Jack told: Stick to football

JACK WARNER, FIFA’s vice president, who is reportedly keen on bringing Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Murilitharan to Trinidad and Tobago to teach the bowling of the doosra to the Joe Public Munroe Road Cricket Club has been given some stern words of advice. Warner, a FIFA vice-president has been told by cricket stalwart Alloy Lequay to “stick to football and bring to fruition our illusive dream of qualification for a Football World Cup,” Lequay said yesterday.

“Instead of arranging to bring the inventor of the doosra to Trinidad and Tobago Warner can better spend his time and his abundance of wealth in helping TT to reach the World Cup finals  which he has been promising for the last 16 years,” Lequay, Chief Exeutive Officer of the TTCB said. Lequay said he has no poblem with Warner helping Munroe Road Cricket Club but he should not be part and  parcel of an orchestrated plan “to institutionalise  the art of pelting in cricket.”

“Unfortunately, the victims of the tsunami, dead or alive, had no warning signals that the doosra is coming but those who have the responsibility  for the orthodox, structured, organised   development of our cricket has been given  ample warning,” he said. “They can ensure that this illegal bowling delivery does not destroy our slow bowlers provided they have the strength of character  to say ‘‘No Thanks to Jack Warner,’’ the now self-appointed saviour of our cricket,” Lequay said. Lequay said that Trinidad and Tobago had been the nursery  of the best slow bowlers (excluding Lance Gibbs of Guyana)  produced in the West Indies —  Sonny Ramadhin, Inshan Ali, Imtiaz Ali,  Harold Joseph, Pascal Roberts, Raphick Jumadeen,  Rangy Nanan, Rajendra Dhanraj, Dinanath Ramnarine, and lately Dave ‘‘Tadpole” Mohammed.

He explained that there were others before them and  and there will be others after  “who did not and will not need an illegal delivery to reach the top.” Lequay pointed out that the doosra, delivered by Murilitharan has caused much controversy  among cricket’s leadership and experts of the game. He noted that it was only recently that a former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding had said that the doosra “cannot be delivered unless it is thrown.” “We can continue  to develop our long line of top class spinners without adding to their armoury  an illegal delivery and certainly without controversy,” lequay said.