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BY
VALENTINO SINGH
Sports
Editor
In
1980 while still a rookie sportswriter with the Challenge
Newspaper, I wrote a column which described the achievements
of our national sporting stars. Among the persons who stood
out during this period was Andrew Clarke, the former national
cricketer, who earned the sobriquet ‘Zig-Zag’ because
of his unusual approach to the wicket while bowling. Andrew
was a personal friend of mine and we both played for Harvard
where we enjoyed many great moments together.
A gentleman of the highest standing, Andrew loved life. Cricket
was his passion and he would frequently call and discuss the
sport with me. He was also a calypso lover and was responsible
for the best calypso ever sang about Harvard and which became
the club’s anthem.
Andrew died on May 6, at the age of 61. Today I republish
that 1980 article in memory of my friend, Andrew ‘Zig
Zag’ Betram Clarke.
For
Andrew Clarke, being selected on the Trinidad cricket team
meant a lot.
It gave him the opportunity of following his lifelong ambition
of representing his country in sport and secondly the chance
to play cricket professionally was not just a distant possibility,
but was becoming very much a reality.
Earlier in the year 1967, he had been in contact with the
late Sir Frank Worrell who had indicated to him that his bowling
would be almost unplayable in the heavier atmosphere of England.
“In
fact,” pointed out Sir Frank, “all you have to do
is to get on the Trinidad team, perform well, and there is
no doubt that you will find yourself on a plane to England
to play the sport professionally.”
In the next few months leading up to the Shell Shield tournament
and in the Trinidad trials, Andrew Clarke worked hard.
He continued his grand showing in the Trinidad Cricket Council
for his club Harvard by again taking more than 50 wickets
in the competition, then went on to mesmerise the top batsmen
in the Trinidad trials.
And soon his reward came.
When the Trinidad team for the Shell Shield tournament was
announced, one Andrew Bertram Clarke, a 21-year old swing
bowler from the Harvard Cricket Club was included.
About this says Andrew: “It was probably one of the happiest
moments of my life.”
At the end of the tournament Andrew had taken 13 wickets.
It meant that the season was not as successful as he anticipated
and he would have to wait until the next season and better
that performance to earn a job in the English competitions.
But that opportunity never presented itself.
In the following season, Trinidad had only one game against
the Englishmen who were touring here and it was to be the
last match in which the promising Clarke represented his country.
But Andrew is convinced this was through no fault of his.
“I
was always willing to represent my country and I believe that
the trouble started when Trinidad was playing against Guyana
in Guyana in 1987.
“I
was at the bar speaking with Berkeley Gaskin and the manager
of our team when Berkeley asked me what I thought about the
state of cricket in Trinidad.
“Needless
to say, I told him my frank opinion. I told him the Queen’s
Park Cricket Club was too dominant. The manager of our team
was a Queen’s Park member and he told me that I should
not make statements like that.
“I
explained that it was my opinion and I was entitled to answer
the question in any way that I wanted.
“
I believe, after that, that was the end of Andrew Clarke.”
In the years that followed Andrew continued to be among the
top wicket-takers in the local club cricket, but still never
got an invitation to trials.
Andrew remembers the year 1969.
“In
‘68, we played only one game and that was it.
“The
following season in the local competition, I was among the
top wicket takers as usual and I expected to be in the national
trials.
“I
knew when the teams were being selected, so I got up bright
and early and bought a newspaper to see which team I was selected
on for the trials.
"But
look as I could, there was no sign of my name."
The father of three explained that he broke down in tears.
"That
was one thing that really hurt and for days I took up the
newspapers hoping to see that some mistake had been made and
that Andrew Clarke's omission was an error.
"But
it wasn't."
"It
was really the end of Andrew Clarke as a Trinidad player and
boy, the way I was feeling I even got the urge to burn down
the whole of Queen's Park.”
But Andrew never bothered to take this drastic step!
In fact, although he claims he would never forget the injustice
which was meted out to him, he is convinced that he has had
some sort of revenge.
After he realised that it was really the end, he consistently
took the most wickets in the competition and on four occasions
forced himself into the Trinidad Cricket Council's list of
"Five Cricketers of the Year."
It has often been said that Andrew's unorthodox approach to
the wicket which earned him the title ‘Zig Zag’
is one of the reasons why he became so successful.
Instead of the usual straight run to the wicket, Andrews darts
to the left, then to the right, back to the left and again
the right, then delivers a very slow-looking ball which very
often deceptive.
He claims that he is the slowest fast bowler in the world.
Says Andrew smiling: "I believe in one or two things.
You are either fast like Hall and Griffith or "slow"
with the ability to swing the ball.
“There
is no in between. "
Commenting on his unorthodox approach to the wicket, Andrew
says: "To tell the truth it has been with me ever since
I started to play cricket I remember trying to bowl real fast,
but I never could get the pace I wanted and everytime I approached
the wicket I found I had missed my run.
"So
I started to go a little to the left before I arrived at the
wicket and I suppose the zig-zag approach came on gradually."
Earlier this season, at age 35 Andrew Clarke proved that it
is still a long way from the end of his career.
In fact, at the end of only five first-class games, he had
bagged 38 wickets including a fascinating performance against
Texaco when he took nine wickets for 42 runs.
But it was not the first time he was getting nine wickets
in an innings. It was the seventh time - a feat which should
be included in the Guinness Book of Records.
In his very first match for Harvard in 1965 against Maple,
he took 9-43.
He has also achieved the feat on one other occasion against
Maple, once against San Juan United, versus Shannon on two
occasions, in trials and two weeks ago versus Texaco.
There are those who would argue that he only bowls well on
matting.
“But,”
points out Andrew, “it is much harder to get batsmen
out on a dead Savannah matting than on a turf wicket.
"And
in any case, I did get wickets on turf at CIC in my last year
at college."
This year marks Andrew's 20th anniversary in first-class cricket
and he has taken more than 600 wickets (in first-class club
cricket) during his career.
He claims that Rohan Kanhai is the greatest batsman to whom
he has bowled.
"Rohan
always seemed to know what you were bowling before the ball
came out of the bowler's hand.”
Among the many followers and admirers whom Andrew has are
President Ellis Clarke who is his first cousin and his uncle
Joffre Serrette.
“Not
many people are aware of this," explains Andrew, "because
I don't see any reason to tell them.
"But
I am quite sure both of them always boast and tell people
that Andrew is their family," he joked.
The only point that he was ever unhappy with during the actual
game of cricket was the partiality which the authorities displayed
to batsmen.
"The
benefit of the doubt goes to a batsman. They restrict fieldsmen
on the leg side. A ball could be hitting the stumps, if it
pitches outside the leg stump it's not out, it certainly is
unfair to bowlers."
Andrew 'Zig-Zag' Clarke has a final message to the authorities
now in charge of our cricket.
"The
main reason why our cricket is on the downgrade is because
there seems to be a war still going on between the ex-administrators
and the present ones.
“Not
because they were vindictive, you must show them that you
too, can be vindictive. Forget about that and let’s all
be honest and sincere in attempts to bring our cricket back
to the place where it rightfully deserves to be - at the top
of the ladder.”
That’s Andrew ‘Zig-Zag’ Bertram Clarke for
you... a name which certainly should be in the Guinness Book
of Records.
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