As a passionate fan of West Indies cricket, I sometimes get quite upset when the team is not performing up to expectations and there have been many instances, especially with games being aired at night, where I just turn off the television and go to sleep.

In fact, I was beginning to think that despite my great love for cricket, if I found myself in a place where I was not able to follow the game on radio or television, I would be able to survive without any deep feeling of missing something of great importance.

However, over the course of this past week, I have discovered what an awful experience it is not being able to see or listen to the West Indies in action when I desperately wanted to do so.

I was in Geneva, Switzerland, when the second test match between the West Indies and Pakistan started and after not hearing anything about the first day of the game, I checked on the Internet on Tuesday morning to discover that the West Indies batsmen were wreaking havoc.

short-changed

As I read the BBC account of the game, I felt like a great moment in history was passing me by and I just was not able to do anything about it. To say I felt short-charged would be an understatement. I was downright sad and disappointed. In fact, I felt as if I would have gladly given up my first experience of Europe just to be sitting before my television back in Jamaica.

As a diehard fan of West Indies captain Brian Lara, it was even worse for me. As I read about his fabulous stroke play in joining the élite band of batsmen who have scored a century in the session before lunch in a Test match, I could only envisage the great joy it must have brought to those who saw it.

After watching Lara destroying the England attack in his two world record knocks in Antigua and his blazing 277 run out when he put the Australians to the sword as an emerging batting star, I would have loved to see his 29 balls for 69 runs demolition of Danish Kaniera.

In addition, it was also rather sad that having being made aware of what had transpired via the Internet, there was no one around to share my joy with. For the most part, my colleague journalists in Geneva were from countries like Russia, Turkey, Iran and other places where cricket is probably no more than a creature of the night.

back to cricket bliss

Thankfully, my assignment was slated to end yesterday and all things being equal, I should now be back home in Jamaica so that I will be able to watch the cricket action for myself. Hopefully, Mr. Lara will deliver something special for the innings I missed.

I know that there will be other times when I will probably turn off the television and go to bed when I am not happy with the way the West Indies are playing. However, I surely would not want to be caught in a place like Geneva when they are in fine fettle and have to depend on the Internet for information.

This experience has taught me that it is much better to live with the good and the bad than not being around when the going is good.