Top 10 of a different sort

Here is a random Top 10 over the last six weeks in the Caribbean:
1. Why do you see non-finished houses from the outside every so often? Cunning Bajans dodging property tax that's why.
2. The only living National Hero is Garry Sobers. His time playing for Barbados police still warrants a salute whenever a copper is in the presence of the great all-rounder.
3. Seeing Umpire Bucknor get off the cheap run-around mini-buses in Bridgetown, pay the driver and walk into the Kensington Oval to survey the ground. One cool Jamaican.
4. Ian Chappell's comments on the ICC: "As I've said before, they've got a hotel under the sea there and a ski resort in the desert. It's too far away from reality."
5. The ironic moment when the ICC advertising boarding nearly engulfed CEO Malcolm Speed was quite funny.
6. When you walk into a rum shack, be prepared for a "good night". I felt like getting out quick when this was said, but in fact it's just the Bajan "good evening".
7. Pakistan v Ireland and we're in a taxi. Our driver gets an instant cricket update text message and relays "very surprisin' developments takin' place in Jamaica..." We knew we were in the Caribbean then.
8. Interviewing music legend Eddy Grant.
9. Witnessing the Bajan Guiness Book of Records and how the main attraction couldn't make it. The 12'' pizza eating holder had trouble firing up his ovens (he owns 12 outlets on the island!) that morning and so had to cancel.
10. Glenn McGrath gets a wicket with his penultimate ball of his spell. When he fails with his last ever international delivery he kicks the ground in customary fashion and curses to himself. And there sums up the brilliance...

Daily Nation cartoons

Blog exclusive: Lara kidnapped

Pah! Not quite - but in hindsight it might actually do some good for the West Indies team if Brian Lara went missing. Ramnaresh Sarwan's fresh approach to captaincy could be a start at least, as Caribbean cricket looks to begin a massive overhaul of its approach to the game.

Anyway, the Barbados coast guard's counter-terrorism unit was called to sea yesterday as (simulated) kidnappers attempted its daring bid to snatch Lara from either a casino, a St Lawrence Gap club, his luxurious property or the golf course.

"And within 30 minutes, at least seven perpetrators were held, some falling victim to the assault team's semi-automatic gunfire while others were badly wounded. The good news, however, was that the Special Operations Group had achieved their goal – rescuing an unharmed Lara."

I wonder what they would ransom now he's set to play his last few matches?

India v Pakistan?

Sunday was supposed to be earmarked as one of the biggest games in cricket. India v Pakistan in the Super 8s at Kensington Oval. But two of the few positives this World Cup has seen scuppered that. Instead, it's Ireland v Bangladesh.

And my new podcast centres around Mike Gatting on Bangladesh, before I speak to Ireland's 6'7 Boyd Rankin. I also bump into Antigua's fervent fan Gravy and speak to the Kensington Oval's head groundsman. Listen to the lastest one by clicking here.

Holding out for a hero

How do you dress to meet a national hero? This thought briefly crossed my mind at the weekend when I had a morning interview with Sir Garfield Sobers.

Any other country you would no doubt where shirt and tie, as I have done when I've met him in England. My conscience was heightened when speaking to a Barbadian policeman and how the force always salute Sobers as a sign of respect when they come across him (and thanks to his playing days with the Police Cricket Club).

In the end I went for t-shirt and flip-flops and Sir G turned up wearing the same: that's how you dress in the Caribbean!

Wishing for this in Barbados...

Bajan records

No early play yesterday between Australia and Bangladesh forced me to accept an invitation to attend the Barbados Guinness World Records Festival.

And what a memorable day. Not for the records but for the sheer enthusiasm of the Barbadians. In fact, the island holds two world records: the brilliantly-named Omar Cheeseman for the fastest time to eat a 12" pizza and someone else for the most bullseyes in a minute on a darts board.

I turned up to meet the organiser, Q Seely, and immediately held him responsible for the enthusiasm. He told me about some of the Bajan customs which have been lost over time. These included walking to the shops backwards or crawling barefoot and walking on tin cans with string. These records weren't broken on the day (some guy from Belgium can walk backwards the quickest) but I did see one world record in the human jockey race. Q was quick to whip up the crowd by pointing at me and shouting into the microphone: "Who believes a Barbadian can break the record currently held by an Englishman?" The flat-footed winners duely shattered the record by three seconds.

I was primarily there to flog some footage of the world record pizza attempt. However, I was informed that the holder, Mr Cheeseman, had trouble with the ovens that morning and couldn't create his dough. Q did also tell me deadpan that he had 12 outlets around the island.

Lucia's finest

So the West Indies didn't exactly get off to the start they wanted in the Super 8s.

Every bar I have passed here in Barbados has been blaring out local radio phone-ins and discussions on the performances from their team. Brian Lara to bat up the order? The inclusion of Dwayne Smith? Give credit to Corey Collymore's bowling?

How they could do with the might of Nadine George. Nadine was the first West Indian to score a ton for the national women's team. She's also in the St Lucian Marine Unit and masters an 80-foot coastal vessel, patrolling the seas on search and rescue missions as well as tracking down drug traffickers. She's an amazing woman and not to be messed with: she's made bowlers cry in the middle; she wields a machine gun in her day job; she's got an MBE. I tentatively tracked her down in St Lucia before she adjudicated the England-Kenya man-of-the-match award.

You can listen to the interview in Podcast 7. Click here for more.

Getting the crowds in

The Nutley has arrived on the beautiful island of St Lucia. No bags on arrival and the first instance of "be here tomorrow, man".

No matter: England's crunch game is around the corner and the sun is shining.

And St Lucia's authorities are trying their hardest to get the locals into the game. Speaking to a local bar owner today, it transpires that cable TV owners are being forced to stump up a few hundred extra dollars to watch the matches on their island. You could watch Ireland v Zimbabwe today but any chance of catching the England-New Zealand tie could be in vain unless last minute talks are averted. It remains to be seen whether their gamble pays off. More pictures are up in flickr.

Big Bird bites back

Ever since England won that sensational game at Lord's against the West Indies in 2000, I've always been mystified as to the demise of cricket in the Caribbean.

The dearth of fast bowling is obviously one of the major reasons but has there really been a lack of talent?

Tino Best, Fidel Edwards, Ian Bradshaw, Corey Corrymore etc have all shown spark but haven't been able to show the kind of bowling so feared by the world's opening batsmen in the 70s and 80s.

And Joel Garner phrases it brilliantly in the Jamaica Observer when he suggests that it's all down to an "indifferent work atitude". Burgeoning talent in Barbados obviously needs Big Bird to get them all up running at 4am if they are to succeed.

Another dose of legends

The crowds were out in Barbados this weekend to celebrate the opening of the new Kensington Oval.

And what better way to enjoy the day than the usual Legends game (all the rage these days).

Bermuda two years ago, the WACA last year, it seems that fans just can't get heroes of yesteryear out of their minds.

In Bridgetown, a West Indies XI (Haynes, Greenidge, Richards etc) took on a World XI, consisting mainly of past England players: Alec Stewart, Neil Radford and Devon Malcolm in a power-hitting and entertaining match.

Not long to go now until the Opening Ceremony. We will be giving you all the lowdown on how to enjoy the World Cup in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.