Breaking the spell (3 January 1999)

3 January 1999

Breaking the spell

By Andrea Procope

DURBAN - "What this team needs is a sangoua," our Jamaican tour co-ordinator was quoted as saying in a local KwaZulu-Natal newspaper two days before the West Indies team suffered their third consecutive Test defeat on the tour of South Africa.

Sangouma is the Zulu word for witchdoctor.

By the end of the first day's play, at which time it was clear that only "black" magic could save the Windies from defeat, the Caribbean fans in the seaside town of Durban, like typical West Indians, had their own opinions on what should be done about the region's cricket.

"They should scrap all o'dese players and start over."

"Why should we get upset and care when dem players themselves don't seem to care?"

We were all hurting.

One supporter was in tears.

Many of us tried to rationalise the fact that we came all this by indicating that it was not just to support the West Indies but to have the opportunity to visit the land of our forefathers and mothers.

The post mortem continued well into the night at the hotel bar as we tried to conjure up a solution to the problems facing West Indies cricket.

By midnight, no magic formula was forthcoming and the conversation had changed to easier topics such as the experience of God and the meaning of life.

The next morning only 22 of the original 24 group members turned up for the first ball of play.

We waved our flags and shouted our support to the players and, whenever things were not going too well, we turned up the calypso on our stereo. It was at full blast by day's end.

By the third day of the match, some of our group members began arriving late and the remaining die-hards instituted a ten rand fine (about BDS$2) for latecomers and absentees.

Things started to look better for a while on the third day when Lara and Chanderpaul tried to invoke some sort of sorcery with their batting, but it did not last. Our hopes had been raised momentarily and then the batting collapse that ensued left us completely deflated.

"Can't we have just one day of cricket where we can feel good de whole day?" a frustrated "Trini" cried.

Amazingly, only one of our group could not bear to witness the final rites performed on the fourth day. The inevitable defeat came almost in silence when, as if to ensure our agony was complete, the batteries in the stereo died.

The reaction to us from South Africans has ranged from one of pity to one of jeers.

All of this has simply added to our pain, but the extra day off from cricket afforded me a trip to Kwa-Muhle (Durban's apartheid museum) where the "suffering" of the West Indies team and its fans was put into its true perspective.

Andrea Procope is a cricket enthusiast currently in South Africa following the West Indies cricket team.

Editor's note: This article was written before the start of the fourth Test.

Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)