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BRYAN DAVIS
I quote Azim Bassarath, the president of Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB): “While cricket in all its forms has evolved over the decades, the local game has not been able to match strides, as we still persist in relying heavily on playing two-day cricket in preparation for four-day matches at the highest level.”
When I first played club cricket in 1959 there were three-day games played on three consecutive Saturdays. It consisted of four hours a day. It started at 1.45pm and concluded at 6pm with a 15-minute break for tea. Three days of cricket over two weeks, a total of 12 hours per game. Eight teams participated, which meant there were only seven games.
This was the schedule in the north and south of the island in separate competitions. The winners met in a "play-to-the-finish game" at the end of the season, which took place every weekend to the completion. It was played at alternate venues every year.
In that first year I was chosen to tour Guyana to participate in a triangular tournament between TT, Jamaica and the hosts. There were just two games to be played, the first was between Jamaica and TT, and the winner met Guyana. The matches were of first-class status and lasted five days.
I recall two delightful centuries, one by Kenny Furlonge – 105, and Joey Carew – 114. Furlonge also made 51 in the first innings. They were both 22 years old and had a partnership of 183.
Kenny, who eventually played for Maple, was playing with Harvard at the time and Joey was at Queen’s Park.
The important and relative point I’m making here, is that any cricketer worth his salt does not have to play three-day club cricket in order to be successful in a four- or five-day game. TT lost that match by two wickets and it went into the fifth day. The scores were TT 179 & 363 for nine; Jamaica 273 and 271 for two.
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There are many more examples of this type; for instance, Charran Singh, in his debut first-class match for TT, picked up five wickets for 69 runs in 32 overs, without breaking down or being worn out with fatigue. He was well prepared for the assignment and did not have to play three-day club cricket to know what to do when handed that ball to bowl at batsmen. Nyron Asgarali was the captain and kept guiding us on the right path on how to play the game.
In 1970 TT won the Shell Shield in its fourth year of competition.
Although it started in 1966, no games were scheduled in 1968 because of the England tour of the Caribbean. The cricket authorities found it difficult to fit in the league schedule with the five Test matches, plus games with the territories.
TT repeated in 1971 and again, there was no three-day match schedule for club cricket in TT.
Three-day club cricket starting on a Friday, will be extremely problematic to stage in the amateur set-up that exists in TT. Though many of our cricketers are now professional, one cannot depend on them to be available for all games for all clubs. It will be exceedingly daunting, if not outright impossible, for amateur clubs to employ professional cricketers to play on a weekly basis.
Some advisers who are suggesting that three-day club cricket is the way to go, I can understand from a cricket point of view, however, it is not feasible.
Franchise cricket is giving some people the wrong idea of the amateur cricket that is played among clubs. Because cricketers play in franchise tournaments, which are glorified club competitions, it is believed that is all that is required. However, it is not as simple as that. Amateur cricketers have jobs to support themselves and their families, just as the professionals boast that they have a family to feed, thus, they can’t refuse offers from franchises worldwide.
Umpires will have a similar problem. Clubs will struggle to survive by having to pay groundsmen and scorers for one match day extra every week. Talented youngsters will have school to attend. Every day there will be more expenses in order to pay players. Amateur cricket clubs just cannot afford it and weren’t designed for that purpose; plus, it isn’t really obligatory for producing top players; it has been done for years!
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