually carry a backpack into a cricket match but my flight was leaving Antigua at 6pm and that, because of the rain delay in the morning, was when the third Test of the series was due to finish. And England, as ever, were never going to help me out by winning early and allowing me to see a
victory.
Indeed I didn't miss a victory either, as I found out when the pilot announced half way through our flight that it had been a draw.
But while there is not much glory in being an England fan, following them is certainly memorable. What happened in Antigua this week was remarkable, and there was a certain irony in the fact that give them a couple of years to put on a Test match they couldn't manage it, but given two days they somehow pulled it off.
Full postJamaica beat
London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down
Paul Winslow
25-Feb-2013
London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down... It seems like a fairly strange song to celebrate victory with, but the Jamaicans gave it a fair few renditions as they celebrated victory against an England team that managed to plumb new depths. For those who have been watching England for years that takes a special kind of effort as there have been some real depths.
We met the Jamaican grins with ironic grins of our own and shared handshakes with them as we left the ground. Their particular handshake consists of a handshake and then a flicking of the thumbs against each other and we've all got the hang of it now. We struggle to understand exactly what they are saying sometimes as the patois leaves us baffled, but there has been a genuine bonding between us and the locals.
Throughout a sporting performance that was so bad it was almost funny there was one particular moment of hilarity. As England were about eight wickets down with over 40 overs to play the stadium announcer made a big song and dance of telling everyone that the ticket office was selling tickets for the next day's play. Everyone in the stadium laughed at that one as the chances of it ever getting that far was slim to none.
With back-to-back Tests now the norm, you never get much time to explore the great places you visit to watch Test cricket. So when a Test finishes a day early the bonus is that you get some free time, but sadly Jamaica is closed on a Sunday so there's little to do but dissect another terrible England performance. And try desperately to get excited about the next one. That's not as difficult as it could be because Antigua is not exactly the worst next port-of-call.
Full postHappy birthday Bob
Paul Winslow
25-Feb-2013
Sometimes I just don't realise how lucky I am. I get so used to watching cricket overseas that it takes a minute of stepping back to realise what I'm up to. A Test match, in Sabina Park, in Jamaica and it's Bob Marley's birthday. The likes of Sir Viv Richards and Michael Holding appear around corners. We go to a bar owned by Courtney Walsh who is always checking up on us to see we're happy.
Sadly we don't see as much of Kingston as we usually do of a Test venue thanks to the universal advice not to walk about too much. Indeed a couple of Barmy Army boys were picked up by someone in a car the other day having basically been told that they should under no circumstances be walking around that particular area on their own.
Full postAn all-too-quiet party
The great thing about watching Test cricket is that while you may be watching the same game it is a dramatically different experience in every country
Paul Winslow
25-Feb-2013
The great thing about watching Test cricket is that while you may be watching the same game it is a dramatically different experience in every country. The bizarre thing here in the West Indies is that, in much the same way as India, you're in a place where the people are cricket mad and you talk to everyone about it and yet the grounds are half empty.
The big difference between here and India is that the Jamaicans are geared up to party. They have specific stands just for partying – although it's not as if the rest of the stadium is like a library. And they sell quarter bottles of rum. Hardly a responsible drinking policy. But there was no partying as the series kicked off; a just a fairly quiet stadium where everything on the pitch could be heard.
But the day warmed up. As the disparate elements of the Barmy Army found each other and the Jamaicans found their way into the ground after work the volume and fun factor rose. While the day's cricket was not exactly exciting and while the day in the crowd was not a classic, by the end of it you felt that this was a game and an atmosphere bubbling under and ready to go.
Let's hope so.
Full postWelcome to paradise
While India has its own charm in a crazy, polluted, rickshaw-laden way, Jamaica is laid back with a clean heat that makes you happy to be alive
Paul Winslow
25-Feb-2013
From one cricket mad country to another, the Barmy Army bandwagon rolls on. But while India has its own charm in a crazy, polluted, rickshaw-laden way, Jamaica is laid back with a clean heat that makes you happy to be alive. And where the welcome of the Indians was an overexcited hyperactive one, here it's more of a laid back enthusiasm. "Welcome to paradise," as one of our hotel staff said to us this morning.
As you walk the streets cars beep a hello. The English cricket fans are in town and boy do we feel welcome. Compared to the dramas preceding the Indian tour, this seems simple, although in truth there was a different kind of drama as we arrived at Gatwick for our flight. While some people missed out on the India tour because of the rescheduling, some will miss the beginning of this one because of the good old British weather.
Rumour has it 120 people were missing of the Virgin flight to Kingston and most of those people were stuck on the M25 in gridlock traffic. Those of us who made it feel a little bit guilty. Before the main event the Barmy Army will play a team put together by the legend that is Courtney Walsh. Then it's into the main event.
I'll be writing missives on Cricinfo throughout the tour and if you check out the Barmy Army website at www.barmyarmy.com/calendar you can check out more details of what's going on in the stands every day.
Full postFarewell, and thanks for the amazing cricket
We've packed so much in and yet at the same time the idea of a whole tour being completed in two weeks is silly
Paul Winslow
25-Feb-2013
And so the tour comes to a close. Tomorrow is the last day and we'll have to miss some of that if we're to get back to Mumbai in time for our flights back to England. It seems amazing to think that just over two weeks ago we were at home with everyone asking whether we would still come on tour. We've packed so much in and yet at the same time the idea of a whole tour being completed in two weeks is silly. None of us are ready to go home yet and the cricket is getting more interesting by the day.
If watching Sachin in Chennai was an honour then watching KP yesterday was similar. His switch-hits are moments of genius and to be here to witness them was something truly special. Sadly not nearly as many people are watching the game in Mohali as there were in Chennai so the atmosphere isn't the same but we're trying hard to do what we can.
Full postThe effort was worthwhile
Well, if we thought yesterday was intense then today was something that took it to a whole new level
Paul Winslow
25-Feb-2013
Well, if we thought yesterday was intense then today was something that took it to a whole new level. We should, as England cricket fans, have been quite distraught at what we watched today. But there was an air of resignation and also huge respect for having seen one of the greatest talents ever play the game play an innings like that. And in the aftermath of events that had happened in Sachin's home city it somehow seemed apt (and to an extent inevitable) that he would pull it off.
And more pertinently it proved that this series should have gone ahead. What better way for a shell-shocked nation to get over recent events than to watch Test cricket and watch one of its greatest players produce something like that? And it was a shot in the arm for Test cricket because while we'd sat at home watching India play Australia in front of a handful of people, the stadium here was packed. The noise was amazing and it was quite fun for the few England fans to try singing in the middle of it. We could barely hear ourselves speak, never mind sing, but we persevered anyway.
We also achieved a relationship with the Indian fans that was heart-warming. If I shook one hand on the way out I must have shaken a hundred and they were full of conciliation to us for having watched our team lose. Coming on tour was always primarily about watching cricket, but having people appreciate our attendance in the wake of recent events makes it all the more worthwhile.
Hopefully we'll be the ones commiserating with them in Mohali though.
Full postSehwag causes a racket
Wow
Paul Winslow
25-Feb-2013
Wow. That was intense. I've been fortunate enough to have watched cricket all around the world but never in my life have I experienced anything like the bedlam in the ground today as Sehwag was smashing our bowling to all parts of the ground.
The barrage of noise was intense. The Barmy Army is renowned for being loud and some might say rowdy, but compared to the Indian fans we're fairly quiet. Never have so many plastic bottles been banged against so many seats and made so much of a racket.
It's a privilege to watch Test cricket overseas but this was something else. To witness such a great innings and to be party to the crowd's reaction is something that will live with us forever. And the nicest part of it all? When Swanny took Sehwag's wicket half the Indians in the crowd turned round and shook our hands. Much appreciated and our relationship with the Indian fans is a real highlight of this tour.
Full postOut-Barmied by India's loyal billions
Paul Winslow
25-Feb-2013
Everyone knows how crazy the Indian fans are. Everyone knows how much noise they make. But only when you're in the middle of it can you truly understand it. They applaud every run like it's a century and make noise for no apparent reason. Now we're perfectly capable of that in the Barmy Army as well, but these guys take it to extremes. And this is when their stadium is less than half full and their team is struggling.
The huge security was very little yesterday and even less today, which meant there was an even bigger opportunity to concentrate on the cricket and for an England fan that was a good thing today. We figured it was going to be tough against this batting line up but our bowlers came to the party and the few fans we have bought over here made themselves heard in a big way to help the boys along.
Full postLife (and cricket) goes on
Instead of discussing recent events, today became about Paul Collingwood's rather questionable decision; about the performance of Andrew Strauss and everything cricket
Paul Winslow
25-Feb-2013
As we approached the stadium in Chennai on the morning of the first Test there was almost a sense of anticlimax. With the way people had been talking we had half been expecting a battalion at every corner, but outside the ground there was nothing unusual about any police or army presence. Could this really be the Test which had been under such threat?
Getting in the ground itself was something of an issue although we'd actually got past the bit where you buy tickets and show them to get in the grounds by this time. Then came the searches and the moment I knew was coming as they attempted to take my camera. I politely refused and sweet-talked someone into allowing me in although the original security guard was not impressed.
Apart from that, our presence here has been warmly received. One kid had gone to the effort of creating a banner to thank us and on the main scoreboard there were messages texted in appreciation of our attendance. In our hotel there was much excitement about the fact we had come over.
Full post