Windies Fans Deserve Better

E-mail this Article

Print this Article

Subscribe to RSS Feed

A Windies fan blows on a conch shell.

By Tristan Holme

When I came over the hill this morning I got the feeling that I was in for a treat.

I was looking down into a bowl of land surrounded by hills on three sides and the sea on the other, with the stadium nestled in amongst it all.

Waves of energy and the sounds of a steel band floated up towards me, and finally it felt like I was about to watch a cricket match in true West Indian spirit.

Sabina Park in Jamaica had been fun, but as it was in a major city it didn't have that real island feeling, while the experience in Antigua had been dampened by small crowds and ICC restrictions.

But in Grenada you have the full-on tropical effect - the capital St George's is spread out along the coast and the land slopes sharply upward from the sea, making the town a hilly place to get around. Meanwhile the jungle seems to press in towards it and the vegetation has hardly been curbed by human development.

The hills around the cricket ground are lush and green with houses poking out from behind the growth, giving the place a real tropical feel.

Next to the stadium is a running track that was reduced to ruins by Hurricane Ivan in 2004; the track itself is still there but the roof was ripped off and the concrete stands are a mess. I'm told that the cricket ground was a carbon copy of this after the hurricane and it's easy to believe as there's no shortage of ruins around town thanks to Ivan.

With the ICC having abandoned several of their ridiculous restrictions suddenly there's a Caribbean flavour to affairs, with men walking around the ground blowing into enormous conch shells and all sorts of colourful characters jumping up and down every time a beat is emitted from the speakers.

Of course with South Africa in town there's a bit of competition in the meaningless noise business - the hosts with their conks versus the visitors with their vuvuzelas. For those not in the know, a vuvuzela is a plastic horn that gives out an almost melancholy sort of drone that is much lower in tone than the more natural conk.

There are a lot more 'Saffers' in town than I expected to be honest, but in this heat they're no match for the seemingless endless blowing power that the locals harness.

Unfortunately for these wonderfully energetic islanders their side slumped to yet another toothless defeat today, from which there doesn't look to be a way back into the competition.

Brian Lara's men came into the World Cup as a fancied side but it seems that their true colours have been shown up, a great pity given the tremendous support seen today. Even as the victorious South African side leaves the field a group of Grenadans continue the party in the stands, almost unperturbed by defeat.

So while their team may be heading out, there's no doubt that our hosts will continue to provide great energy and enthusiasm for the duration of our stay in tropical Grenada.