Call of the Caribbean

"Good day! Mr Marlon," a Caribbean baritone reached the long-on boundary from an Eden Gardens stand.

Marlon Samuels turned to wave towards the upper tier. "That's my boy!" Peter Matthews exclaimed in the manner of a proud father introducing his star son to friends.

This corner of B1 Block was on Tuesday the lone island of cheer for the West Indies as MSD and Co sent Darren Sammy and friends on a leather hunt.

Matthews from Trinidad and Tobago, Raymond Ward and Trevor Williams from Jamaica and Mervyn Douglas from Bermuda may not be the famed fast bowling quartet whose services the Windies might want to recall, but their support for the team counts for much on what has so far been another forgettable tour for a team in decline.

"These boys (the players) love us for that. At the hotel they always ask if we are doing okay," Ward told Metro.

It was hard to miss the 50-something, flag-waving foursome in their burgundy team shirts, not to forget Matthews's extravagant top hat. "Our relationship with our cricketers is unlike what you see here. We don't idolise individuals. They can have a drink with us after the day's game," Ward said.

Matthews, a member of the Trinidad fan club Trini Posse, found it amusing that Indian fans couldn't see beyond Sachin Tendulkar. "Watching Sachin is following the game. The crowd turns whichever way he turns!" quipped friend Williams.

Back home, he pointed out, it wasn't uncommon for a Chris Gayle, a Ramnaresh Sarwan or even a Brian Lara to visit the stands "for a bit of fun" during a Test match. "I can't imagine Dhoni doing that," Ward smiled.

For the quartet, an aseptic Eden without its packed stands has so far been the big surprise, if not the security restrictions that prevent fans from carrying even a flag handle.

In the Caribbean islands, the cricket grounds are small but each one has a party stand.

"A match ticket includes free lunch and drinks. Calypso or reggae music is played at the end of an over and sometimes even between balls for people to dance to. Some stands, like the one in Jamaica, even has a small swimming pool for fans to take a dip midway through a match," said Ward.

So were they finding watching cricket on near-empty Indian grounds (not that five-day matches in the Windies are a big draw) boring? "We are used to seeing huge Indian crowds on TV," said Matthews. "But the few thousand here do make some noise. Do you have amplifiers in the stands that increase the sound?"

The behaviour of the Delhi crowd during the first Test, however, left the four friends disappointed. "They heckled us. One member of the audience even did a monkey dance. We are not here to fight the cricketers' battle. We are here to support the game," Matthews said, standing up to clap as Laxman completed 150.

"It's an honour to come and see Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman play," added the Trinidadian, who congratulated Dravid on his century at the team hotel on Monday night.

Has he missed seeing any Indian player on this tour? "I miss Harbhajan. He knows us by face," Matthews said.