my tips to improve his goalkeeping capabilities, of course, and he always struck me as a beautifully balanced person. (George and Gina Hislop have done such a terrific job with their children -- brothers Kona and Kali could also charm you with their humble, “down-to-earth” personalities -- and the elder Hislop generation should be proud parents).

I had been blessed to see him graduate from the Colleges League, where he turned out with St. Mary’s College in the late 80s (his heroics between the uprights and Kona’s brilliance as a subliminal goalscorer secured a North Zone Intercol title with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Fatima College) to being one of the standouts in the English Premiership for the past decade, most notably with Newcastle United, West Ham United and Portsmouth.

At West Ham, he was one of the favourites with fans and it was amazing to see the typical English family, children et al, toughing it out in bitterly cold weather while the Hammers trained, just to get a few moments for an autograph and photograph with their football heroes.

Shaka always found the time to stop and chat, pose for the pictures and hug his adoring fans.

It was real insight for me and I was especially proud of the way the English-born Trini strutted his stuff.

Corporate England also took a fancy to Hislop, and often times he would spend an evening, when time was available, attending the opening of some Essex store or retail outlet as a promotional gesture for the various firms.

Yeah, he made a few extra Sterling, but as he pointed out, he enjoyed doing it because of how much the fans appreciated it.

Hislop has been more than a Black goalkeeper, he stands up against racism in football and that sets him apart, in my eyes, and that’s why he will always be my No.1 (I hope Kelvin and Clayton don’t take this personally).

Yet, amid it all, he always maintained a simple outlook, preferring to spend time with his daughters (it was three girls in those days, but the Hislop playroom has been extended since those days), and it was no surprise that he accepted his relegation to the national bench with an air of grace and style.

But a lot has changed since the campaign ended against Bahrain.

Nothing will give me greater pleasure than seeing “little brother” wearing the No.1 shirt for this country’s opening game against Sweden, even if it is a slew of top-class goals banging past the former Diamond Vale resident.

I think the wizened Leo appreciates that each of the three goalkeepers will get the opportunity to play in the World Cup, but for me, it is important that Hislop’s contribution to the national team, he being a former captain and stalwart of the team when it wasn’t fashionable as a highly paid foreign-based professional to be playing for the national team, be recognised by starting the Germany campaign in goal for the “Jumpers and Wavers”.

An English FA Cup final and a World Cup at age 37 … the adventure is just beginning, it seems.

So, such is life in sports: you are up one minute and the next you are flying high.

Just last week, I was lamenting the deplorable state of West Indies cricket, and in the wink of an eye, Brian Lara is back as captain, the Players Association and the Cricket Board are hugging and kissing and the West Indies team is winning matches again.

Thankfully, we are seeing the West Indies selectors implementing an ad hoc rotation system for the Zimbabwe series and I suppose that has to be Lara’s direct influence.

It certainly did not happen before when Chanderpaul was captain, or as a matter of fact, when Lara was at the helm before.

One would suppose that the limited international opportunities for the West Indies players leading up to the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup forced the change of policy, but I think the selectors would do well to implement a properly structured strategy policy that requires a rotation of players for ODI matches.

But, while the policy change has to be applauded, very little will be accomplished against the likes of Zimbabwe, with its largely young inexperienced team not capable of providing us with a competitive challenge.

India, runners-up in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, will be more of the real deal with a galaxy of top-class international batsmen and bowlers and I hope the selectors do not place too much emphasis on winning the Zimbabwe ODI series in preference to blooding the emerging players.

The West Indies need to get the mix right, and while I am happy for Guyanese opening batsman Sewnarine Chattergoon, I don’t know if his game is tailor-made for limited-over cricket, or our own Dave Mohammed with his left-arm wrist spin for that matter.

But, I am going to give the selectors some room on this owe, although I am completely bewildered by the selection of former Barbadian Test paceman Tino Best, who has been around the West Indies team for a couple of years and cannot benefit, individually, by being selected to play against Zimbabwe’s teenaged batting line-up.

Everyone is going to do well against Zimbabwe, so these performances will not clarify the World Cup team picture.

I would have thought Guyana’s Usau Crandon would have been a more marketable investment, as I expect Richard Kelly and Rishi Bachan to be for the upcoming matches at the Queen’s Park Oval.

Why Bachan?

Well, didn’t Lara pluck Fidel Edwards from the bowling nets in Barbados to play Test cricket for the West Indies?

I think 19-year-old Bachan has a much better CV; hell, he won’t do any worst than any other spinner that has played for the West Indies in the last decade.

Perhaps, someone from the local cricket board can get Bachan, who has never played a first class match for Trinidad and Tobago, to bowl to Lara during the net sessions next week.