Let's Get This Show On The Road

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Action from a colourful ceremony.

By Tristan Holme

The one thing you couldn't accuse the 2007 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony of lacking was diversity.

From traditional Irish dancers to blue and yellow birdmen to fluffy white yetis to colourful butterflies and white damsels equipped with dainty umbrellas, this had it all.

Sitars were mixed with Trinidadian steel drums among other things as the organisers attempted to capture what this tournament is all about - the coming together of many people and cultures in the most stunning of settings.

The singing of the Jamaican national anthem was particularly special and this correspondent was left euphorically goosepimpled all over.

At first the crowd were merely sporadically excitable, but only because the most vital ingredient was missing.

Ah yes, reggae! The heartbeat of the Caribbean.

That got them all jiving, and even the notoriously stern members of the press couldn't help themselves after a while.

The leading out of the teams quelled things slightly though the choice of words to describe each side was amusing to hear, particularly for England where Michael Vaughan's injury-laden past was not passed over cheaply.

Of course, my own country's entrance was eclipsed by the home nation, who were greeted to rapturous applause as soon as the crowd caught sight of them.

Also of great amusement to the audience was the sight of a stiltman dressed as a batsman being literally bowled over and spending the rest of that performance on his backside.

After abandoning his misfunctioning stilt, the poor man was left with no option other than to crawl the hundred-odd yards off the pitch to the laughter and applause of all.

But while there was the odd blip, the finale was planned down to a tee.

During my time in Jamaica the legendary status of Bob Marley has not been lost on me, and it was a superb fusion of his songs and images that began the ride through to the close.

Nowhere have I seen a man worshipped with such vehemence, and the visual and audio collage took everyone to another level.

I had little idea of what to expect. But when the end came, it was difficult to find anyone who wasn't grinning from ear to ear, and I have to say that I couldn't have asked for much more.

Let's just hope that the cricket that follows is equally spectacular.