tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/tourofduty//147 2009-02-21T01:15:27Z Movable Type 3.34 tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/tourofduty//147.9549 2009-02-21T01:07:51Z 2009-02-21T01:15:27Z

As I put my backpack behind the security guards desk at the entrance to the ground I walked once more past the myriad barbeques and stalls that abound in the Antigua Recreation Ground. Stopping off for one last rum punch...

Paul Winslow As I put my backpack behind the security guards desk at the entrance to the ground I walked once more past the myriad barbeques and stalls that abound in the Antigua Recreation Ground. Stopping off for one last rum punch at Camile's stall and exhorting her to fly over to Barbados to make us some more when were there, I climbed one last time up the rickety stairs to the top tier of the Oil Stand. This had been an emotional week and it was just about to get worse. I don't usually carry a backpack into a cricket match but my flight was leaving Antigua at 6pm and that, because of the rain delay in the morning, was when the third Test of the series was due to finish. And England, as ever, were never going to help me out by winning early and allowing me to see a victory. Indeed I didn't miss a victory either, as I found out when the pilot announced half way through our flight that it had been a draw. But while there is not much glory in being an England fan, following them is certainly memorable. What happened in Antigua this week was remarkable, and there was a certain irony in the fact that give them a couple of years to put on a Test match they couldn't manage it, but given two days they somehow pulled it off. There were huge political implications of the aborted game here as conspiracy theories abounded that it had all been a plan to dethrone the ruling party in the forthcoming elections. And if the locals are passionate about politics they are also passionate about who they think should be in the West Indies team. The best comment we heard amongst their frequent arguments was that Shiv Chanderpaul was the worst batsman in world cricket. There are some opinions that are valid, some misguided, some just nonsense. I'll leave you to work out which one that was. So onto Barbados and hopefully a nice simple Test match... and an England win. tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/tourofduty//147.9336 2009-02-09T12:23:39Z 2009-02-21T01:13:46Z

London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down... It seems like a fairly strange song to celebrate victory with, but the Jamaicans gave it a fair few renditions as they celebrated victory against an...

Paul Winslow London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down... It seems like a fairly strange song to celebrate victory with, but the Jamaicans gave it a fair few renditions as they celebrated victory against an England team that managed to plumb new depths. For those who have been watching England for years that takes a special kind of effort as there have been some real depths. We met the Jamaican grins with ironic grins of our own and shared handshakes with them as we left the ground. Their particular handshake consists of a handshake and then a flicking of the thumbs against each other and we've all got the hang of it now. We struggle to understand exactly what they are saying sometimes as the patois leaves us baffled, but there has been a genuine bonding between us and the locals. Throughout a sporting performance that was so bad it was almost funny there was one particular moment of hilarity. As England were about eight wickets down with over 40 overs to play the stadium announcer made a big song and dance of telling everyone that the ticket office was selling tickets for the next day's play. Everyone in the stadium laughed at that one as the chances of it ever getting that far was slim to none. With back-to-back Tests now the norm, you never get much time to explore the great places you visit to watch Test cricket. So when a Test finishes a day early the bonus is that you get some free time, but sadly Jamaica is closed on a Sunday so there's little to do but dissect another terrible England performance. And try desperately to get excited about the next one. That's not as difficult as it could be because Antigua is not exactly the worst next port-of-call. tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/tourofduty//147.9283 2009-02-07T05:18:37Z 2009-02-21T01:13:49Z

Paul Winslow

The Barmy Army celebrated Bob Marley's birthday in Jamaica © AFP

Sometimes I just don't realise how lucky I am. I get so used to watching cricket overseas that it takes a minute of stepping back to realise what I'm up to. A Test match, in Sabina Park, in Jamaica and it's Bob Marley's birthday. The likes of Sir Viv Richards and Michael Holding appear around corners. We go to a bar owned by Courtney Walsh who is always checking up on us to see we're happy. Sadly we don't see as much of Kingston as we usually do of a Test venue thanks to the universal advice not to walk about too much. Indeed a couple of Barmy Army boys were picked up by someone in a car the other day having basically been told that they should under no circumstances be walking around that particular area on their own. The cricket itself has been fairly uninspiring and the crowd disappointing. Not only that, but you can't walk all the way around the ground so people are stuck in whatever stand they happen to be in without the option of meeting up which means it looks even emptier. But the sun is shining, cricket legends appear everywhere and we're watching Test cricket, in Sabina Park, in Jamaica. And we're drinking rather a lot of rum and Red Stripe. Happy birthday Bob. Cheers to you. ]]> tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/tourofduty//147.9247 2009-02-05T14:27:24Z 2009-02-21T01:13:53Z

The great thing about watching Test cricket is that while you may be watching the same game it is a dramatically different experience in every country. The bizarre thing here in the West Indies is that, in much the same...

Paul Winslow The great thing about watching Test cricket is that while you may be watching the same game it is a dramatically different experience in every country. The bizarre thing here in the West Indies is that, in much the same way as India, you're in a place where the people are cricket mad and you talk to everyone about it and yet the grounds are half empty. The big difference between here and India is that the Jamaicans are geared up to party. They have specific stands just for partying – although it's not as if the rest of the stadium is like a library. And they sell quarter bottles of rum. Hardly a responsible drinking policy. But there was no partying as the series kicked off; a just a fairly quiet stadium where everything on the pitch could be heard. But the day warmed up. As the disparate elements of the Barmy Army found each other and the Jamaicans found their way into the ground after work the volume and fun factor rose. While the day's cricket was not exactly exciting and while the day in the crowd was not a classic, by the end of it you felt that this was a game and an atmosphere bubbling under and ready to go. Let's hope so. tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2009:/tourofduty//147.9204 2009-02-03T16:56:55Z 2009-02-21T01:13:56Z

While India has its own charm in a crazy, polluted, rickshaw-laden way, Jamaica is laid back with a clean heat that makes you happy to be alive

Paul Winslow From one cricket mad country to another, the Barmy Army bandwagon rolls on. But while India has its own charm in a crazy, polluted, rickshaw-laden way, Jamaica is laid back with a clean heat that makes you happy to be alive. And where the welcome of the Indians was an overexcited hyperactive one, here it's more of a laid back enthusiasm. "Welcome to paradise," as one of our hotel staff said to us this morning. As you walk the streets cars beep a hello. The English cricket fans are in town and boy do we feel welcome. Compared to the dramas preceding the Indian tour, this seems simple, although in truth there was a different kind of drama as we arrived at Gatwick for our flight. While some people missed out on the India tour because of the rescheduling, some will miss the beginning of this one because of the good old British weather. Rumour has it 120 people were missing of the Virgin flight to Kingston and most of those people were stuck on the M25 in gridlock traffic. Those of us who made it feel a little bit guilty. Before the main event the Barmy Army will play a team put together by the legend that is Courtney Walsh. Then it's into the main event. I'll be writing missives on Cricinfo throughout the tour and if you check out the Barmy Army website at www.barmyarmy.com/calendar you can check out more details of what's going on in the stands every day. tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/tourofduty//147.8503 2008-12-22T10:59:44Z 2009-02-21T01:13:59Z

We've packed so much in and yet at the same time the idea of a whole tour being completed in two weeks is silly. None of us are ready to go home yet and the cricket is getting more interesting by the day

Paul Winslow

A moment of genius: Kevin Pietersen's switch-hit © AFP

And so the tour comes to a close. Tomorrow is the last day and we'll have to miss some of that if we're to get back to Mumbai in time for our flights back to England. It seems amazing to think that just over two weeks ago we were at home with everyone asking whether we would still come on tour. We've packed so much in and yet at the same time the idea of a whole tour being completed in two weeks is silly. None of us are ready to go home yet and the cricket is getting more interesting by the day. If watching Sachin in Chennai was an honour then watching KP yesterday was similar. His switch-hits are moments of genius and to be here to witness them was something truly special. Sadly not nearly as many people are watching the game in Mohali as there were in Chennai so the atmosphere isn't the same but we're trying hard to do what we can.]]> Security has relaxed a bit over the few days here. We now get a wave from the man on the machine gun on our gate and it's amazing how easy you can disarm (metaphorically) the huge number of soldiers here with a smile and a hello. So a quick word of thanks to everyone in India who has made us so welcome. We didn't want to trek up to Mohali as it's made the whole trip a logistical nightmare, but at least when we got here people made it worthwhile. And thanks to those of you who have taken the time to read this and respond – in answer to a couple of questions that you posed this wasn't my first tour. I've done many but never seen anything quite like the crowd in Chennai. And to those of you from Pakistan, I think everything should be done to tour the country and if England go there again I'll be visiting just as I did last time. For now though I'm just happy this went ahead and we could all enjoy some great cricket. tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/tourofduty//147.8427 2008-12-15T16:21:40Z 2009-02-21T01:14:02Z

Well, if we thought yesterday was intense then today was something that took it to a whole new level. We should, as England cricket fans, have been quite distraught at what we watched today. But there was an air of...

Paul Winslow And more pertinently it proved that this series should have gone ahead. What better way for a shell-shocked nation to get over recent events than to watch Test cricket and watch one of its greatest players produce something like that? And it was a shot in the arm for Test cricket because while we'd sat at home watching India play Australia in front of a handful of people, the stadium here was packed. The noise was amazing and it was quite fun for the few England fans to try singing in the middle of it. We could barely hear ourselves speak, never mind sing, but we persevered anyway. We also achieved a relationship with the Indian fans that was heart-warming. If I shook one hand on the way out I must have shaken a hundred and they were full of conciliation to us for having watched our team lose. Coming on tour was always primarily about watching cricket, but having people appreciate our attendance in the wake of recent events makes it all the more worthwhile. Hopefully we'll be the ones commiserating with them in Mohali though. ]]> tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/tourofduty//147.8406 2008-12-14T13:59:17Z 2009-02-21T01:14:05Z

Wow. That was intense. I've been fortunate enough to have watched cricket all around the world but never in my life have I experienced anything like the bedlam in the ground today as Sehwag was smashing our bowling to all...

Paul Winslow The barrage of noise was intense. The Barmy Army is renowned for being loud and some might say rowdy, but compared to the Indian fans we're fairly quiet. Never have so many plastic bottles been banged against so many seats and made so much of a racket. It's a privilege to watch Test cricket overseas but this was something else. To witness such a great innings and to be party to the crowd's reaction is something that will live with us forever. And the nicest part of it all? When Swanny took Sehwag's wicket half the Indians in the crowd turned round and shook our hands. Much appreciated and our relationship with the Indian fans is a real highlight of this tour.]]> tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/tourofduty//147.8364 2008-12-12T17:06:32Z 2009-02-21T01:14:09Z

Paul Winslow

Welcome to India © Getty Images

Everyone knows how crazy the Indian fans are. Everyone knows how much noise they make. But only when you're in the middle of it can you truly understand it. They applaud every run like it's a century and make noise for no apparent reason. Now we're perfectly capable of that in the Barmy Army as well, but these guys take it to extremes. And this is when their stadium is less than half full and their team is struggling. The huge security was very little yesterday and even less today, which meant there was an even bigger opportunity to concentrate on the cricket and for an England fan that was a good thing today. We figured it was going to be tough against this batting line up but our bowlers came to the party and the few fans we have bought over here made themselves heard in a big way to help the boys along. India is an interesting and at times frustrating place to tour as nothing quite works as it does at home. But with friendly people and a team on top, none of it seems to matter. There was a certain antipathy to Harbajhan and Yuvraj today, the former for his inflammatory words in a press conference yesterday and the latter for falling out with Flintoff. It was good to be on top, but there's a long way to go.]]> tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/tourofduty//147.8348 2008-12-11T14:17:11Z 2009-02-21T01:14:12Z

Instead of discussing recent events, today became about Paul Collingwood's rather questionable decision; about the performance of Andrew Strauss and everything cricket. In a world where life must move on, cricket helped it today

Paul Winslow Getting in the ground itself was something of an issue although we'd actually got past the bit where you buy tickets and show them to get in the grounds by this time. Then came the searches and the moment I knew was coming as they attempted to take my camera. I politely refused and sweet-talked someone into allowing me in although the original security guard was not impressed. Apart from that, our presence here has been warmly received. One kid had gone to the effort of creating a banner to thank us and on the main scoreboard there were messages texted in appreciation of our attendance. In our hotel there was much excitement about the fact we had come over. But now the cricket has started it is immediately obvious why this tour should have gone ahead. Instead of discussing recent events, today became about Paul Collingwood's rather questionable decision; about the performance of Andrew Strauss and everything cricket. In a world where life must move on, cricket helped it today.]]> tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/tourofduty//147.8330 2008-12-10T13:15:04Z 2009-02-21T01:14:15Z

It seems hard to believe after all the hype at home, the will-they, won't-they pontificating and the repeated inquiries into whether I was going to be here or not, I'm in Chennai looking forward to a day of Test cricket...

Paul Winslow Security at the ground is heavy to say the least. The chances of getting anywhere near the training today was about as realistic as Jimmy Anderson scoring a Test century. But with a focus on tomorrow, we've found an area of the ground to congregate in. The biggest discussion as I write surrounds what we'll be able to take into the ground. It seems like nearly everything will be confiscated, including cameras and mobile phones. That's not particularly handy if you want to take photos for the Barmy Army website or need your phone to chat to the media. I applied for media accreditation for this tour on behalf of the Barmy Army but we got refused because apparently websites don't count as media. That seems particularly ironic as I've now got my ramblings on Cricinfo as well. But while that remains a worry there is a buzz about our small group. We're going to watch Test cricket tomorrow. In India. Despite everything that has happened. Despite concerns from home. And the locals seem very happy to have us here, which is always appreciated. And if you think that cricket is the biggest deal going on here I can only point out that I've just looked up at the television to see the headline ‘War on Pak?’ The situation is much bigger than cricket when you get to the country concerned, and rightly so, but for those of us who have made the pilgrimage tomorrow will be about the sport. And if that takes everyone's mind off the atrocities then it can only be a good thing. ]]> tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/tourofduty//147.8253 2008-12-05T22:15:18Z 2009-02-21T01:14:18Z

I'm in the process of rearranging everything to follow the series as planned. The inconvenience of that is tiny compared to the suffering of the people of Mumbai so it would be churlish to complain. There are the practical reasons to go ahead with the tour, such as booked flights and holidays, but there's also been an overwhelming feeling that we should support the team, support the people of India and show the terrorists we won't be put off

Paul Winslow My first post outlined my misgivings about Ahmedabad as a Test destination. If someone had intimated moving the Test to Chennai I'd have been hugely enthusiastic. My wish came true. And I feel fairly rotten about it because the circumstances surrounding the change are not what anyone would have wished for. Writing about cricket still seems strange. Sambit Bal's excellent column on this site summed up more eloquently and empathetically than I ever could the strange situation we were all put in. Various media outlets were in touch with me in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks asking whether the Barmy Army would still be going and what advice we would be giving. I understand full well the demands of rolling news, but it felt wrong to be talking about whether we would still tour as people were still being held in hotels in Mumbai. I'm not sure at what point the balance tipped from this being a story about terrorism with a cricketing link to a story purely about cricket, but I reckon within three days that had happened. That in itself is a shame as the issue of sport soon eclipsed the pain and suffering of those involved. As it became the primary focus, attention turned again to whether we would still be going. I'm in the process of rearranging everything to follow the series as planned. The inconvenience of that is tiny compared to the suffering of the people of Mumbai so it would be churlish to complain. There are the practical reasons to go ahead with the tour, such as booked flights and holidays, but there's also been an overwhelming feeling that we should support the team, support the people of India and show the terrorists we won't be put off. All of which means I'm now being asked two different questions. Am I at all concerned and do I think enough has been done to take into consideration the safety of the fans? The only person I've heard mention the fans' safety was the legend that is Michael Vaughan. Has anyone else given us a second thought? Well if they have I've yet to see evidence of it. We don't want our own squad of commandos, but some reassurance they've actually given some thought to our safety would be nice. ]]> tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/tourofduty//147.8139 2008-11-27T12:02:15Z 2009-02-21T01:14:22Z

At times like these there are more important things to think about than cricket, but for England fans Mumbai is not just the venue of terrorist attacks, but the place we're planning to visit soon in order to watch our...

Paul Winslow terrorist attacks, but the place we're planning to visit soon in order to watch our favourite game. So whilst our thoughts go out to the people of Mumbai and anyone affected by last night's tragic events, my immediate social circle all want to know what I'm planning to do about my impending trip and we expect the phones at Barmy Army towers to go a bit crazy today with similar questions. And the answer is...we don't know. If the tour goes ahead then you'll probably find most people will take the plunge and visit. All of which begs the bigger question of whether, indeed, the tour should go ahead. Everyone's going to have an opinion on this, so I'm already bracing myself for being told what I'm about to say is nonsense, but here goes. Evidently safety is paramount and advice needs to be taken both from the Indian authorities and British Government. But there's something nagging at the back of my brain that says we should continue if at all possible. There are three reasons for this: firstly, if we don't tour the terrorists have won. They've disrupted the world yet again. Also, for the people of Mumbai having to deal with the aftermath of these events they could probably do with something to look forward to. While they're going about their daily lives in the city it would be a shame if this was enough to put the rest of the word off visiting. But the bit that keeps coming back to me is this. I live in London. Three years ago we had terror attacks of our own. Speaking to my friend in Mumbai there is a similar feeling over there right now as there was here on that terrible day in 2005. And where was I two weeks after those attacks? Sat at Lord's watching the first Test between England and Australia. Indeed, London hosted two ODIs and a Test in the two and a half weeks immediately after July 7. I don't know enough about the situation in Mumbai now to make a decision, but I hope for our Indian friends' sake that we try everything we can to make it happen rather than simply walk away without trying to make it work. At the same time it’s worth remembering: it is only cricket.]]> tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/tourofduty//147.8025 2008-11-20T11:38:04Z 2009-02-21T01:14:25Z

Because even I am not fortunate enough to travel abroad for both the ODIs and the Test matches, I watch the former from the comfort of my couch

Paul Winslow While the good people of India go about their daily business, I'm guessing an immense percentage of the population is either trying to watch the game or constantly asking for updates. In England there's no sense of the whole country watching events unfold. Instead you know that across the country a bunch of dedicated, or slightly bonkers, fans are watching the game alone as the non-cricket lovers in their households continue to sleep. But while I might have been watching the game in solitude, the wonders of modern technology mean you are never truly alone. Whilst watching the game this morning I had a chat online to a friend in Mumbai, another to a fellow Barmy Army fan 50 miles away from me and read the comments of both English and India fans on Cricinfo's live commentary. So thank you, internet, for bringing the cricket community across the globe together... now if you could just do something about England's batting line up.]]> tag:blogs.cricinfo.com,2008:/tourofduty//147.8005 2008-11-17T19:42:11Z 2009-02-21T01:14:28Z

Whether you thought my last little missive was purely the rantings of an extremely selfish man, or someone who had a very valid point about the Test venues we are due to visit in India, I'd like to think most...

Paul Winslow my last little missive was purely the rantings of an extremely selfish man, or someone who had a very valid point about the Test venues we are due to visit in India, I'd like to think most people will have some sympathy today. Because it's safe to say I was less than impressed to see that the BCCI has asked the ECB to move the dates of the first Test match in Ahmedabad. That's a Test match that starts in, oh, three weeks' time. Apparently it's because MS Dhoni might be playing in the Champions League final the day before. I can see why this might be something of an issue, but perhaps one they might have wanted to consider when the dates first materialised. Because what no-one seems to have given a second's thought is that some of us have made plans around those dates. I mentioned in my last dispatch that I wasn't overly enthusiastic about going to Ahmedabad. I'm sorry if I offended anyone there and look forward to being proved wrong, but the fact is I, along with many of my fellow fans, have a flight the day before the Test and a flight out the day after. I can handle a day before – nothing like a bit of exploring – but if they change the dates of the Test I'm going to end up with a flight on the fifth day of the game. Some would say that won't be an issue the way we're playing in the ODIs, but I'd like the opportunity to see the end of the Test if it does go that far. I know I'm not remotely important in the cricket world and yes I am fortunate enough to be in a position to go at all, but you'd like to think at some point someone might turn round and consider the hardy souls who have planned a trip around Test match dates... but I won't be holding my breath.]]>