A LV I N KALLICHARRAN

ColourBlind

STRUGGLES, SACRIFICE AND SUCCESS OF THE CRICKET LEGEND

COLOUR BLIND Alvin Kallicharran with Robert Caine

INDI A

SINGAPORE

M A L AY S I A

Notion Press Old No. 38, New No. 6 McNichols Road, Chetpet Chennai - 600 031 First Published by Notion Press 2019 Copyright © Alvin Kallicharran 2019 All Rights Reserved. ISBN Hardcase 978-1-64650-737-5 Paperback 978-1-64650-738-2 This book has been published with all efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. However, the author and the publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. While every effort has been made to avoid any mistake or omission, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that neither the author nor the publishers or printers would be liable in any manner to any person by reason of any mistake or omission in this publication or for any action taken or omitted to be taken or advice rendered or accepted on the basis of this work. For any defect in printing or binding the publishers will be liable only to replace the defective copy by another copy of this work then available.

Contents Dedication

5

Foreword by Raj Singh

7

Foreword by Debasish Datta

11

Endorsement

15

1. Introduction Why Now?

17

2. Humble Beginnings

21

3. Ground Roots

37

4. Sudden Rise

51

5. B.M.T.

59

6. Leaders, My Role Models

77

7. Unstoppable

103

8. County Cricket

119

9. Rebels in the Rainbow Nation

131

10.

Indians Rise

153

11.

Overcoming Obstacles and Adversity

173

12. From Maestro to Mentor

193

13.

207

A Helmet that Finally Fits

Note from the Co-Author

227

About the Editors

229

3

Dedication The first person I want to thank is the Creator, the God, for all of this. My Creator has had a plan and purpose for my life, from the time I was born in a small rural village called Port Mourant in Berbice, right through my six decades of hard work, perseverance, and commitment to this great game of cricket that I have embraced until today. I dedicate this book to my parents who brought me into the world, the incredible role models, mentors, and teachers that guided me along my path. To my wife, Patsy, who encouraged me all along to write this book. I want to thank and appreciate her for the part she has played in the entire process.

5

Foreword

TRIBUTE TO AN ICON Ever since I could remember, I and my two siblings have always been cricket fanatics. My dad was the captain of Diamond Sports Club in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, and he took it upon himself to feed that love and enthusiasm for the game by taking his three sons every weekend with him to the cricket grounds whenever and wherever matches were being played. Here is where we learnt some of the basics of the game and learnt to score the boards and the scorebooks very accurately. At home, we had a very long back yard where we developed our own pitch and minicricket ground in the dry seasons with many a test match being played there. Our primary school was literally two doors away, so there was never a shortage of players. Whenever there was cricket being played at Bourda, we never missed a match, whether regional or international. The standard and quality of cricket during those days drew very healthy crowds to Bourda. I can vividly recall being at Bourda in 1972 sitting in ‘rails’ when our idol (he was the idol of all three brothers), Alvin Kallicharran, made his glorious debut versus New Zealand with a scintillating century. This period is usually referred to as the ‘transistor radio’ era since hardly anyone had TVs in their homes at the time. There were many fights between us siblings just to have the privilege of holding the transistor radio during cricket commentaries, even when matches were being played in Australia with the different time zones. I have since followed Kalli’s illustrious cricketing career very closely throughout his sojourn with the West Indies, Warwick7

Foreword

shire, Queensland, and South Africa. The daily newspapers were always filled with scores of the county matches. During my time, I have witnessed just a handful of batsmen who can be truly classified as being complete batsmen; that is, they are equally good against pace and spin alike in different conditions. Kalli, without any shadow of doubt, definitely fits that profile. Further, very few batsmen use their feet in such an accomplished manner against top class slow bowling. Even further, very few batsmen were able to conquer the Indian spinners on their dust bowls. Kalli was a master against the likes of Bedi, Chandrasekhar, Prasanna, and others. In the Caribbean, the Queens Park Oval was the big turning wicket in those days and our idol was at his very best in those conditions. His 12 test centuries could have easily been 20 test centuries, had he been able to convert those 90s (eight of them) into hundreds. One regional match that is etched in my memory was when Guyana was playing Trinidad in 1981 at Bourda. Guyana, being led by Alvin, was tottering on 112 for six when Clive Lloyd arrived by helicopter to the ground nearby and joined Kalli to stage one of the most remarkable recoveries, putting together 286 runs before Clive Lloyd was dismissed for 144 when the score was 398. Kalli ended with 184 runs. The TT bowling unit had the wiles of Raphick Jumadeen, Ranji Nannan, and the mystery bowler Harold Joseph. No one can ever forget his merciless assault on the great speedster, Dennis Lillee, when he took him for 35 runs off a mere 10 balls. Modern-day T20 players would have been proud to have such a strike rate. It never ceased to amaze me that such a tiny guy without any of the modern protective gear could stand up to those burly pacers, much less to overpower them with his brilliance. Kalli has always been a joy to watch, and it surely is a testament to his dedicated hard work, unwavering commitment, grit, and determination which helped him succeed at the highest level of the game for such a long time. We were deprived of his representation in the maroon colours for at least a decade after his lean form in the early ‘80s. That was when he 8

Foreword

was dropped from the WI team and eventually banned from WI cricket after making a decision that revolved around bread and butter issues. Form is temporary; class is permanent. After those unpopular decisions, I think Kalli unleashed his best batting days in English county cricket where those county bowlers felt the wrath of his rejection from his motherland. Politics had dealt him a very cruel blow. However, he made it count and made a huge difference in many youths’ lives around the world. They say dreams do come true once you stay strong in your beliefs and convictions! However, you must first be able to have such dreams before that statement could be a reality. Be that as it may, never before in my wildest dreams did I ever expect that I would be in the same dressing room, take a cricket field, captain my cricket idol, and even bat with him, in the same crease on a cricket ground. That day came just about four years ago when we both played in a friendly encounter at the Inverhaugh Cricket Club in Canada. That day was extra special for me and all those that participated in that match. To be in the company of such greatness is an honour in itself; how much more to share an entire day on the cricket field with the maestro himself. Awesome. Such was the humility of this guy that he blended in so well with us minions and made us feel a small part of his greatness. After our friendly cricket match in Canada, I have had the distinct honour of several meetings and discussions with this little giant and have always been impressed with his easy-going style and his charm, quick wit, and humility. It is unfortunate to witness our current crop of test cricketers struggling so much against some ordinary spinners. His burning desire at this stage of his life is to work with the youth in Guyana and the West Indies. What better Cricketer could we utilize to coach our youth than one of the most accomplished and complete Cricketers coming out of the West Indies. I am of the firm belief and conviction that the batters in the West Indies need a proper batting coach who can assist them in ironing out the flaws in their armoury, especially, against the turning and bouncing ball. Kalli has 9

Foreword

played extensively and professionally in some of the toughest countries around the world, namely England, Australia, and South Africa, and has proven his competence in India more often than not. What better coach or mentor would you require other than someone with such remarkable credentials? In this book, Kalli has painstakingly described his experiences and how they have all helped to mold him into the successful Cricketer that he eventually became. This book is more like a tutorial on how to become a successful Cricketer. – Raj Singh Cricket Administrator and Editor, Colour Blind

10

Foreword

THE INDIAN “WEST INDIAN” My first sight of Alvin Kallicharran was during the Test at Eden Gardens in 1978, when he was already the captain of the West Indies team. It was my Test ‘debut’ and I remember sitting in the gallery of the iconic Eden Gardens along with my father and enjoying the live action. Unlike most cricketers from the Caribbean, Kallicharran was pint-sized (5’4”), much like his the then Indian counterpart Sunil Gavaskar. Kalli (as he was fondly referred to by his fellow-players and admirers), whose mother hailed from Madras (now Chennai), could easily pass off as an Indian --- both in terms of looks as well as his wristy strokeplay. When Kalli and Gavaskar walked out for the toss, it appeared that two brothers were in charge of the rival teams. After all, they were not only of similar build but also of same age (1949 born) As a batsman, left-handed Kalli was elegance personified and he played pace and spin with equal authority in making 55 and 46 in the match which the West Indies would have surely lost had not bad light forced the umpires to call off play somewhat early on the fifth and the final day of the third Test. West Indies, chasing an improbable 335 runs to win, were 197/9 at that stage. I had read about Kalli’s fearlessness while facing up the Australian fast bowlers. Kalli rarely ducked under bouncers. He preferred to hook or pull --- the two shots he played with confidence. In India’s spin-friendly conditions and against their 11

Foreword

famed spinners, the Guyanese displayed impeccable technique and scored tons of runs. The fact that 2586 of the 4399 runs he scored in his 66-match Test career came in overseas conditions speaks volumes about Kalli, who mostly batted at No. 3 or No. 4 in a West Indies lineup that included Roy Fredricks, Gordon Greenidge, Lawrence Rowe, Vivian Richards and Clive Lloyd. Little did I know at that stage that one day I would become a cricket writer and have the privilege of the diminutive West Indian stalwart’s friendship, albeit towards the end of his career. Like most cricketers from the West Indies those days, Kalli too honed his batting skills in English County cricket. He plied his trade for Warwickshire long before Brian Charles Lara joined the county and registered a world record individual score of 501 in a first-class match in the mid-Nineties. It was in 1990 when I was following the Indian team on their tour of England that I had a chance to spend some quality time with Kalli. He was kind enough to invite me to his house. He was a great host and we ended up talking cricket most of the time. We even visited the Edgbaston and he showed me around his ‘home’ ground, pointing out the Eric Hollies stand, named after the English leg-spinner who had dismissed the great Donald Bradman for a duck in his final Test innings, thereby denying the Australian legend a chance to finish his career with a 100plus average. He would come down to India on his birthdays and visit Madras --- the birthplace of his mother. In Bombay (now Mumbai) he would put up at the CCI where I have spent hours chatting with him and adding considerably to my cricketing repository. Soft-spoken and humble, Kalli was a fighter on a cricket pitch and was always prepared to meet fire with fire. The manner in which he was unceremoniously removed from captaincy following the return of the Caribbean superstars from ‘Packer Circus’ clearly left him demoralized. 12

Foreword

Even today, Kalli holds West Indies cricket in high regard, but I have never understood why he has not got due recognition from the powers that be in Caribbean cricket which has also failed to use his services as a coach. At 70, Kalli is a wise old man—humble to the core. That is the man I know and whose friendship I will cherish forever. – Debasish Datta Cricket Writer and Author of three books

13

Endorsement “It has been one of the great joys of my journey as a pastor in London to meet Alvin Kallicharran along the way. We met weekly for two years, to discuss cricket and explore the bible together. The greatest joy for me wasn’t his friendship or his generosity (though I am so grateful for them), it was to see his understanding of Jesus as revealed in the bible. It is my prayer that Kalli will continue to grow in his love for Jesus and his mission to change people’s lives for the better.” – Stuart Shackleton Pastor of South Hanwell Baptist Church

15

From growing up in a tiny village, Port Mourant, Berbice, to amassing over six decades of cricketing experience, former West Indies cricketer Alvin Kallicharran has a lot to offer to the cricketing world. Having been through ups and downs, fighting adversities and overcoming challenges, he feels his experiences and influences will help upcoming young cricketers to understand that success comes with hard work and dedication. He firmly believes that principles, virtues, and values will last a lifetime and that it is only with patience that success is achieved. “When my wife, Patsy, motivated me to write this book as a way of giving back to the kids, I thought long and hard about it. I could have written about my successes. But having worked with kids from different backgrounds and countries over the last 16 years and the devotion I have in creating sports careers, I decided to change the whole angle of the book. The more I wrote, the clearer it became that the story I wanted to share was my journey of overcoming adversities, hardships and struggles to achieve success.” – Alvin Kallicharran Colour Blind is filled with colourful stories, colourful events, and colourblind cricketers, just like Alvin. The book reinstates the fact that sport is the ultimate equaliser and that the ball knows no colour.

“I have played cricket with Alvin Kallicharran for a long time. He was my hero, and was playing much before I broke into the cricket scene. I wish him all the success, good health and happiness.” – – Kapil Dev, Former Indian Cricketer “Colour Blind is not your usual cricket autobiography, offering some personal background and the occasional cricketing insight but more often than not padded with details of runs scored, wickets taken, catches held and missed, and other mundane details that can be easily looked up elsewhere. In Kallicharran’s autobiography, his life and cricket experiences are narrated only to bring out what he calls the ‘principles, virtues, and values [that] will last a lifetime.’ Each chapter concludes with a set of ‘Key Takeaways’ and ‘Action Steps’. Read this book and make up your own mind.” – – N. Ram, Chairman, The Hindu Publishing Group Price 399