West Indies in England 2007

Calypso pokes fun at West Indies board

Cricinfo staff

July 9, 2007

A satirical calypso, suggesting that the West Indies Cricket Board "Take a Rest", has been recorded by Dave Martins, of the Tradewinds band, and is being distributed to radio stations across the Caribbean.

The song pokes traditional calypso fun at the WICB which has been beset in recent times by a series of controversies and complaints regarding its administration of the sport.

In a brief write-up accompanying the CD, Martins says that as the administration of Caribbean cricket has gone from bad to worse, with the prospects, as Tony Cozier puts it, of "sliding into oblivion", cries for the removal or the re-structuring of the West Indies Cricket Board have fallen on deaf ears.

"I believe that where appeals to reason and national pride have failed, a comedic song, addressed to the board, may propel the desired result," he said. "In my career, I've learned that sometimes the message, coated in laughter, can have an effect when the serious message is ignored."

The lyrics, which suggest that the board has made "Holding and Viv Richards cry", address a wide range of ills in the WICB, from their alleged financial mismanagement, to the recent spat with Chris Gayle that undermined the team's preparations for the one-day series in England.

"You have cricket in confusion, no organised approach, we mention financial statements, all you scattering like cockroach.

You're telling we to have patience, things will improve one day. But Patience and she sister Hope, they migrate to Zimbabwe.

The West Indies board could not arrange to put three men on a plane. They fire our captain, hire him back, then fire the man again."

The song was recorded by the Tradewinds at Hopscotch Studios in Grand Cayman, where the band has been based since 1982. It has been sent to stations all over the Caribbean. In its final verse the writer proposes that individuals should put up signs all over the region, asking the WICB to "Take a Rest.", i.e., resign. Says Martins: "If we get a real campaign going in each island, simple signs all over the place, even bumper stickers, it might do the trick."

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