A grim day for England’s 8,000 traveling supporters and an even grimmer one for the Grenada Tourist Board which has done so much to welcome the influx of tourists and media. Mind you, everybody is still ON the island and it seems highly unlikely they spent any less money because of the washout – quite the opposite, I suspect.

Three hours of broadcasting without a ball bowled takes an unexpected physical toll and, despite remaining in a mostly sedentary position (when not gratuitously eating or making more cups of tea than I would normally drink in a fortnight) I wasn’t the only one feeling exhausted.

The covers were removed and replaced on the square six times and there were three start times announced before the rain returned. Perhaps it was all the false hope which drained us. Spirits remained high in the stands however where the local DJ conducted a Karaoke contest on the stadium PA – exclusively to “Sweet Caroline.”

And a man dressed in yellow danced to “Singing in the Rain.” And when Darren Gough and Gareth Batty weren’t required on air they worked their phones as hard as any teenager – as we all did.

A massive and unexpected ‘pick-me-up’ arrived just as the crew dispersed to our separate rooms to with plans to go for a run or to the gym. We all knew that TalkSport had been nominated for ‘Radio production of the Year’ at the British Sports Journalism Awards, but all believed it might be a bit soon for our first full tour to win. But it did win – TalkSport’s coverage of England’s tour to Sri Lanka last year was Radio Production of the Year. A remarkable achievement, and made even better by the fact that the SJAs are voted for by journalists, our peers. It’s the journalistic equivalent of ‘Players’ Player of the Year’. So gym plans were quickly shelved and the celebrations began.
We try again at the same, terrific venue on Wednesday. Thankfully, the weather forecast has returned to normal.