Cricket : 'Cricket Calypso' 1986 Ian Wooldridge documentary

[@ragupatt]

Irrespective of our nationalities, don't we all still miss the west indies team that dominated world cricket? Aren't they most loved champions of the world even after several decades gone by?

[@arunminnas]

Absolutely!

[@dfb1976]

Amazing how he says this is what used to be called cricket , in hindsight this was so special , we will never see the likes of it again ....

[@ray.shoesmith]

In 1986 I turned 17. This team were the heroes of my childhood, Haynes, Greenidge, Richards, Lloyd, Gomes, Richardson, Logie, Hooper, Dujon, Roberts, Marshall, Holding, Garner, Patterson, Ambrose, Walsh..... I watched the Australian team dominate world cricket for over a decade on the backs of 5 'once in a lifetime' players (Warne, McGrath, Ponting, Gilchrist, Hayden). The West Indian team at this time was a once in a lifetime team! I would have loved to have seen Warne bowling to Sir Vivian when they were both in their prime.

[@dennispicone6801]

Everything in cycles. At the moment, and for awhile into the future it looks like India 🇮🇳 and Australia 🇦🇺 will dominate. Why? Simple. These are the two countries who are equipped to supply players to the three forms of cricket on a competitive level. England could, but have a few things to work on. I don't believe the Hundred is a productive thing for the counties. Only good for the sponsors. 😊

[@OmarEdwards-ob3iw]

Don't think Warne would fair off well as I can't remember he ever dominating the WI

[@hallsterr]

The 80s West Indies cricket team was the GOAT of all sports.

[@Tcb0835]

I remember this documentary well...and I remember how annoyed I was when I first saw it. As a young quick bowler in the late 70s, early 80s I was mesmerised by the West Indies team of that era and this documentary seemed laced with bitterness and jealousy (particularly Ian Wooldridge's wrap up at the end) I was lucky enough to be in the West Indies dressing room at The Oval after the famous 'black wash' series of '84 and the fact that these great cricketers were treated like international criminals irks me to this day.

[@ajs41]

Maybe it was honest of the documentary maker to be bitter and jealous.

[@Tcb0835]

​@@ajs41In what way?

[@SamraatMaharjan]

That guy had the action of Malcolm Marshall 7:02

[@umashankar3006]

Great documentary. Would like to see Windies cricket ruling the world cricket again.

[@adamsamuel8593]

Gonna have to wait another 20 years again for that to happen. New WI Cricket board and a few more contracts in England and Australia.

[@enidhaviland4824]

The Wrest Indies retaliated against Australia in 1979 and won and continued to win World Series for fifteen years.

[@HHM706]

I remember watching this as young white cricketer in England. I was 18 in 1984. These men were inspirational. This documentary is so much better than Fire in Babylon

[@juanestadian8471]

except the ending......dude caught a major sour grapes at the end. The west indies were only guilty of being superb

[@HHM706]

@@juanestadian8471I don’t think there was any sour grapes

[@juanestadian8471]

@@HHM706 really…..when he says that the WI only be stopped by legislation, that isn’t sour grapes?

[@103nrh]

The section from 48.25 to the end is just about the most exhilarating sequence of sporting footage on You Tube. And in that group of bowlers, Patrick Patterson is the nastiest, fastest and most intimidating of the lot. Richards had others to take wickets with brains and told Patto to simply bowl as fast as he could - spectacular stuff! I feel privileged to have seen this talent in my lifetime.

[@iceman4660]

@distantvoices in the 70s Australia had 4 fast bowlers and used them accordingly. They did the same thing again when they started to reign supreme. Windies had batsmen and bowlers. We played to the rules.

[@jahno7154]

@@iceman4660Australia never had 4 fast bowlers they had 2 Fast bowlers and 2 medium pacers and a spinner.

[@Ingens_Scherz]

It's a tragedy what's happened to West Indies cricket. I mean, Usain Bolt said he really wanted to be a fast bowler. Imagine that! Batsmen with international ambitions around the world must be heaving sighs of relief that he decided to become the world's greatest sprinter instead. He'd have been the first 120Mph fast bowler! How many more like him has WI cricket lost to, as the uploader says, American sports and track and field. I blame greed: the ICC should have been funding grass roots Wi cricket from its inception. Instead, it let it whither and (nearly) die. That is a tragedy to me.

[@dlamiss]

Satellitte tv was also much to blame, us basketball matches beamed in to the Caribbean resulted in less West Indians wanting to play cricket and more playing basketball

[@ajs41]

@@dlamiss It was a mistake because I can't think of any famous West Indian basketball players. I can think of dozens of famous West Indian cricketers, even ones from recent times like Chris Gayle.

[@dlamiss]

@@ajs41 Fair comment but you could probably name 40/45 West Indian cricketers of the 60s , 70s 80s and 90s who would be in the best post war 100 best test cricketers. How many West Indian cricketers of the last 20 years would make the list ?. Ill say none.

[@rohanmarkjay]

Back when this documentary was made in the 80s. Cricket was still big in the west indies. In the 1990s however enthusiasm for the sport took a big dive mainly because the WI was in decline and other problems connected with the sport in the WI. Its still followed by people in WI but nowhere near it was in the 80s. 1980s was probably the last decade when Cricket was big in the WI. WI has had some good limited over performances since winning a few global trophys. But they have occupied the bottom half of the test table since the mid to late 1990s. Thats like 25 years at bottom of test cricket table since 1995-2020. That said they have put in great performances since in limited overs cricket. Under Roland Holder WI again have a competitive test side. But still a long way to go to get anywhere near the team they had in the 1980s. Also its doubtful cricket will ever regain the status it had again like it had in the 1980s. These days its just one of many sports caribbean people are interested in.

[@ajs41]

I can't think of any famous West Indian basketball players, whereas I can think of lots of cricket players from the West Indies.

[@idreeskanth7370]

Good documentary!

[@DanielCure1]

49.29 Patterson to Peter Willy. Pace like fire - can hardly see the ball until it lands in the keepers gloves - another inch closer and it's game over... unplayable

[@Tcb0835]

I still believe that, along with Jeff Thomson, Pat Patterson was the quickest bowler of all time.

[@TheBundleofkent]

Yep, that clip of Patterson to Willey at the end is evidently what he was like throughout that series. That first test in Jamaica must have been hell for England-due to the BBC falling out with the Windies TV no coverage exists...…..

[@johnwahannah2385]

This brought in Kerry Packer.

[@ajs41]

The narrator seems to have forgotten about Bodyline 50 years earlier!

[@surensalgado945]

Great video👍🏼

[@31cify]

A long forgotten documentary shown on TV one night somewhere in the 80s. Excellent work neil0carver, is it an authentic VHS Tape recording? It appears to be the case, and it certainly deserves being dragged from it's old archives and into the new. You've thoughtfully uploaded a vintage programme about the origins of the West Indies.

[@ajs41]

I didn't start taking an interest in cricket until 1990 when I was 11 years old, so I missed the great cricket matches of the 1980s and earlier.

[@MrDunkiep]

I remember this argument at the time: it isn't fair, it isn't proper, it isn't legitimate. The West Indies only win because they use fast bowlers. What a load of tosh. Tell me a country that hasn't picked the quickest fast bowlers available to them to play test cricket. It's called test cricket for a reason. Unfortunately for us Brits, the Windies did of this era were just too good.

[@jahno7154]

Pure jealousy.

[@josephbahri1403]

"I play for off break but it was googly". Couldn't someone have corrected this lyric before it became public. If you play for an off break (ball turns into you if right handed) and you get the googly (ball also turns into you) there is no surprise......same direction of turn. It would have been far more correct to say he played for LEG BREAK and got the googly. Clearly the singer and writer did not understand that. Should have been corrected.

[@Leapylee-l6c]

relax fella- its called artistic license. its a song not a coaching manual

[@josephbahri1403]

@@Leapylee-l6c Not artistic licences, when it makes the singer sound foolish and misleads the listner......it should have been picked up and corrected before making it public....... It strains the credibility of the singer and the song, singing about cricket, that he can't tell the difference between a leg break and an off break. And you trying to defend it as artistic licence.........disappointing.

[@dfb1976]

In 1986 in this clip they say WI will dominate for decades to come, tragically I would say they have declined for several decades to come

[@surensalgado945]

👌🏻

[@BijalPatel-k6m]

Glory days

[@markbailey1970]

This documentary felt like hubris at the time and really hasn’t aged well at all.

[@thecarpetman7687]

Patrick Patterson…easily as fast as Thomson

[@enidhaviland4824]

I no longer see cricket as a boring sport, un the contrary cricket is exciting if played by "the Windies."

[@SpecificDietPlans]

Fucking Shambles now.

[@josephhandford6138]

Strange how when the WIndies dominated cricket from the mid seventies and upto this time that the term Bodyline was never used! I wonder why that was?

[@josephhandford6138]

@Kanto Bein The WIndies just changed the number of fielders and during the controversial test match that was never televised the England team constantly complained to the Umpires quoting Law 41 for which the bodyline tactic was covered regarding dangerous play. The changes were hardly significant and any team can win if they bowl with intent to harm the opposition because they cannot win by any other method.

[@juanestadian8471]

@@josephhandford6138 you are saying the WI couldn't win besides trying to hurt people? HAHAHAHAHA.......dude the same WI went to england in 1988, was presented with a road at Lords designed to numb the quartet and was decimated by Malcolm Marshall, who ironically cut his pace to play for swing.

[@josephhandford6138]

@@juanestadian8471 I never said that the WI wouldn't have won but using dangerous bowling techniques certainly impacted on the overall game and from 1976 up to 1984 the England team was completely different.

[@juanestadian8471]

@@josephhandford6138 dangerous is pushing it. Cricket is a dangerous sport. People get hit now more than ever. The bouncer is a wicket taking delivery.......it directly gets silly point, the slips and gully, the wicketkeeper and even the deep involved in the game. Maybe the WI could have cut down on the short ball........but if you had four fast bowlers all capable of bowling over 90mph in a sport where batsmen in general have no problem playing straight quick bowling on the stumps(We saw what rovman powell did to umran malik in the ipl; Whispering death is the only exception), would you tell them to charitably decrease the short balls they bowled. especially when most of those deliveries were directed at the rib cage ir the chest? Not me, and I don't think any honest cricketer would disagree. When batsmen like miandad and border and gooch negotiated the new ball, the WI had other options in their armory to keep batsmen quiet.

[@davidflanagan8478]

Rule for decades to come!!! Bubble bursted within ten years and now one of the weakest. Journalists speaking as experts, dear oh dear

[@TheBundleofkent]

Most of us thought that at the time-there was no reason not to. Not one single person was prescient enough to predict the fall so I'd save the sanctimony.

[@waterlord4146]

@@TheBundleofkent Some Caribbean people saw rough waters ahead. Pakistan's almost win in 1988 inspired Rally Round the West Indies. The team was by 1988 getting older. Ambrose, Walsh and Bishop and Patterson were new, marshall was on the way down and both viv and greenidge were over 35.

[@TheBundleofkent]

@@waterlord4146 Yep, I remember that Pakistan series in 88. There is no way though that people saw the almost total seizing up of quality that had occurred by 2000 or so and then now. In 88 as you infer, quality players were still being replaced by quality. I only posted to dampen down the sanctimony of Flanagan above!

[@mrkipling2201]

Thing is how do you replace a Viv Richards?? Or a Gordon Greenidge?? Malcolm Marshall??

[@juanestadian8471]

@@TheBundleofkent the thing is....while it should have raised some alarm bells, we must remember that Pakistan were the 2nd best team in the world at the time. From the articles I've read from most WI newspapers previewing the series, all the analysts of the time thought the series would be close. Struggling to beat england at home in 1991 should have raised alarms England wasn't getting better, we were getting slowly worse