Guardian Media's Sports Desk features former West Indies player Dinanath Ramnarine, a son of the Chaguanas soil Dinanath Ramnarine as we continue with our community outreach series.
Q. If one asks who is Dinanath Ramnarine, how would you describe yourself?
A. I'll answer by telling you a couple of stories which I think say more about me than I can say about myself. I was 13 years old when my mother had a discussion with me about the effects of drinking alcohol and smoking, which was prevalent in my community, I suppose like in many others. In that conversation, I gave her my word that I would never smoke or drink alcohol. Thirty-one years later, I have remained true to that word. Even at my wedding, I drank an Apple J, the champagne of soft drinks (smile).
Later, at about age 18, soon after I had made the national senior team, I was offered huge sums of money to leave Alescon Comets by other clubs. I went to my mother for guidance. Given our situation at home, I was eager to earn my own money and I couldn’t imagine my mother not supporting this move.
I distinctly remember her carefully listening to me. Then she explained that Alescon Comets was not just a cricket club but an important organisation in the community for several reasons. She spoke about how Alescon, which is almost 93 years old today, united the community, bringing diverse religious groups together through the sport of cricket. She went on to explain what the club meant to our family, as my father (who I didn’t know very well since he died when I was only six) had dedicated his life to the club as the club's official scorer for over 30 years while my brothers actively played with the club.
The final point she emphasised was the importance of remembering and valuing those who had given me opportunities and had supported me to achieve whatever success I had and would have. A few days later, after giving it some thought, I told her that I had decided not to play for any club other than Alescon Comets and that I would not take any money from Alescon to play cricket. I am pleased to have played for my club for almost 20 years and while all other players got paid, I played without accepting any monies from the club. I will forever remember her response to my decision: 'Good decision and never forget where you came from'. These words still resonate in my mind in everything that I do.
For those who know me, my family means everything to me, as the last of ten children, my mother and siblings provided me with unconditional love and support throughout my entire life. My wife has not only been my partner for the last 18 years but she has also been my best friend and my harshest critic. Our three children are my constant joy and are also not shy to provide unsolicited and honest feedback, all of which help to keep me grounded. I feel very fortunate to have been blessed with this type of support during the highest and lowest periods of my life. Without them, I would be nothing.
Q. Your contribution to the nation through sports in particular is no secret, but what is your contribution to Charlieville and in particular Chaguanas?
A. My contribution has been in cricket playing for the Alescon Comets Cricket Club, which I started when I just turned 14 years in a match against the Oxford Cricket Club to gain promotion from the Central Zone to National League Division 2. This was a major achievement for the club and I recalled the entire community coming out to support and what this meant to the community of Charlieville and by extension the Chaguanas community.
I was also the first player from Chaguanas to play for the West Indies. However, my biggest contribution to date to the community is the KFC Youth Coaching Programme, which I conceptualised and for which I was able to get the funding following a discussion with then marketing manager Dennis Ramdeen and former CEO of Prestige Holdings Dane Darbasie, both of whom were originally discussing a personal endorsement with me. However, I wanted the community to benefit and was able to convince them to go with the KFC Programme so young persons in the community would get an opportunity just as I had.
The programme was further developed with the assistance of former player and vice president of the club, Dr Maniram Ragbir, Dr Dale Hassaranah (club doctor), the late Rajendra Jagroop (Comets former captain and treasurer at the time) and Errol Furlonge (educator) to address two areas - sports (Cricket coaching and development) and education (for children who could not afford or needed assistance with their school work). The programme changed over the years and ran for over 15 years and persons like Adrian Bharath and hundreds more benefited from it.
Q. What makes you proud to be a native of Charlieville?
A. The people of Charlieville without a doubt. The community is a close-knitted community that has kept me grounded and has helped me significantly while teaching me many valuable lessons along the way. I recall when I was selected to go to Barbados for Presentation College in 1990, I was asked to contribute TT$300. I wanted to go but knew there was no way I could have asked my mother for $300. I recalled telling the cricket coach as an excuse for not going, that I get sick when I travel on an aircraft (I had never travelled on an aircraft in my life). On the day that the school was supposed to go on the trip, the captain of the team, Kenrick Mangalie, who also lived in Charlieville, offered to pick me up to take me to the airport and I told him that I was not going. The word quickly got around and members of the community on the very date of the travel raised the money for me to go.
However, there was another problem, I had to tell them that I didn’t have a passport. They were able to arrange a travel permit for me at the airport and I was able to travel on that permit to Barbados for the Garfield Sobers tournament, in which we reached the finals. It is this type of support by members of the community throughout my career and even afterwards, which has made me so very proud of Charlieville.
It is for those reasons that I have continued to be involved in the game which has given me everything and for which I feel a sense of spiritual obligation to live by the words: “To whom much is given, much is expected.”
Q. From your teenage years to now, how would you describe the development of sports in Charlieville and by extension Chaguanas?
A. While the game of cricket continues to be strong in the community because the clubs like Alescon Comets and Central Sports, two clubs very close to each other playing in the National League Division 1 and well over 90 years, are well structured, sadly, the other sports have not quite developed in the way they should have for a number of reasons, including lack of facilities, funding and proper management.
Q. Who was your childhood hero and do you still admire that person today?
A. Many people have contributed significantly to my life. My mother was probably the most influential but outside of my family and in a community-based context, I admired Mr Azad Abass Ali, who was the president of Alescon Comets for more than two decades and a businessman from Charlieville. He was one of the most influential persons in my life.
Mr Ali, a deeply religious man that followed his Muslim faith, was very considerate and respectful of everyone. He was a generous man who would assist everyone without fanfare or anyone knowing. Every week, I would be called into his office just to chat and to discuss anything that was bothering me. This was not done for me only but to anyone in the community that needed advice or assistance. He was someone that never let the material things that he would have acquired in his life prevent him from mopping the ground when rain fell, pulling covers on the field and more importantly spending a significant amount of his time at games and with the club members.
As a young person, seeing a man that had everything but yet who was so humble be with the club and the community doing these things, taught me that no matter what position you occupy, whatever wealth you accumulate, never lose touch with the people around you. Mr Ali has departed but his values, his principles, his honesty remains with me. I will never forget his love, encouragement and his unconditional support. For me, he played the role of the father that I didn’t have during the formative years of my life and I am sure to many others who were in the same situation as me within the community. I can only aspire to be as selfless as he was to me and the community.
Q. Sports is about competing. Would it be fair for the public to judge you as a combative person or an individual who likes fairness and justice?
A. This is a good question, I think life is about perspective and it depends from which side one looks at a situation or an individual. For example, when I played the game, whether it was for club, school or country, I gave it my all. It’s the only way I know to do it, give your all or don’t do it at all. My teammates love that about me but the teams we played against probably didn’t like it.
Similarly, when I represented the players as head of WIPA, I fought very hard for players' rights and for them to be treated fairly. From the players’ perspective, that was me fighting for fairness and justice, but from the WICB perspective, it might have been combative. More recently, I have been advocating for good governance, transparency and accountability in Trinidad and Tobago’s cricket. For many, that is important for the development and evolution of the game, whereas the incumbents whose perspective may be different, would see my advocacy as combative.
In the final analysis, I believe that no matter what one does there are going to be people who will identify and support one’s position and there will be those for whom the position one takes will not be a popular one and therefore one has to face their criticism. This is par for the course. I can choose to sit in a meeting, not contribute, collect a stipend and be the most loved, but least respected individual and accomplish nothing. But that just would not be me. My philosophy in life is to always try and do the best that one can do for positive change and because so many have helped me along the way, to continue to push for fairness and justice, even if at times it is to my detriment.
Q. Who is your all-time best West Indian cricketer and why?
A. Brian Lara no doubt has to be the greatest player I have played with and in my opinion the greatest West Indian player. To see this genius in action and to have shared a dressing room with him to me, I could not have asked for anything more. The things that Brian was able to accomplish or do on a cricket field was mind-boggling, as they defy the fundamentals of the game in many ways. He scored 375 and 10 years later he scored 400. He scored 370-odd runs in a day and then went on to score 501. The game has changed so much but Lara would stand out in any era amongst the greatest in the world.
In fact, this point is relevant to the question above about being combative - in the first game Lara saw me play as an 18-year old in a trial match, I had a serious battle between bat and ball with Ken Williams and it was that encounter that resulted in Lara saying to the coach after, 'Young Ramnarine must play for T&T this season. I want soldiers, people who are not afraid to play hard against the opposition.' He honestly believed that we needed to change our approach in the way we played from a relaxed way to a more aggressive but fair and confident manner.
Q. What would you like to see improved from a sporting aspect in Chaguanas?
A. I would hope that one day Alescon Comets would get the ground that was earmarked for it since 1994, but for one reason or the other has not been built. Also, I would like to see the community maintain the facilities and not only rely on the government or the borough corporation to look after the facilities. The facilities belong to everyone and we must ensure that we are responsible community citizens and do our part for its care and upkeep. If this can be done with all public facilities, then I think the country would be a much better place. Besides, if more sporting facilities could be built to promote other sports in my community that’s something I would welcome, but I am aware that funding may be an issue.
Q. How many sports were you exposed to before you decided on cricket?
A. During my early days, I played table tennis (on a plywood board), badminton in a friend's front yard, lawn tennis at Presentation College and of course football at the grounds in the community. Growing up we were very innovative, because the boys in the village could not have afforded proper equipment, so we made up things using unwanted stuff. For example, we made bats with wood, we made table tennis rackets with plywood and used bicycle rubbers for the handles. We were a creative bunch of guys in the village and they were always game to try something.
Q. Do you regret any major decisions that you have made?
A. I have made mistakes along the way and will continue to make mistakes but I’m not one to dwell in the past. My guide has always been my conscience, which is shaped by the values that were taught to me growing up.