Cricket is just the way it should be in the Caribbean. Not only is it amazing watching Australia dominate but also here are a few other reasons why cricket in Australia will never be the same for me.
*The SCG doesn’t have a swimming pool in the stands. Antigua has a pool and it was great to have a refreshing dip every few overs. No towel was needed as lycra drip dries.
*When ordering drinks- you order enough drinks for the 8 people in your group and are meant to hand over 8 drink tickets to receive your beverages. -The standard was to order 10 drinks for 6 tickets. The best efforts were 13 drinks for 6 tickets and twice we got 9 drinks and then "forgot" to leave any drink tickets. Overall our 8 drink tickets would get us 12-14 drinks each in a day.
*They don't own standard shot measuring devices in the Windies. So when pouring a drink you felt ripped off if the spirits were only half filling your middie glass. A standard drink was 3/4 spirits and a touch of coke. In one round we would go through 1 and a half bottles of rum for 8 people. Average effort for a day was to drink the equivalent of at least 2 bottles of rum per person.
*By 2pm it would normally be time for an afternoon nap (Pass out). you were allowed to sleep and wouldn't get kicked out.
*In Grenada they are even more relaxed and weren’t expecting hundreds of drunken white guys for the first game. As a result we helped to "stock" the bar for a little bit and the proceeded to receive free drinks for our efforts. Not only that,but towards the end of the day I as behind the bar serving myself baileys on ice. I then proceeded to serve other people and collect their drink tickets for myself.
*It is impossible to get kicked out of a stadium. Pretty much anything goes when you are dressed in a zuit suit.
*When doing crazy shit you quickly become friends with the roving camera men in the grounds. They tended to stay close to us and as a result we got a fair bit of air time. Such a shame that it was the middle of the night in Australia.
All good things come to an end, but I am currently heading home and will catch up with everyone in the near future. Here is a photo from our first game, courtsy of the Melbourne sun newspaper. Note the Australain womens touch outfits making their firts appearances in the west indies.
Lots of love Victa and Andy
[addsig]
