Test legend on the Association beat

9:47am Friday 11th July 2008

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CRICKET fans could be excused the odd double take when watching Blackrod this season.

For, playing for the Bolton Association side is West Indies cricket legend Alvin Kallicharran.

My role doesn’t have to be particularly performance-related in terms of scoring runs but just advising the captain, setting him on the right road in terms of decision-making.

Alvin Kallicharran

Now 59, the man who played Test cricket for the best team in the world at the time, is still producing the goods at local league level.

He has hit some useful scores, after coming in down the order, including a top figure of 60 against Standish.

“He’s still got it,” said captain Chris Sanderson. “Even at his age, you can still see the quality.”

Kallicharran, who played 66 Test matches and 31 one-day internationals between 1972 and 1981 in a brilliant West Indies era, only intended to play two games for Blackrod.

“I am heavily involved with Lashings and we don’t start playing until May, so I just wanted to get a couple of games to prepare myself for the season,” said the man who took over from Clive Lloyd as captain of that legendary Windies side and produced what many regard his finest innings when he scored 158 against England in Port of Spain in 1973.

“I was working with two kids, Saif and Asif Bhojani (who joined Blackrod at the start of this season), and I came to a couple of games and I was impressed with the club.”

Kallicharran developed an instant affinity with the Vicarage Road side, so much so that he travels from his home in London every weekend for games.

He is happy to play his part in the club’s progress without being treated like a star, and is also involved in developing the junior section by helping with advice and coaching.

“I could play for a club closer to home, of course.” said the Guyana-born man. “But I just liked the club.

“If I didn’t enjoy it I wouldn’t do it.

“My role doesn’t have to be particularly performance-related in terms of scoring runs but just advising the captain, setting him on the right road in terms of decision-making.

“When you get older you play within your limitations. You understand yourself and you can only do so much.

“Listening to the people talk about the history, you can see they want to go forward.

“As a young captain, Chris has aspirations for the club and the people here are keen. It’s a nice village club and I am happy to have an input.”

Sanderson said Kallicharran’s presence has had a far-reaching effect.

“One man came over from Yorkshire to see him play,” he said. “He brought a picture of him which he got signed.

“It’s a privilege to have Alvin playing with us.

“It’s great for me as a captain to have him in the team. I’m going to learn 10 times more as a captain from having his input during games.

“He bats lower down the order but he could easily bat higher up. He could have come in and said he’d bat early on. But he said he didn’t want to do that. He said the club’s players should bat first and he’d come in later on when required.

“He’s a real team man and he’s also very interested in developing the kids.”

Kallicharran said: “When you’ve been involved with the game for so long and you have achieved so much from the game, I was happy to create an input here.

“When you have a successful club, the attraction becomes greater. You get more kids coming through, the under-15s start doing well, the under-17s start doing well, that means you’re going to have more and more kids, you’re going to have more competition. You’re going to have young kids competing for places and that’s what the game’s all about.

“When you’ve got no kids coming through, you’re just playing with the same old players.

“At the club, they are competing for places now and when you compete, performances become better, and when you have that you win more games and the club becomes more successful.

“It’s important to create awareness. If you create that, that’s going to create a bit of buzz, a bit of enthusiasm in a small village. And that encourages these players to go out and enjoy their cricket a bit more.”

Kallicharran has been with Lashings, which plays 40 matches a year and guarantees to have 12 ex-full internations in their side, for eight years and is team manager.

“It is full-time and there is a lot of work involved,” he said.

“It’s not all exhibition games, it’s competitive. When you play against clubs with aspiring young players you want to teach them what makes players. If we just wanted to exhibit ourselves, they would think ‘is that all they do’. You want to teach them, you want to talk to them about decision making, you want to pass it on.

“Wherever we go, we take 12 international players. That’s why we’re successful.”