Month: March 2014

Well… to Kevin Pietersen or to not Kevin Pietersen, that is the question?

First, let’s go on stats alone:

England wins without him: 3 (7 losses)

England wins with him in last two years: 34 in all formats (12 losses)

The stats tell a story, however biased that story maybe. Whether it was right or wrong to drop him, the whole affair was handed very poorly by the ECB, and to be fair, a lot of media outlets…as they do! However, that is really what they are there for. After a long time of vague reasons and media speculation. Whatever they said to Kev, it was not particularly democratic. The main reason the ECB gave for him being sacked was:

“To help change the dressing room atmosphere, however we thank Kevin for his services to the England Cricket Team”

So in other, less political terms; He is unmanageable. Obviously Kevin’s made some mistakes, more publicized than other England players I should say, and I’m sure the ECB aren’t the only ones who are displeased with his general attire.

To counter that, there is the simple fact that:

They worked with him for 9 years already. He is not unmanageable at all.

To be continued…

Director: Stevan Riley

Starring: Viv Richards, Colin Croft, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Deryck Murray, Michael Holding and Gordon Greenidge.

Fire In Babylon is a documentary, directed by Stevan Riley, which consists of stock footage and interviews of the legends of West Indian cricket. The legends that dominated all International cricket for the best part of 20 years. The legends that were not born legends, yes… those legends.

Waddling through the 1970’s,through the racism, the rough, but sprinting, true West Indian style, through the great success’s of the next 20-30 years. The shear number of clips from this era is immense, famous to unseen.  The sporting footage in this documentary is just the half of it. The interviews contained so much insight into what it was like going through the immense rollercoaster of power the West Indians went through.

Covering the infamous Kerry Packer, Tony Grieg and the Racism Row, Fire In Babylon is completed by the interviewing of the opponents. Seeing how and hearing how Sir Ian Botham, Tony Grieg and co felt about being thrown into face the dark horse of the cricketing world. Then hearing what they had to say after being beaten 4-0 at home…

The editing of the footage of the interviews and the stock footage was smooth. Although this wasn’t the biggest blockbuster of the year, it is one of it’s kind and a great stepping stone for children and kids who want to get into cricket.