Caribbean cruise

India remind them of the French team
A lot of the local Indians who came out in huge numbers to support India during the match against Bangladesh are comparing this team to the French football team of 2002. Football is huge in Trinidad and Tobago and just last year, their country had become the smallest nation to qualify for the World Cup.

But you might be wondering what’s there to compare in football and cricket? Mathew Narayanan, whose great grandmother was from India, feels the body language of both teams in similar. “You see this Indian team in the middle and they look listless. I hope the defeat against Bangladesh will wake them up a bit. The defeat is not the end of the world, but the Indians just make it look that way. I am also tempted to tell them that it ain’t over till it’s over,” said Matthew, only echoing the views of the others around him.

When Bangladesh partied
In the post match press conference after beating India, Bangladesh skipper Habibul Bashar had hinted that the boys would be ‘free to celebrate in any way they pleased.’ That led to a few frantic calls from the wives of the players the next morning.

But eventually the boys just gathered in the coach’s room and had a few beers. The win did however make singers out of all of them. But singing wasn’t even half as co-ordinated as their play on field and each one of them chose to sing their own favourite song.

In Trinidad, Lara’s den is the highlight
Almost every Trinidadian you meet has his own story to tell about Brian Lara. Lara’s house, which sits atop a tiny hill, was gifted to him thirteen years ago by Trinidad’s Prime Minister, Patrick Manning, after he had declined the people’s request to give Lara his job.

But this is the place where Lara and his friends, including former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke and others, meet when they want to party.