“A South African cyclist told me ‘you cricketers are just here to booze and party’,” Herschelle Gibbs said before breaking out into laughter. “He was right. But he didn’t have an answer at the closing ceremony when I showed him my gold medal!”
In Malaysia 24 years ago, 16 nations slugged it out on ropey pitches in Kuala Lumpur, battling stinking heat for matches during the day and, for some players, brushes with the organisers for their antics off the pitch at night.
“It’s not like in those days we were huge on fitness,” former South Africa batter Gibbs, who played 90 Tests and 248 one-day internationals between 1996 and 2010, told BBC Sport.
“The rest of the athletes taking part were in mint condition to perform at their very best. We had a team of young pups, and were all there to enjoy ourselves.”
While runners and swimmers were counting every calorie over their salads in the cafeteria at the athletes’ village, the cricketers were lapping up third helpings of ice cream to stay cool, and quenching a thirst with something stronger in the evening.
The tournament pitted some enthusiastic amateur cricketers against some of the world’s top players. Although not England. Unlike in 2022, England did not participate as it clashed with the climax of the County Championship.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had mooted the possibility of sending a weakened team but the English Commonwealth Games authorities insisted on a full-strength side or nothing. England’s absence paved the way for Northern Ireland to make their one, and so far only, appearance at an international cricket tournament as a separate nation.
“We were able to ‘borrow’ the all-Ireland one-day ranking to qualify,” explained former skipper Allan Rutherford. “I even had the honour of carrying the Northern Irish flag at the opening ceremony. Viv Richards carried Antigua’s so I was in good company.”
A few of Northern Ireland’s players were professionals but many had day jobs. Dekker Curry worked in an abattoir, Derek Heasley was a fireman, while Kyle McCallan was fresh out of university and selling used cars. “I’d describe the Northern Ireland cricket team which took part as a cross between Cool Runnings and the Dirty Dozen,” joked ex-Northern Ireland seamer Paul McCrum.
Pitches from Mars, and netting in a car…
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