Date-stamped : 12 Jan98 - 07:44
9 January 1998

Spinner's Tales : Big Bird comes down to earth

Trevor Chesterfield.

When Big Bird, known to most as Joel Garner, flapped his wings loudly  on
arrival in South Africa about 10 weeks ago, it was as manager of the West
Indies A side.
    And as expected of a big man, he gave the sort of run down you would
have anticipated from a former test fast bowler. Bristling with aggro, he
had a lot to say about the strengths of the side he was managing and the
weaknesses, as he perceived, of the South African teams the
second-stringers from the Carabin were going to face.
    When questioned on his "intimate" knowledge of South Africa's players,
he glowered and shuffled his size 16s. He also ignored the question and
suggested all would be revealed during the three "tests" and three one-day
internationals in December and January.
    A fraction over 2m tall he was, in his day, a feared fast bowler and
for a time part of the Somerset trio that included Viv Richards and Ian
Botham. Yet, even with this imposing threesome Somerset still somehow
failed to win anything other than a raspberry not collecting at least the
county title a couple of seasons.
    Realising such expectations, it seemed, was not on their agenda.
    Garner bowled off a short run and had remarkable control for one so
tall. It was also more through his bowling fire and brimstone than the
batting equivalent from Richards which enabled the West Indies to retain the
1979 World Cup at Lord's.
    Five for 38 was a pretty hot return in that match: it devastated a
confident England batting side.
    Last Friday, about 20 minutes after the defeat by 220 runs in the first
day/night game between Windies and South Africa A, the tourists'  bus was
seen speeding out of Kingsmead for the beachfront hotel. Such was the hasty
retreat a bag of t-shirts was left behind.
    And in Port Elizabeth on Sunday he declined to accept telephone calls
from the media about the team's disappointing performance in the first two
limited-overs matches or the three "tests". Now he has been quoted in the
Daily Gleaner, in Jamaica as saying, "Crisis? What crisis? We haven't had
luck on our side. Losing is just part of the game, you have to accept you
cannot win all thee time."
    Which is a different tone to that he adopted when he arrived in South
Africa.
    As the West Indies seniors prepare for the Test series against England
after the 3-0 drubbing by Pakistan, and Brian Lara finally assumes the
captaincy, the Caribbean press are naturally calling for a national inquiry
over the "humiliation of the West Indies A side" in South Africa.
    In 12 months time the West Indies finally make their first full Test
tour of South Africa, being obliged to fulfil other schedules, including
hastily arranged ODI slogs around the globe - anything for a fast buck. The
Test series of five matches has been arranged and should attract interest
along with other fireworks.
    Hopefully, Joe Garner will not be part of their management team.

Source: Pretoria News
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