da gbg bet： YOUNG gun Graeme Swann put the old Masters to the sword as cricket calypsostyle thrilled the crowd at the Grenada National Stadium
Nick Hoult26-Mar-2000YOUNG gun Graeme Swann put the old Masters to the sword as cricket calypsostyle thrilled the crowd at the Grenada National Stadium.Loud speakers belted out reggae tunes as the County beat the Masters XI byseven wickets against the backdrop of thousands of dancing schoolchildren,who were given the day off by their teachers.Swann thrilled the sizeable crowd hitting 11 fours and three sixes in his73-ball 89, and brought up his 50 with an audacious six off Joel Garner.And the Towcester twirler even showed off his dancing skills, delighting thecrowd with his reggae jiving.The Swann brothers opened the batting for the County as they chased 156 forvictory, after Paul Taylor and Devon Malcolm had decimated a top order whichonce struck fear into every Englishman.Taylor accounted for Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge, before Malcolmremoved Gus Logie and Irving Shillingford with consecutive deliveries.Former West Indies skipper Ritchie Richardson hit 50 and ex-County skipperAllan Lamb joined in the fun by batting at number 11. Sir Viv Richards hadpulled out at the last minute disappointing the Grenadian crowd.”I looked at the scoreboard and realised I was on 44 at the start ofGarner’s over, and I planned to hit him for six to get my 50. When I wasbatting with my brother he said to me it was a bit like batting against thecricket videos of our childhood. It was a great opportunity to play againstsome names from the past and it was a great experience,” Swann said.”The kids made it a great atmosphere and all the lads really enjoyed playingin this game. I was disappointed Viv Richards wasn’t playing but it wasstill a great opportunity to play against guys like Greenidge, Haynes andLogie .”Haynes set out his stall early by depositing Taylor for six over the squareleg boundary in the third over, but the former England man had the lastlaugh dismissing the openers.”We took the game fairly seriously and Desmond Haynes proved he can stillplay Test cricket with a couple shots off PT.”We bowled well and got a few early wickets which took the sting out of thegame a little bit. The crowd came to see some runs but our boys bowled welland deserved their success.”Haynes said: “Many of the people here including the opposition expect us tobe able to come out and play like we did 15 years ago. The thing is most ofus haven’t picked up a bat in years, and the fitness levels are not whatthey used to be.”The result of the match was never really in doubt but that mattered littlewith the Masters succeeding in their task of entertaining the youngsters andhopefully turning them into cricket fans. That is something which cricket inthe West Indies desperately needs.The day closed with a lovely touch from the PA announcer, “Now come onchildren it’s past 4pm and your parents will want you home.”It was a long way from Wantage Road in every respect.