Orville Taylor
Whatever you may think or say, I am ecstatic over the defeat of Australia at the hands of the Win-dis and their follow-up edging out of India right in their living room.
For all the cheering of the one billion Indians, including the 45,000 packed in the stadium at Ahmedabad, the West Indian cricket team prevailed, eking out a total of 224 runs from a pitch that was as flat as a roti. What a thriller it was! The Indians refused to go down and the Win-dis got home with two balls in hand.
It was sheer pleasure to see the stabilising force of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who coolly kept his head after Chris Gayle decided to give his wicket away in the silliest fashion.
On to the semi-finals we go. It is déja vu, all over again and the thought of a back-to-back victory in the Champions Trophy is alluring and there is even the romantic fantasy of a successful World Cup right here at home.
However, as usual, as we wallow in the euphoria, we face a reality 'cheque.'
Hosting this hu-mongous event is going to take all of the little money that we have, as it is going to cost us more than US$100 million. An impressive amount of work is being done on Sabina Park and it now looks like a first world venue.
Still, I am trying to fathom what the Green Field Stadium in Trelawny is going to be used for after the World Cup, as there are only so many games that can be played with the small leather balls.
Will it be available for sports with the larger balls, like football? And of course, will they lay a mondo track so that Asafa Powell can run there?
Sunset legislation
The ICC West Indies World Cup 2007 Act was passed on Friday.
Popularly called the 'Sunset Legislation,' it had a number of persons and entities feeling that it was hurried to meet the November 1 deadline. Consequently, some of the issues affecting many of our citizens were not aired.
These include the inequitable treatment of our local media, which results in the foreign press getting favoured access to satellite uplinks.
As a result, this will be the most expensive sporting event ever broadcast by the local media houses. Ironically, we will be paying more for the right to transmit the matches from our own neighbourhoods than it cost to bring coverage of the 2004 Olympics and 2005 World Athletics' Championships.
Then, there is the matter of copyright protection and restrictions on the use of the images or perquisites of the organisers.
Of particular significance is the demarcation of so-called 'red zones' around the match venues.
Not to be confused with 'red-light districts' where sexual favours are purchased, these are locations where there will be restrictions on advertisement and movement even for persons who own residences and businesses there. One wonders how citizens who live in the areas will drive in or out.
Many unanswered questions arise about the absence of advertising. Will the bars located in the Allman Town vicinity be able to operate?
If so, will they have to remove the old signs and displays used to promote their wares? In the absence of the sale of alcoholic beverages, sobriety should prevail and thus, it will really be a no-red (drunk) zone.
My feeling is that, despite all the years available for forethought and planning, there are too many questions at this late stage. By the way, is the World Cup preventing the holding of elections this year?
Nonetheless, what the Cricket World Cup has done is to once again remind us of how easily we think about the external at the expense of the local.
This brings me to another development, the desire of bauxite companies to mine the Cockpit country, a largely unexplored place.
Despite it being a protected environment hosting 27 of our 28 endemic birds, permits have allegedly been granted for the drilling of a deep bauxite hole in search of deposits of the mineral.
Affecting biodiversity
This is likely to affect the biodiversity of the area irreversibly. The Monarch butterfly, the largest in the Americas, nests there. So does 95 per cent of all the black-billed parrots in the world. More than 600 animal species and in excess of 800 plants are threatened by this attempt to 'develop' our natural resources.
Worse, the ground water below the Cockpit is fragile and is the source for all the water on the north coast. Just imagine Dunn's River Falls looking like Sandy Gully in spate due to the mineral leeching into the aquifer.
This would be one of the times that a hearing-impaired person would be quite right in saying that we have 'bauxite' of a problem and nobody seems to 'mine.'
Certainly this is not the sort of red zone contemplated by the World Cup organisers. Surely, the muddy waters would make the white balls red.
Most worrisome is that when the bauxite is mined out, the land will be 'restored' using non-native grass. Maybe you don't know this, but imported grass and gravel usually carry imported micro-organisms, small insects, arachnids, worms and other animals.
I am really hoping that the rumours of the intrusion into the former refuge of the maroons are not true.
Please don't bowl us a googlee, or doosra. I want my grandchildren to hear real crickets chirp.
Dr. Orville Taylor is senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
