Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer
Charlie Joseph working at Sabina Park.

Daraine Luton, Sunday Gleaner Reporter

Charlie Joseph has never played the game of cricket. He has tried turning his arm over a few times but that is the closest he has has come to playing the sport.

But few can boast of interacting with more cricket stars and being closer to the action than this 63-year-old groundsman. After all, he has spent 49 years of his life at Sabina Park, preparing pitches, trimming the ground and ensuring its immaculate look.

Born and raised in Allman Town, Kingston, a community situated at Sabina Park's back gate, Joseph believes he is probably the best in the region.

"I rate myself as the best, I that know," the frisky golden ager tells The Sunday Gleaner.

Respected sportswriter Tony Becca regards Charlie as a very good groundsman. "He has been in it for a long time and he knows what he is doing. He is good at it," Becca says.

Charlie started his visits to Sabina Park before he became a teenager. He often volunteered to be a ballboy, and he also performed odd tasks such as carrying water and gears for Kingston Cricket Club (KCC) during home games.

One summer, the then groundsman called Douglas made Charlie an offer he could not refuse. For five shillings (equivalent to $50) per week, Charlie got a job which included, among other things, picking the odd weed out of the Sabina Park ground.

"Dem days it was hard. The ground was tough ... nothing like what you see her now, Charlie recounts, as he points to the well-manicured lawns, a product of his labour.

Charlie received his big break in the 1960s when Douglas left Sabina Park to take up duties at the National Stadium. The Common-wealth Games of 1966 were on the way to Jamaica and the stadium required a top groundsman to keep the ground looking good. By the time Douglas had left, Charlie, his understudy, had learnt so much about the art of maintaining cricket grounds that KCC had no reservations in giving him the job.

He still remembers the first Test match pitch he prepared. That Sabina Park wicket churned out 1,348 runs and 23 wickets. The game ended in a draw but a memorable one for debutant Lawrence Rowe who scored an immortal 214 and 100 not-out.

Four years later, Charlie prepared a paradise for the West Indies pacers Michael Holding et al., a pitch that Indian captain Bishan Bedi will want to forget.

White flag

"The pitch had a lot of grass. India batted first and everything was all right. And dem bowl a whole heap of short pitch ball. So when we bowled again Holding got on top of them and bruck up dem jaw bone," Charlie related about the pitch where Bedi waved the white flag.

And although he has had so many good memories of Sabina Park, there were times when damning fingers were pointed at Charlie. When the Test match between West Indies and England was abandoned just before lunch at the start of the 1998 series in the Caribbean, due to an appalling pitch which endangered players, Charlie quickly became a scapegoat. many pointed fingers at him but he was soon vindicated as he was not responsible for preparing the bad pitch.

Bad pitch

"It was not my fault. I was not here. I was away for three weeks and when I came back I know there was going to be a problem. I am sorry that happened," he said of the bad pitch.

And when India toured the West Indies earlier this year, Charlie promised west Indies captain Brian Lara a bouncy wicket that his pacers would love. After looking at the surface, Lara was not convinced. It turned out that the West Indies pacers had a field day with Jerome Taylor claiming nine wickets in the match and Corey Collymore getting eight. The West Indies fell victim to the Indian spinners and lost the Test match and the series 1-0.

Charlie says he has come to accept criticism in his line of work. Today, his sights are set on churning out good pitches for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup next year.

"One-day pitches much be very hard ... plenty of runs for everyone," Charlie says as he pours water into a tractor which he used to maintain a section of the field.

"I am enjoying my work here. I love it. Thank the Lord I am not sicky-sicky. I looking forward to Cricket World Cup more than anything - apart from God - and I hope to have a good season next year," wished Charlie.