My relationship with ICC security man Ron Hope is great. He came and bollocked me just before the T20 international in Trinidad for having my mobile phone in public view within touching distance of the players changing room. “But it was turned off,” I protested. “Doesn’t matter,” he growled through a smile. “They have been the scourge of international cricket in the past and I don’t want to see yours anywhere near the players.” Fair point. We’ve had breakfast together since and laughed about it – as well as having some interesting chats about match-fixing and corruption. It will never go away.
Remarkable to see and hear how easy it is for former internationals to trash the quality of cricket played in Trinidad. Zimbabwe, nervous and desperate to make a favourable impression with the rest of the cricket playing world watching, crashed to 0-3 after three overs. It was almost too painful to bear. Even I, as the ‘outsider’, would have happily been swallowed up by the earth.
But the fightback was doughty, if not heroic, and the bowling plan was executed to perfection. The spinners were supposed to be defending a total of around 140 in the ‘blueprint’ but restricting the home side to 79-7 in reply to 105 was an extraordinary effort. The spinners were brilliant and the fielders tigerish. But there was not a word of credit from anyone, anywhere, for the effort, determination and skill displayed by the Zimbos. I guess they’ll just have to keep doing it…
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