IS it humanly possible to bear the stress of daily life in Trinidad and Tobago without some sort of break in the routine?

The inclement weather is playing havoc with my beach time and my general recreational life is becoming almost unbearable since I am stuck indoors so much.

However, I am turning a negative into a positive and have invested in one of those “home gyms” in an effort to keep my game of indoor soccer up and, of course, my general physical well-being seeing that it’s so important to look after your health as you prepare to celebrate the big 40!

Honestly, chasing that ball around the house does give you an edge, and having a wife who is, arguably, more talented than “Latas” also helps.

I swear the ole’ Ball and Chain is a “little magician” in her own right with more moves than China’s Zhu Chen, the Woman’s World Chess champion.

SACHIN
TENDULKAR

BRIAN LARN

But despite this recreation, nothing can really ease the tension I feel so I have decided to simply tune out, avoid the daily newspapers and the nightly newscast on TV6 for a few days this week.

Could the news at home and around the world be any more morbid than it is at the moment?

Last month, I can barely believe I was watching the beautiful game in Germany and being stuck at home with the wife in front of the TV was turning into a pleasure of sorts, but the euphoria has vanished quickly, and watching “the telly” has turned into a night-marish event with all these Coffin Dodgers shooting off from the mouth over the Chief Justice issue, Israel’s spineless butchery of Lebanese children, and Sri Lankan cricket captain Mahela Jayawardene’s monumental 374 against South Africa in the first cricket Test in Colombo; it certainly took a toll on me last weekend.

And my infant son is heading off to primary school for the first time! Parents are really up against it in this day and age, because not only do we have to worry about sicko adults around our children, children can be exposed to abuse from other minors.

The more I think about it, the more concerned I am.

Do we have to have monitors in the school toilets?

Can the kid take a piss in peace?

I have been popping painkillers for the last three days!

Sports fans, it’s that time: I need some elevation.

Every year I have to add to my travel miles, and 2006 is going to be no exception, with Antigua and the United Kingdom my next destinations.

Next week, I am heading off to Antigua to witness the semi-finals and final of the Stanford 20/20 at the Sticky Wicket Ground.

Being a hopelessly devoted fan of Test cricket, I don’t make too much of One-Day cricket, so you can imagine my reservations about the concept of the 20/20 game when it was first mooted.

Obviously, this is a game that was not designed for bowlers, and although it’s clearly a batsman’s game, the art and beauty of batting is lost amid the sheer crudity of the game.

But whatever my personal feeling about “20/20”, I am also convinced that this new shortened version of cricket is going to have a positive effect on the development of the game.

In terms of spectator enjoyment, one would have to agree that the 20/20 game is achieving its end, judging from the way the crowds are lapping it up and the way the players have taken to the tournament in Antigua.

This game is here to stay and, hopefully, the enormous financial rewards it will bring to the players of the region through Allan Stanford’s sponsorship will be matched with a measure of discipline, desire and excellence from the players that has been missing from the West Indian game for some time.

The more interesting dimension of this 20/20 concept, I reckon, is that in my view, it gives aging players like Brian Lara an opportunity to play this version of cricket for many years to come, once a player can maintain a certain level of fitness.

The shortened game can’t be considered difficult for a professional player, and I really hope some of the outstanding older players stick around and play this game well into their forties.

Would it not have been great for players like Australians Steve and Mark Waugh, who were playing international cricket just a couple of years ago, to have resurfaced in a tournament like this as a player/coach for some of the lesser fancied teams, like Monsterrat or the Cayman Islands.

Perhaps the legends can look at the possibility of including an overseas professional to play with all the teams, except Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica and Guyana, which would already have players with international experience in the team.

Because of the packed international cricket schedule, it may not be realistic to think of Jacques Kallis turning out for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, or Sachin Tendulkar for St. Lucia, but there are a number of international players who are easing slowly towards retirement and some who are recently retired who can come to the Caribbean for a couple of months and prepare one of the teams and play in the tournament.

For example, what would Glen Mc Grath do for the chances of Antigua and Barbuda?

Or, Carl Hooper for Bermuda?

The international media would jump on this tournament once there are international players involved, and that is something Stanford and the Legends have to think about.

Money can’t be the issue because Stanford has already revealed that he will spend US$35 million on this tournament.

Despite Lara’s stated preference for Test cricket (and who can blame him for loving the glorious game), I really hope the West Indies captain opens his heart to this game and makes himself available for the Stanford 20/20 tournament next year.

It would be great to have players with the credentials of Lara playing the 20/20 game and bringing his presence to bear on the tournament.

Hopefully, once the West Indies skipper is finished with all his personal business around the region, he will at least make himself available to watch the final three games in Antigua next week.

Despite the criticism about the new innovations to the game, this “20/20” is here to stay, and it just may be the way for the International Cricket Council to broaden the appeal of the game worldwide.