"Focus on the cricket": Hooper
The potential violence that faces Sri Lanka ahead and after its December 5 parliamentary elections is of little worry to the West Indies team
Haydn Gill
31-Oct-2001
The potential violence that faces Sri Lanka ahead and after
its December 5 parliamentary elections is of little worry to
the West Indies team.
Captain Carl Hooper, manager Ricky Skerritt and the rest of
the squad were in an upbeat mood ahead of their departure
for the Asian country yesterday.
While speaking to reporters at the Grantley Adams
International Airport, Hooper said the whole situation
should hopefully have no effect on the team.
The minute the decision was taken for the tour to go on, we
as professionals have had to focus straight on the cricket,
the West Indies captain said.
If we start worrying about what is happening off the field
with the politics in Sri Lanka, it would be a wrong note to
start the tour on. We are totally focussed and committed to
playing good cricket in Sri Lanka. What's happening off the
field will take care of itself.
Last July, there was a Tamil Tigers attack on Colombo
Airport that destroyed several aircraft and killed 30
people, while there was a blast on the outskirts of the
capital two days ago that killed a suicide bomber from the
Tamil Tigers, a policeman and injured 17 others.
In light of safety concerns, West Indies Cricket Board
president Reverend Wes Hall was given assurances over
security from goverment and cricket officials in Sri Lanka
at an International Cricket Council meet in Malaysia less
than two weeks ago.
Skerritt, who met with top officials in Sri Lanka's Ministry
of National Security before the announcement of the date for
general elections, said security was not a big issue for the
team.
What they tell me in Sri Lanka is that this is very local
political party versus political party and it gets heated up
close to the election, he said.
We don't expect to experience any of it or very little of
it. If we find that the security arrangements are not to our
satisfaction, we are going to try to get it improved and if
we can't get it improved, we'll have to take other steps.
Skerritt tried to play down the issue by pointing to
political violence that affected Jamaica while the team was
in camp in Kingston as well as the staging of a Test match
in Guyana earlier this year, a week ahead of elections.
None of us felt the effects of it because none of us is
involved in politics, he said.
When asked if he was disturbed by Monday's reports in
Colombo, the West Indies manager said: Any news about death
and violence is perturbing. I'm not trying to cast any
aspersions. Unfortunately, these have become far too common
in too many cities, but cricketers tend to get very
protected from that reality. We don't have any reason to get
involved or close to it. But we will be vigilant and we will
continue to make sure that everything possible is done to
give us the best possible security.
Squad: Carl Hooper (captain), Ridley Jacobs (vicecaptain), Chris Gayle, Daren Ganga, Brian Lara, Ramnaresh
Sarwan, Marlon Samuels, Wavell Hinds, Leon Garrick, Neil
McGarrell, Dinanath Ramnarine, Colin Stuart, Mervyn Dillon,
Marlon Black, Reon King, Pedro Collins.Ricky Skerritt
(manager), Roger Harper (coach), Ronald Rogers (sports
therapist).