Colin Babb Interview

Colin Babb has written “1973 and Me” a fascinating book that talks about the influence that the 1973 West Indies tour of England had on him, and the wider community of Caribbean people in the UK. 

It’s much than that though. Providing an insight into the day-to-day life of Colin, his family and his school friends. He describes himself as “BBC” a British Born Caribbean and this book opens the door to his life in London. That includes football, music, food and politics, making for a very entertaining and informative read. 

Colin Babb at West Indies v India T20I at the National Stadium , Providence, Guyana, August 6 2023

Thanks for finding the time to have this chat Colin. The first thing that I wanted to ask is, how old were you in 1973?

I was eight, going on nine, born in the mid 60’s. At the time I was living in an area of South London called Streatham, with my great grandmother who was from Guyana, my mother who was also from Guyana and my father, who was from Barbados. We were living in a housing association flat/maisonette. We lived upstairs, there was initially a Jamaican family living downstairs. When they moved out, then a Guyanese lady moved in. 

It was a fairly mixed street. We had an Irish family to our left, a Jewish family to our right, with a general mixture of working class and lower middle-class English, Scottish, Irish and West Indian.

I was at a talk a while back where the footballer Liam Rosenoir, spoke about the eclectic mix of backgrounds in his part of London when he was growing up. He went to talk about the way that they would come together at weekends for parties at his parents house. 

I would say that our community wasn’t always friendly. There were tensions between the different groups. We didn’t always get on, as kids we had our little differences with each other. But, by and large, we held it together. You know that wherever you go in the world, there isn’t a place on the planet where people aren’t divided by things such as religion, money, class, language, territory, history, politics, race. We are always divided by something, because we are tribal. 

You spoke earlier of your great grandmother and the rest of your family. Were they cricket fans?

I would say that my great grandmother was not particularly interested. My mother wasn’t either. My father was, and I probably took a lot of influence from him. Although I was evolving into a cricket fan myself, both consciously and subconsciously. When I was growing up, we used to sometimes have gatherings at our flat, my friends or family would come over. They would be from different parts of the Caribbean, Guyanese, Bajans, Trinidadians, Dominicans all around the region with different racial backgrounds. Cricket was often the talk of the day. 

So, I heard a lot about Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith, also going back to the days of Learie Constantine, Ramadhin and Valentine, Weekes, Worrell and Walcott. I hadn’t seen them play, but I’d heard about them, they were in my subconscious just through being talked about in the house.

I was living in an interesting social setting, where I felt very West Indian, because I was brought up in a West Indian household. But when I left the house, I felt West Indian, I never felt British and I think the West Indies team reinforced that with trips over here every three or four years. It was a way of connecting with “back home” for some of my parents family and the rest of us who were longing for home but couldn’t get there enough. So, when the team came, that was our connection with home. This was one of the reasons why the grounds were filled by West Indians. Many of whom, were not cricket fans but it was a great social occasion.

It was emblematic of the culture that they had left behind.

Yes. Mike Phillips, the Guyanese cricket writer said to me once, that cricket was a unifying force, and also a dividing force between the West Indians and the English. It was something that they could hold onto together. They both came from cricket loving communities. Yet, they didn’t always get on with each other during, or after a match. But there was a connection there, and a weird sort of appreciation as well.

A lot of West Indians revered Dickie Bird the umpire for example. My Dad would have conversations with him from our sofa when we were watching cricket on TV in the 70’s. If Dickie Bird didn’t give a decision that my dad expected, let’s say Keith Boyce appealing for LBW against Dennis Amiss, he’d shout out “Dickie, Stick your finger up!”

Some gentle words of advice!

Yes, exactly.

Did any of your family play club cricket?

Not that I’m aware of. Though my father had a friend who briefly played for Gloucestershire, it’s in the book! My father was at school with Keith Boyce, but as I’m aware there wasn’t anyone in the family that played to a high standard. Most of the family that were in Britain, especially the men who were Guyanese were though, very connected with cricket.

Did the West Indies tour of 1973 prompt you to start playing? Did you have the chance to play in school?

Yes, I did play, though there wasn’t a formal structure around playing games through my primary state schools. We just had cricket practise, and lads versus Dad’s matches. Then there were after school games between ourselves, that a teacher would organise. At my secondary school we had some friendly matches against other schools. None of us attended private cricket clubs, I wouldn’t have even known what they were. The only clubs I knew, were West Indian clubs, which I occasionally went to watch matches at.

I didn’t meet anyone who went to a fee-paying school until I went to university and work. I first started playing cricket in a Sunday league team when I was about 19 or 20, with a friend of mine. Almost the entire team were private school guys. So it’s through cricket that I had a connection with that kind of world.

Interestingly, about 3 or 4 years after those Test games in 1973 I ended up playing at The Oval!

Wow!

I’d joined the Boys Brigade, which was like a more formal version of Scouts. I’d joined after meeting a friend on the street, who said he went as they used to run around playing games, sounded great to me. So, I joined as well. Then I discovered that they met in a hall that was literally at the top of my street, which I hadn’t been aware of. Then I found out that they had a cricket team for under 11’s. I ended up being the captain, opening bowling and opening batsman. I just wanted to do everything! 

Then I joined the seniors as one of the youngest players. I didn’t really do much batting then. Came in at 9,10 or 11 in fact, hardly ever came in. If I did, I was just holding up one end. Probably bowled about 3 overs in the whole season but I was included in the final of the cup competition. It was a London wide Boys Brigade under 18’s cup and the final was at The Oval. I batted at either 8 or 9. I got a duck! But we won the cup!

We used about half the ground, as The Oval is huge. I couldn’t throw the ball to the wicket keeper as he was so far away. I threw the ball to someone else, who then threw it to the Keeper. I really couldn’t understand how someone could really engage with the game if you were fielding on the boundary in a proper first-class game, you are so far away.

I noticed that the first Test of that West Indies series was played at The Oval. I tend to think of it as the location for the final Test of the summer.

Yes, it was only a three-match series that year. The West Indies did though play the majority of the counties on that tour, as there was more time in the schedules.

I really miss the days when the touring teams would go around the counties, giving everyone the chance to see these great players. 

Yes, it’s such a shame that it doesn’t happen anymore. There are new competitions and more international cricket these days. We’ve just had The Australians here, no real warm up games for them. It’s the modern way. I do miss the old touring schedule. That West Indies tour in ’73 started against Essex at Chelmsford and went around the country from there.

When you were sitting down to watch the Test games on TV, was that a family event, or would you be watching it on your own?

It was mainly me. Dad would have been working. He was in the army, so away a lot. He was though around that summer, which I remember very well. Generally watched during the day, as they always seemed to be played during school holidays. Now if there does happen to be a Test out of term time, it’s on Sky, so lots of kids can’t see it! It used to be so easy when it was on the BBC as part of the licence fee. You got up, got ready for Soul Limbo by Booker T & the M.G’s and you’d watch every ball.

If it got a little boring, I’d go upstairs and listen to it on the radio, or maybe pop out and play with my friends for a short while. When I got older though, I’d watch every ball, either with my father or by myself. My mother didn’t watch it. My grandmother would sit there and look as though she was watching. But wasn’t really doing so. She did though make the odd comment. Although the two of them weren’t really cricket fans, they always wanted the West Indies to win. It meant a lot to the Caribbean community. 

And this is a myth I’d like to bust. Certainly, in the Caribbean community in the 70’s, not everyone was a cricket fan, some liked it, some didn’t. But that cricket culture was so strong that even if you weren’t a cricket fan, you’d watch it on TV, or even go to the ground, to be part of something. I’ve heard stories of people going to places like Trent Bridge, The Oval, Lords or Edgbaston and meeting people that they went to primary school with back home in the Caribbean, probably not knowing that the other person had moved to Britain as well. It was that kind of experience. A great outdoor meeting place, a place to socialise. You’d have people selling little plastic tubs of rum, a guy outside The Oval selling vinyl records, a thriving business. Some people would share their food round. It’s making me feel hungry just talking about it!

When I used to go to watch the West Indies in 1976 or 1980, I would go with my father, or friends. It would be a mixed crowd, some West Indians, some English, we were all friends. We’d watch the match together, hanging out, having fun. There wasn’t any racial tension between us, or hostility. As we got older, you wanted to get on the pitch, touch the ball, throw it back, get on the TV.

Funny enough I was looking of some old footage this of the first Test in 1973, loads of kids running on to the field to congratulate Clive Lloyd on his century, when he’d only reached 99!

Yes, that’s in the book.  It’s noticeable when you watch clips from that time, that a lot of 4’s weren’t really 4’s as the ball didn’t reach the rope before some youngster picked it up! Sometimes the crowd fielding was immaculate, you wouldn’t get away with it now.

There’s that famous Lancashire v. Gloucestershire Gillette Cup semi-final from 1971, sometimes the ball is in the air heading towards a fielder, kids are running past him as he gets ready to take the catch!

Yes, I write about that game in the book! The reason I did so, was that the book covers the 70’s in general. That was probably the first game that I can remember watching. For some reason it sticks in my brain. I remember Procter annoying the crowd. I remember the darkness and David Hughes (Lancs) hitting the ball everywhere.

Thinking about West Indies players from that 1973 team, wow what a list of great names. Rohan Kanhai, Clive Lloyd, Gary Sobers, Roy Fredericks, Vanburn Holder, Alvin Kallicharan, Keith Boyce and more. Incredible players, were there any particular ones that you gravitated towards?

For me it was the Guyanese players, having the family connection with the country, I gravitated toward them. There were six Guyanese players in the squad in 1973: Steve Camacho, who got injured in a county tour match v Hampshire, so didn’t play in a Test, Kallicharan, Fredericks, Gibbs, Lloyd and Kanhai. So a heavyweight line-up from the Guyanese. Not only that, Kanhai was captain and Gibbs was the vice-captain. So, I think that’s what attracted me to this side.

Also leading up to the ’73 tour, I was arguably more interested in football. But two things lead me into cricket, that ’73 tour and the John Player League because it was free to watch on the TV on a Sunday. It was my introduction to the game; I learnt a lot. It was my learning tool about the game, I really enjoyed watching it. My football was Match of the Day on a Saturday evening, my cricket was the John Player Leagues on a Sunday. Weekend sorted.

The John Player League introduced me to a lot of West Indian players, so I got to know them really through that competition, and those great Gillette Cup matches. Lloyd at Lancashire, Holder at Worcestershire, Warwickshire had a serious West Indian collection, Fredericks at Glamorgan, John Shepherd at Kent, I guess those were my learning years.

One of the reasons I wrote about this tour though was that when you look back, the West Indies hadn’t won a Test series between 1968-73, they’d lost or drawn them. After this tour, they were unbeaten in England until the early 90’s. So what I’m trying to say in this book, is that the role of Kanhai was pivotal in changing West Indian fortunes but has not been recognised. Also the ’73 tour is not discussed. People talk about the “grovel” tour and the “blackwash” tour but not this one.

Also, I wanted to write about the lead up to the ’73 tour.  The 60’s was a great time for West Indian cricket in this country, it’s not talked about enough. You could argue that the role that Frank Worrell had when he leads the team in 1963, was actually far more important than what Lloyd did in 1976. It seems that it’s just not really mentioned. Going further back I write about other factors in the build-up to 1973. The great win in 1950 the first time the West Indies had won a series in England. Also 1963 when the West Indies won here, 1966 when they won here again. Then the disappointment of 1969 when they lost. I think it’s important for the book to give people an historic context for the tour in ’73.

Isn’t it odd how you form opinions about people that you never meet. Rohan Kanhai, much like Mike Brearley, always struck me as an intellectual figure. He didn’t really look like a sportsman, if that makes sense. He could have been your Geography teacher; he had that sort of calm authority about him. Clive Lloyd obviously did a great job as captain, Kanhai though just seemed a bit more professorial.

The thing about Kanhai, was that he was the first Guyanese to captain a West Indies team through an entire series. That was an historical moment, which I feel attached to. Also, he was the first West Indian of Indian heritage to captain the West Indies. Really very important, especially when you look at the political turmoil in Guyana in the 60’s and 70’s. The racial, political, economic and social divisions at that time were very problematic. I think it’s important, when I look at that squad, to highlight the fact that it was a multiracial one. People like Kallicharan and Kanhai were of India heritage. Some of African heritage: Gibbs, Lloyd and Fredericks. Then Camacho, who was of Portuguese heritage. So it was a mixture of people and cricket is one of the few ways that the Caribbean can showcase the different ethnic makeup of the region. Let’s not forget Tony Cozier the journalist and commentator, who shocked many people when he appeared on TV for the first time in England. People had assumed that he was not white. Cricket is one of the few avenues where people can get, not just into the soul of the Caribbean, but also an idea of what it actually looks like. I think the ’73 squad did that unintentionally but very well.

The book itself though isn’t just about cricket. It’s about football, comedy and much more from that period. 

Picture of Radio Times taken from Colin’s book

The West Ham footballer Clyde Best is featured in the book. Certainly a player I remember from his days at West Ham. A fine footballer, and a brave man who was very much at the forefront of things as one of the few black footballers at that time.

Yes, he was at the forefront. I interviewed him for the book, and was also involved in a documentary made by a Bermudian TV company about him, which is hopefully coming out next year. His father was a cricket connoisseur and he passed that onto Clyde. When he was younger, he was quite a decent cricketer. There’s more about him the book, so you’ll have to read it!

You mentioned food earlier. From your memory was food an integral part of the whole cricket experience?

Yes, bringing your own food and drink was part of it. Once the cans of drink had been emptied, you would use them to make a rhythmic noise! Actually, that wasn’t such a big thing in ’73, more so in ’76, that and 1980 saw more of the can banging experience. 1973 was more about the crowd invasion side of things. In fact I think that at Edgbaston they may have put a fence up to deter people. Back at Lord’s though, people were coming back on the pitch again. Not just West Indians by the way, England fans were doing it as well. Mainly young boys. There was a great bit of commentary regarding that invasion when Clive Lloyd got to that 99 you mentioned earlier. I think it was by Alan Gibson, when he says “And some of these older boys really should know better!” Absolutely fantastic, sort of telling them off like a head teacher would.

You’ve given me a much greater understanding of the importance of this tour. What do you think that the impact was on the Caribbean community in the London area, and indeed the wider diaspora of the UK?

The reason why this tour was unique, was that by the early 1970’s we had an established Caribbean community in Britain. Not just in London, but in our major cities. Also, the emergence of a second generation, not only were they born here but they were coming to an age where they began to appreciate cricket (or not), and also young people who came here with their families. So, you had a first- and second-generation connection, which I don’t think was a strong in the 1960’s. So, whether or not you had a strong relationship with your family as a West Indian born here, or growing up here, you could make that relationship through cricket. Everybody wanted the West Indies to win, regardless of you being a cricket connoisseur, or not.

There was a way of connecting generations. You saw that in the ’73 tour, a lot of young people, mainly boys, and their fathers, uncles or aunties celebrating cricket, or going together just because it’s a day out. In those days, when you were growing up, virtually everybody had a connection with the cricket community, regardless of them liking the game, or not. They wanted the West Indies to win. 

Also what was important about this tour, and the rest of the 70’s and the 60’s, was that cricket unified people from the Caribbean. For those 5 days at the Test match, it didn’t necessarily matter if you were from Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados or Guyana. We all wanted the West Indies to win.

The book as a whole though is not just about cricket. It’s about growing up, it’s about nostalgia, it’s about family and migration. Also comedy, television, music, football even Sacha Distel gets a mention! There are elements about racism that I had to battle with, but there’s humour in there as well.

Also, it’s not just my story, there are lots of other people stories as well. They talk of their memories of what life was like at that time and the impact that cricket had on them.

There is a Q&A with Dickie Bird, and pieces on Inshan Ali and Ron Headley. It was great to talk to so many people when putting this book together. In total I interviewed 60 people, doing that was the back rock of this book and a great thing to do. The likes of Frank Hayes and Dennis Amiss, gave me their time as well. It was a wonderful experience.

Thank you so much for your time Colin. The book is a fabulous read, and will trigger many memories for those of a certain age. Plenty in there for younger readers as well, it will certainly give you an understanding of life in 1970’s Britain.

You can buy the book, and find further information from Colin’s website:

https://colinbabbauthor.com