Recognise cricketing genius of Lawrence Rowe
I AM writing this in response to The Gleaner’s editorial of January 23, titled ‘Dehring wrong on Rowe’. More than most, I was hurt and angered by the South African ‘rebel’ tours. There is no justification for what they did and, 42 years later, we still demand prostration before charity. But, like many of my generation, I am conflicted, condemning them for their act, yet my memories haunted by the cricketing genius we witnessed.
Nearly 70 per cent in the Stone poll at the time supported them, only 14 per cent wanting punishment. But I can’t believe we are just an immoral nation, except for the noble few who scoff now at the notion of empathy and compassion. Perhaps Lawrence Rowe and his cohorts chose moral bankruptcy over economics, a choice many Jamaicans seemed to understand as they made their verdict. The players were unemployed, with minimal savings from paltry cricket earnings, and families to support. But for cricket, they had limited skills or qualifications to fall back on, and that window was fast closing at an age where most of us are just starting a professional career.
BEAR THE BURDEN
It is true and undeniable that they must pay, and have paid, the price. But, as a society, do we bear some burden? We bask in their ascension to West Indies glory but become desensitised to their predicament once discarded. Perhaps one day we can take pause, try to understand and show our own regret as to why these exalted cricketers faced such a moral dilemma in the first place.
At the 50th anniversary of Rowe’s epic triple century, I reiterated my hurt and anger. But I chose that night to focus on the gift he bestowed for 12 glorious childhood years before that ill-fated tour. He, more than any, ignited my passion for WI cricket and, for that, I owe him. It’s why his betrayal hurt so much. That evening, Sir Vivian Richards expressed similar sentiment. Even if we are unable to forgive, we can try, notwithstanding how difficult, to separate the incredible master classes and artistic expressions of batsmanship he left us. It is the same mental ‘Red Sea’ I part to continue to enjoy Kartel’s music, and that of several other Jamaican artistes.
The issue at hand is whether his image should have been depicted in the mural at Sabina Park, representing the ground’s incomparable history. There was no award ceremony or fanfare, the choices, I gather, simply based on cricketing exploits. I support such criteria because personal life transgressions, say a ban for illegal match-fixing, would mean determining what constitutes an acceptable degree of moral failure. A graphical display of our cricketers should not be conflated with an ‘award’. It is not permanently naming a pavilion or “end”, which in cricket’s grand tradition are great honours and should never have been considered. The factually incorrect editorial, since it was the India tour and not England’s, shows how our cricketing history can be inaccurately told and documented, even by venerated newspapers. Rowe is a major part of Sabina’s history. His, and Jamaica’s world record made there, stands.
Our outrage is inconsistent and, moreover, incomprehensible. The official ‘ban’ was lifted in 1989, with one rebel returning to the West Indies team at Sabina in 1990. In 1996, Rowe was among the honourees lauded before an impressive list of dignitaries, including the late Michael Manley, internationally recognised for his unwavering stance against apartheid. Further, Rowe was named in 2007 as one of Jamaica’s five greatest cricketers, his award presented by P.J. Patterson. These ceremonies took place right here in Jamaica, begging the question of why a celebration of one cricketing accolade is more tolerable than another. Also, it is incongruous to publicly name him in a top five if he is unable to make a top 19!
NO DIFFERENCE
There is no difference between a public display on a wall and a public electronic broadcast, both media treated the same under law, the latter having considerably greater reach. Radio stations air content daily, for financial gain, the bodies of work of musicians that have morally transgressed. The same would be on TV if only the lost video tapes of Rowe’s sensational Test debut could be found, which I would support. But our moral sensibilities and thirst for contrition should not only end when the pursuit of profits begins.Why can we not similarly acknowledge the cricketing masterpieces of a batting maestro on that wall, even while acknowledging his human failings?
Finally, all the WI players, including Sir Viv, were dignified and gracious throughout the banquet, an event staged to raise funds to support Mr Rowe’s foundation charity scholarship programme, and were never ‘disorderly or noisy’ at any point, as your “gaggle” reference might imply.
There’s an adage,“… human to err, divine to forgive”. Neither forgiveness nor contrition 42 years on makes any difference to me. Jamaica’s cricketing excellence and history of Sabina Park deserve accuracy in that mural, telling the whole story, warts and all. Without acknowledging Rowe’s famous cricketing exploits at that famous ground, it doesn’t.
As a cricket historian, C.L.R. James might have agreed, but we all speculate whose opinion he would have endorsed.
Chris Dehring is a businessman and was the CEO of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup that was held in the Caribbean. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com