Tony DeyalCRICKET FANS in Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica have it easy. For the most part, they have to contend only with the perversity of eyelids that prefer to remain gummed together at 4 a.m. (3 a.m. in Jamaica) or other such obstacles that human nature and original sin put in their way and that they can mount or surmount as they please.
Not so we in Trinidad. This is Carnival time here and as the history of the great Brian Lara has demonstrated, even those whose livelihood is cricket succumb to the charms, lures and fatal attraction of our national festival in preference to the immortal game.
Perhaps this is so because we still see Carnival and cricket as competing instead of complementary activities, in the same way that Harold Pinter and other persons of English descent see sex and cricket. If we in the West Indies can so easily create a working relationship, a marriage of convenience so to speak, between sex and cricket, then it should be child's play to find commonalities between cricket and Carnival.
Take 'balls' for instance. Balls are essential to cricket. Interestingly, in the early days of Carnival, balls were very big. When I was growing up the word 'ball' meaning 'a social assembly for dancing' was ubiquitous during the Carnival season and many are the balls that were held during this time. Most revellers at Carnival also describe their experience as "having a ball". In cricket, curiously (and according to commentator Andrew Mason) an Indian player, Harbhajan Singh, "has three balls". Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan had one that went at more than 100 miles an hour. Dillon has problems pitching his up. Nowadays, we no longer have Carnival balls, but "fetes". However, given the increasing violence, and the recent mayhem in one fete, it takes a lot of balls to attend some of these fetes.
Which brings up 'Richards' as something that both Carnival and cricket have in common. In Trinidad, it is the surname of our new president, Professor Max Richards. He has announced his intention to continue participating in the street parade that is central to the celebration of Trinidad Carnival. He is also famous for his balls that are held annually. In cricket, 'Richards' is the last name of the great West Indian batsman, Vivian Richards, and the South African, Barry Richards.
Now that I have proved my point with the ball, let us look at some of the many other elements that would make it easier to synthesise both pursuits so they become synergistic instead of remaining separate in our value systems.
Bats: Together with balls they constitute the major instruments of cricket. However, persons disguised as huge bats with very wide wings and menacing masks were a feature of the 'ole-time' Carnival, or the time when Trinidadians had balls. The vision (or lack of it) of some cricket umpires, notably from New Zealand, Pakistan and India, has also been compared unfavourably to bats.
Drag-on: Also a feature of the old-time Carnival with persons dressed in dragon costumes, now it is something that happens to batsmen attempting a cut-shot. They drag the ball on to the stumps.
Ban: Trinidad pronunciation for one of the most important constituents of Carnival the 'and' which is a collection of persons who either form a steel orchestra or pay a lot of money to wear skimpy costumes and dance in the streets for their own delight or on stages for the delight of paying customers. In cricket, it is what happened to the Australian spin-bowler Shane Warne. In Carnival, it is what could have happened when the National Carnival Band Leaders Association (NCBA) took the National Carnival Commission (NCC) to court.
While Warne was banned for one year, had the NCBA succeeded it would have been the 'Ban of the Year' an event for which there are prizes. One also hears the phrase 'Warne for the road', which has more to do with dangerous driving, a feature of our Carnival season, than with cricket. People refuse to be Warned or take Warning.
Spin: It is what Warne did well. In Carnival it is what happens to your head when you drink too much alcohol. It is also what a Trinidadian does when bored, as in, 'Ah making ah spin. Ah coming back jest now'. A lot of husbands say this to their wives at Carnival.
Pitch: The area on which the batting takes place in cricket. In Carnival, it is the very loud and distinct music. It is also the covering that was arbitrarily laid on the grass of the Queen's Park Savannah, where the major celebrations are held in Trinidad, by a politician whose hearing was blamed for his action. It is said that he mistook the words of a popular Carnival chorus, 'Get something and wave' for 'Get something and pave'.
Bounce: In cricket, it is what a ball does on a hard wicket. In Carnival, it is what revellers do on the road. It is also what happens to careless pedestrians or drunk revellers who get in front of, instead of behind, the big truck or who put their hand on the wrong bumper. In cricket, this would be a leg-break or the cause of a forward or backward short leg. There are also 'bouncers' used by bands to separate paying from non-paying participants.
Stands: In cricket, 'stands' are partnerships between batsmen who occupy the wicket for a very long time. In Carnival, there are many of these at the Queen's Park Savannah and other venues where people pay to watch the Carnival. It is also what you have to do a lot of as you wait for your band to get on stage at these venues. Together with cover and extra cover, they also take place behind the facilities and in other relatively private areas.
Interestingly, while in cricket people appeal for light, at Carnival time some people appeal for darkness.
Holding: Famous West Indian fast bowler. In Carnival, there is a lot of it.
Wine: Shane Warne has his own brand and blames the late nights of promoting it on his use of a drug to make him look better. There is also a lot of this at Carnival. Some people say there is too much. Certainly, much of it is on, or to, the ground.
I am sure that, by this point, you have got the point and I don't need to go on to common phenomena like slips, whether off or on, during this most festive of seasons when the two major loves of Trinidadian existence, cricket and carnival, could be conjoined in sweet concatenation, and the marriage of convenience consummated in connubial bliss. Perhaps Brian Lara has already reached this level of maturity and, for the first time in his illustrious career, has not given up cricket for carnival.
Tony Deyal was last seen saying that both cricket and carnival have mas' appeal and that while there was only one Minshall who made it to the highest levels of cricket and one at the highest levels of mas', there are many Peters out there.
