The Other Side of the Coin by Andy Ganteaume

Andy Ganteaume’s name is not usually mentioned among his peers, the greats of West Indies cricket, that peculiar English pastime, that for a while at least, West Indians have been considered masters of the game. He played and scored a century plus – 112 runs - in only one test match against England in 1948 and was never again selected to play in another Test match. Almost sixty years later, opening batsman Andy Ganteaume has published My Story: The Other Side of the Coin - in which he reveals why, after being among the select few international cricketers who scored centuries in their maiden Test appearances, he was discarded by what he refers to as “the establishment.”

Andy’s My Story: The Other Side of the Coin was recently launched at a famous West Indies test cricket venue, the newly renovated Queen’s Park Oval members’ pavilion in Port of Spain, to an audience of cricketers, cricket enthusiasts, friends, and the local press.

Over the years Andy has in jest claimed that he has “a better test average than the Don” (Sir Donald Bradman), pausing just long enough for the unthinkable idea to register before adding much to the relief of the surprised listeners, “ but it is also my aggregate score.” That sense of humour is reflected throughout his book.

In a prepublication review, Dr. Ian Mc Donald, poet and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, who has written extensively on West Indies Cricket noted that, “Along with much else, he refutes conclusively the misconception, not to say smear, that in that expert and assured debut Test innings he batted “too slowly”. This is absolutely required reading. But his account of this extraordinary cricketing episode is only a part of Andy Ganteaume’s wonderfully interesting, revealing, and forthright autobiography, My Story. Especially vivid are his portraits of persons he has known well, many of them treasured friends, some of them famous personalities and others with whom sharp daggers were drawn.”

In the foreword, Sir Everton Weekes, the lone surviving member of the famous 3 Ws (Everton Weekes, Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott) said, “The atrocities that existed and prevailed way back when the West Indies was given Test match status must be properly recorded. The injustices experienced by some players mainly because of social and economic advantages must not be allowed to go unnoticed. Thank heavens the playing field now seems to be more level.”

But Andy did not dwell on the negatives. In his Introduction he wrote, “Nothing I have said is meant to malign anyone but facts are stubborn things. As a matter of fact, to avoid seeming to “paint the lily,” I have not mentioned all I could have. Obviously, it must be left to the reader to accept or reject. I however have no fear of successful contradiction.”

In his long career as player, selector, administrator and coach, Andy’s life touched many persons some famous, some not known, many of whom became firm friends. In My Story, he paints interesting vignettes of many of them. The long list includes Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Clyde Walcott, Clifford Roach, George Headley, Lord Learie Constantine, J.K. Holt, and CLR James.

In his classic book on cricket, Beyond a Boundary, CLR James traced the fruition of national West Indian consciousness through the development of cricket, where what happened inside the boundary affected life beyond it. Now, Professor Baldwin Mootoo of the University of the West Indies told the audience at the launch of My Story that Andy, “has told a unique story in this publication which we should all read if we are interested in West Indian cricket development and thus the evolution of Caribbean society.” And Everard Gordon writing in the Arena, the Trinidad Guardian sports supplement has cautioned, “It is a piece that every young man should read and not only young men, a piece that should be compulsory reading for every cricketer.”

About Andy Ganteaume:

Andy Ganteaume, now in his 87th year is a former West Indies cricketer, selector, administrator and coach. His claim to fame is that he played one test for the West Indies in 1948, scored 112, and was never selected again. His autobiography examines his relationship with the ‘colonial cricket establishment’ of the period and debunks the myth that he was dropped because he batted “too slowly.”

My Story: The Other Side of the Coin is published in Trinidad and Tobago by Medianet Ltd. It is available to Caribbean Diaspora readers on the world wide web at Amazon.com.

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