Caribbean crowd's reaction awaited

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33452, 6 February 1974, Page 24

Caribbean crowd's reaction awaited

t.\ Z V A Rente POR I OF SP\l\ (Trinidad). t he M.C.C. must wait and sec whether the decision to bend the rules and reinstate the West Indies batsman, \l\in Kallicharran, controversially run out at the end ol the second clay of the second test match, has placated volatile Garibhean cricket lans.

Olliciallv peace and good will have been ' restored to the match. M.C.C. and West Indian hoard of control officials issued a joint statement reinstating Kallicharran. who was tun out bv the England '. vice-captain. A W Greig as Kallicharran walked hack to SSs the pavilion al the end of «. the dav * The mood of spectators was ugly, and there was utter confusion at Queen's Park Oval for more than three hours. Both captains have now said that “this incident will in no way affect the amicable irelationships which exist be'tween the two teams.” But the moment of truth will come when the England iplayers take the field. ' A ■crowd of 30,000 at Queen’s Park Oval will soon let them -know just how high in their esteem they stand. TRAGEDY For England this is the real Tragedy of the whole affair.' I Even without Sunday’s inci-i ;dent its chance of saving the match was slim, and now it 'knows—at a time when all (out endeavour is essential—(that it must tread with the I utmost care. Any over-; I 'zealous act is bound to cause I la reaction. I Kith Kallicharran being I allowed to continue batting I the West Indies score after' I itwo days is 274 for six—a I lead of 143 runs over EngI 'land’s meagre 131. ,( Kallicharran’s personal I I tally is 142, and if he conI itinues in the same vein as! I he did on Sunday the West I i Indies may stretch their lead I to well over 200. ' The mood of the spectators' ;did not augur well for the, future of this match. A mob; (gathered outside the pavilion' ’and chanted and jeered for, (nearly an hour. There were 'still people lingering about;

I tile ground long after it wa.(announced that Kallicharran had been reinstated. A suggestion was being made in the England team's . hotel that Greig should pub- ' licly shake hands with Kallicharran before the start of Play. Mr S Murrav. the secre- ' tan ot the Queen's Park Oval ! Cricket Club, said that he did not believe there would be any crowd trouble. He said no extra police would be at ' the ground, but they would (J be available if there was a disturbance. TOUR’S Fill R 1 | Il is not just the imtnedi- ; ate future that must worn . M.C.C. and the West Indian board of control officials. , There is no telling how the I incident will be received in , other parts of the Caribbean. ;| particularly Guyana, where i Kallicharran lives. The fourth test is scheduled to take place in Georgetown, the Guyanese capital, at the end of March. '.And these happenings are tin Tlikely to he forgotten bv ■'them. The M.C.C. manager (Mr D. Carr) ruled out the possibility ■of Greig being sent home. Mr Carr said: “1 accept ! iGreig’s word that action was jin no way intended to be cheating or unfair in any way. He will therefore continue as a member of the jtouring party and as vice-! 'captain." Mr Carr added: “Greig is terribly sorry that his action ' i has caused this situation. Eve' had a chat with him, and he .(knows the picture as well as anyone. i; “As soon as he realised what he had done was caus-j ling a terrible furore, his ini-! (mediate reaction was one of. II tremendous regret. I “If in my mind I had done

what loin did, knowing that the little man (Kallicharran» was walking off at the end : of the dav 1 would have been terribly ashamed of myself But the point is that what font did was an instictive act " I ondon newspaper cricket correspondents have opposed am move to send Greig home. Laurie Mumford, correspondent of the "Evening News." commented: "Io sug gest that he be sent home is monstrous. If that idea were io gain support, the M.C.C. would have no option hut to call off the rest of the tour ' John Thicknesse. correspondent of the "Evening Standard." wrote: “My view is that expulsion would he unnecessarily severe, in spue of the fact that what Greig did ranked alongside Geoff Boycott’s bat-throwing tan trum on the last Australian tour for stupidity and lack of sportsmanship." Thicknesse added: “Several West Indians who saw what happened—among them (Greig’s close friend Gan Sbers —believed he should be at, once sent home. MAJORITY VIEW “The majority view was that, despite Greig's apologv . . . the fact that he is by birth a South African will be (played up by the media, especially in Jamaica and Guyana, and sour the tour not (only for himself but for his ! 15 team-mates and the hundreds of English holiday- ; makers who at one stage or (another are following it.” The correspondent said that I nobody who had experienced 'cricketing passions in the West Indies would dispute the wisdom of the decision to reinstate Kallicharran.