I love cricket.
The recent World T20 series reminded me just how much I miss the game.
In fact, the win by the West Indies was the most beautiful moment in sports we have seen in a long time. It was the kind of performance books are going to be written about.
Lest I bore the non-cricketers with the details, I’ll get to the gist of this one. Quick background:
The World T20 series is a world championship where major cricket playing nations battle it out for the top spot. The tournament is held every two years.
T20 cricket is the shortest version of the game. It is played like normal cricket, except in three hours and not a day or five as in the longest version (test cricket).
The new champions – West Indies – made history in India last weekend.
Not only did the men’s team come out tops, but the West Indies women’s team and the men’s under 19 team also won the tournament in their respective categories!
In the words of the Windies men’s captain, Darren Sammy: “Everybody know West Indies are champian” (no spelling mistake, that’s how they pronounce it!).
But it is the men’s win I wish to focus on.
Why was it so important, and why did I get a little emotional watching some of the match, post-match, and celebration interviews footage?
When the West Indies’ men’s team left their country for India – where the tournament was held – they did not have a cricket uniform, or training gear for that matter.
It took the outstanding effort of their team manager to literally “hustle” in order to get the guys some threads.
The reason for that disorganisation is that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has failed to support its teams in the way it should.
Financially there are disputes that have been ongoing for years because players have not been paid.
When the team left for the sub-continent, they effectively did not have the backing or the blessing of the WICB.
It was just a group of 15 men and the coaching staff against the world, in a sense.
The odds were stacked against them.
This reminded me of a similar West Indies team: the team captained by the legendary Clive Lloyd and then Sir Viv Richards.
This era of Caribbean cricket will probably go down as some of the best years of Windies cricket.
Some of the greatest men to ever play the game were in that team. And that time, the seventies into the eighties, was phenomenal. Similarly, Windies cricket management wasn’t the greatest towards players. The players weren’t as rated overseas and effectively the odds were against them. Until, in true Hollywood fashion, the turnaround era came.
For a period of approximately 10 years, the Windies of that era played for their pride, dignity, and heritage.
That period, captured in a documentary called Fire in Babylon, was the golden era of Windies cricket. We were introduced to Michael Holding and Viv Richards, among other legends.
It was a story of the underdog coming out strong.
Since then, Windies cricket has been respected and feared.
In 2016, at the World T20 in India, the generation of Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle have reminded us of the brilliance of Windies cricket.
I was truly encouraged by Darren Sammy’s post-match speech.
I was reminded of the fact that sometimes the odds are truly stacked against us. Nothing seems to be working out, people may not believe in you and you may feel like giving up.
And it is in those times where you need to take the few that are with you and decide to win – whatever the cost.
Maybe you don’t have the same opportunities others seem to be getting.
Perhaps you’re not in the “in -crowd” (whatever that means), but when you focus, head to the ground, shoulder to the wheel, and eventually succeed, people will be forced to pay attention to you, because – in the words of Sammy – “Everyone knows West Indies are champian!”
The odds are against you, but you’re a champion!
Check out Sammy’s speech below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9hJWmL5Hpk&nohtml5=False