In land of Viv Richards, few takers for international cricket
NORTH SOUND (ANTIGUA): The taxi driver who dropped this correspondent to the Sir Viv Richards Stadium is the president of Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Umpires Association.
James Steven says he has held the post for 17 years, and is in charge of recruiting umpires for these islands.
Asked if he planned to attend the match later in the day, he says, “I am not interested. I have a living to make.”
Steven was the third umpire in an international between West Indies and South Africa in the late 1990s and has umpired for 37 years in the domestic circuit.
He still umpires some localgames in Antigua, but only when there is shortage of officials. “Back in my days, we had 5-6 first class matches and a panel of 36 umpires. There used to be a fight for umpiring. Now, matches have doubled and the panel is down to 12. A lot of us who have grown old have other jobs.”
James’ disinterest reflects the mood on the island. Some ask if a Test is on, others don’t know which team is visiting, and others don’t even know international cricket is on.
Viv Richards and Andy Roberts came to the game on Friday. Curtly Ambrose’s and Richie Richardson’s band (both are away) played at the King’s Casino on Friday night. There is crowd for these jigs even in the off-season but none for cricket.
The Windies board is content with broadcast money. BCCI GM-Cricket, MV Sridhar, said his advice to to let in fans for free had no response. “I told them to throw open the gates. That is the only way you can try to bring in fans.”