Edward Seaga, former Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Minister of Finance, as wicketkeeper. Seaga was unfortunate to have been at Wolmers the same time as two West Indies wicketkeepers Franz Alexander and Jackie Hendricks. But for this accident of history we might have heard much more of his cricketing prowess. The position of vice-captain presents some difficulty, since there are at least four contenders to be considered. One is Eric Bell, another former PNP Minister of Finance, who played for Happy Grove, Kingston Cricket Club and captained the St. Ann Nethersole Cup Team. Anthony Abrahams, present host of Breakfast Club and former JLP Minister of Tourism, captained the victorious Jamaica College Sunlight Cup Team of 1958. In the final match against St. Jago, Abrahams showed what captaincy is all about. After Jamaica College was bowled out for 43, Abrahams rubbed the shine off the ball to allow his ace off-spinner to open the bowling attack. ALL-ROUNDER MIKE HENRY Operating from the other end was D.K. Duncan, former PNP Minister of National Mobilisation. St. Jago was bowled out for 27. The claims of all-rounder Mike Henry, the first captain of a winning St. Jago Sunlight Cup team, must also be considered. Finally, there is Howard Cooke, former star player for Mico College and captain of the St. James Nethersole Cup Team. After long and careful deliberations, the vice-captaincy goes to Anthony Abrahams. To open the innings, I would have D.K. Duncan and Eric Bell. At number three is Noel Silvera, former PNP Minister of National Security, who was one of Kensingtons star batsmen of the 40s. He is followed by Francis Tulloch of St. Georges fame who served the PNP administration as Minister of Tourism. Number five is Mike Henry with Howard Cooke at six and Seaga at seven. To open the bowling, Nethersole would operate at one end with Norman Manley at the other. Manley attended Jamaica College and captained the winning Sunlight Cup in 1912. That year he also played in the minor cup and terrorized the batsmen with his pace, taking 9 for 12 and 6 for 29, against Kensington. In the match against Kingston, he had figures of 5 for 4. The third bowler is another pacer, Bob Lightbourne, former JLP Minister of Trade and Industry who played for his school Jamaica College and later for Kensington Club. The old timers still remember his run up from the boundary fence. For the final place in the team, it is a toss up between another bowler and another batsman. With Duncan already on the team to help out with his medium pacers, I would opt for another batsman, in which case Sir Harold Allan, former JLP Minister of Finance, who captained the Portland Parish Team, gets in ahead of K.D. Knight, former PNP Minister of National Security, who opened the bowling for the victorious Wolmers team of 1958. There are some exciting players who have not made the First Eleven. These include William Isaacs, former PNP Minister of Industry and Commerce, who was an outstanding Sunlight Cup batsman for Jamaica College, J.P. Gyles former JLP Minister of Agriculture, who represented Munro College and Kingston Club, Robert Pickersgill Minister of Transport and Works who played on the victorious Clarendon College Headley Cup Team, Tony Spaulding former PNP Minister of Housing, who played for Wolmers and Seymour Mullings who opened the innings for Jamaica College and was a former PNP Cabinet Minister. Every successful team needs a coach a manager and a negotiator and I can hear the nominations coming in for Michael Manley and P.J. Patterson, neither of whom played the game, but are among the most knowledgeable. Among the younger cognoscente, Peter Phillips, Omar Davies and Donald Buchanan are anxious for an opportunity in this department. It is a most interesting observation that no politician educated after independence has made the team. One can only assume that cricketing prowess among politicians is no longer what it used to be. The question is, Have the political directorate lost the positive values attached to the game of cricket? That eminent sociologist, Carl Stone, observed in 1992 that profound changes in values, norms and modes of behaviour?.have undermined the old authority systems without giving birth to a strong new and legitimate social order. The old order is still crumbling, but new and coherent authority systems have not emerged to replace it.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Jan 2014 22:45:16 +0000
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