JACKASS SEY DE worl' no level. Jackass sey de more West Indies criketa mek, a de wosara dem a profarm. The West Indies cricket team has gone so far past embarrassment now that their performing badly is a bit like a policeman killing a youngster under suspicious circumstances in Jamaica.
Normal. Regrettably so, but normal.
In fact, do you notice that the headline writers have run out of ways to trumpet the lows that the team - if it can be called that - has reached? 'Woeful Windies' is really overplayed; 'Windies hit new low' has become stock in trade; 'debacle', 'disaster' and 'defeat' are really commonplace. There was a nice one, though, when the Windies had that all-time record low (imagine, 11 trong back man cyaan mek 50 runs?) at Sabina Park. The headline from a newspaper in Barbados, Jackass thinks, had a neat one - 'Wreckord'.
Seems thats all the Windies are good for, getting wrecked.
But you see Jackass, is long time Jackass listening cricket. That's right, listen. This was in the days when there was no live coverage from abroad - and hell, not even television to watch it on anyway. So it was the radio that did it and we would listen as Clive Lloyd, Gordon Greenidge, Colin Croft, Dujon, Haynes, Logie, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding and others bowled, batted, fielded, bounded, caught and generally put out their best.
That is the key thing, y'know, they put out their best. True, it was a winning team in those days, but it did not come easy - and they did not always win. There were times when they had to struggle to win, there were times when they struggled in vain - but the fact is that they struggled. From the commentator's patter, you could sense the effort and the willpower - as well as the heart when Sir Viv strode to the wicket with his team down and proceeded to take on the bowling.
We did not roll over, whimper and give up the ghost, like this team does.
(An aside. Ah tell oonu sey we shoulden bring back no Lara. Long time. We a lose wid im anyway. De traita shoulda neva see back de Maroon collas.)
But the world is not level at all, is it? Those cricketers of old were not earning anything at all comparable to what these chaps are earning these days. Nothing. And these high earners are not putting in half the sheer pride that Richards and crew used to put in.
It is not fair that they should be earning the money, getting the contracts, signing the deals. No. Those contracts should have been available to Greenidge, who took them on limp and all.
And as for the partying!! Man, we don't expect that people will just go through life without wanting to have a good time, but c'mon now! On the mound? And we lose that badly? Sheesh!
Jackass looks at the situation and you know what summed it up for him? How can the world be level when Franklyn 'Naa No Head' Rose won a Rover, while Andy Roberts did not?
Jackass sey di worl' no level. Jackass sey a no who wuk ena life earn.
