ANDERSON MONTGOMERY Everton Roberts: the name still sends a chill down the spine of any batsman whose misfortune it was to take guard against the spearhead of the terrifying West Indian attack which revolutionised the game in the 1970s.

No-one who played against him could work him out. Mean, moody, brooding, even sullen, were adjectives used to describe a man who rarely showed a flicker of emotion when he was bowling – and that was possibly even more disconcerting than coping with the ball hurtling towards you at 90 mph.

When, during his early days with Hampshire, he felled Colin Cowdrey with a vicious short delivery, rumours swept the circuit that Roberts had two bouncers up his sleeve: one, delivered at his usual pace, which set the batsman up – particularly if he was a hooker – and then a second, devastatingly fast ball which was delivered with the fingers across the seam, rather than alongside, as normal. So the ball skidded off the shiny leather rather than bouncing off the seam and was onto the batsman long before he was in position for the shot. Roberts was truly fearsome.

It is difficult to believe that these days. All the evidence is there to suggest that Roberts leads a comfortable life in Urlings, the little fishing village on the southern tip of Antigua where he was born 47 years ago. On England's last tour here several colleagues were surprised by his smile and affability when I introduced the man with whom I opened the bowling for Leicestershire in 1984 (for some reason I always bowled uphill and into the wind; it must have been because of his advancing years!)

But my old partner looked concerned when we met up once more at Antigua's Recreation Ground at the very start of this tour. His brow was furrowed as he looked out over the pitch on which both he and Viv Richards made their names. The ground was a mess, like a ploughed field. One area – known as the Bleaches – was under complete reconstruction and a large lorry appeared to be bogged at deep third man. A solitary maize stalk stood limply at long-off, having rooted itself in the mud, and there was talk of the Test match the fifth in the series and a colossal money-spinner of the little island, having to be cancelled. Roberts himself is directly involved with the ground's development.

`The match simply has to go ahead,' he said, wringing his hands. `There is much more to the success or failure of this than just the Test match; Antigua is depending on this working smoothly and if we can't complete the job, it will reflect badly on the country. We need people to have faith in Antigua and our ability to deliver. Tourism is our main industry and cricket brings in the tourists.

`The ground needed to be developed. When I first played here for the Leeward Islands, there were only two small stands – nothing more than sheds, really.' The year before, he had had his first glimpse of an England touring team. ` Colin Cowdrey was the captain and that was the last time England beat the West Indies in a series. I hope I never see it again!'

We sat in the famous double-decker stand where Chicky and Gravy will, hopefully, be entertaining England's supporters with their musical antics on March 20. The Recreation Ground is unique in that regard. Early in the morning Chicky, a local disc jockey, backs up his van and unloads cassette machines CD players, graphic equalisers and speakers the size of semi-detached houses. These are carefully placed at the front of the lower tier and, within minutes, calypso and soca music booms out around the ground. Gravy, a cross-dressing extrovert who runs a small shop in St John's market, alternates between gyrating on his specially constructed platform and swinging from the stand supports. The result is pure Caribbean magic!

Fearsome: (opposite) Andy Roberts in his prime, in the long hot summer of 1976, and 19 years later, when he returned to England as West Indies coach

`Our cricket is at its lowest ebb at the moment. The whole structure of the game needs to be rebuilt'

 Roberts remembers the day they moved in. `There has always been entertainment here,' he recalled, gazing around the ground. `During the first test in Antigua, a chap called Pappy stood up in what was called the Rude Boys' Stand and played a bugle. He was a real character; a glass-bottom-boat driver from Dickenson Bay. Then, in the 1990s, Chicky and Gravy appeared and gave the Recreation Ground the character it has today. Their style of entertainment couldn't work anywhere else because they have always known when to start and, importantly, when to stop.

`As soon as people realise that music and cricket can go together, everyone really gets into it. It gives this ground an added attraction – I can't see it going down too well at Lord's, mind you!'

 BUT IT IS not just the state of the ground that is bothering Roberts. Sacked as West Indies coach midway through the 1996 World Cup, he is deeply concerned about the state of things. `Our cricket is at its lowest ebb at the moment throughout the West Indies. And because there are now so many other distractions like basketball, baseball and football, cricket has to restore its image urgently. The whole structure of our game needs to be rebuilt.

`I've seen the trouble coming for a long time now. We should have begun the rebuilding process after the World Cup in 1996 when we lost the semi-final to Australia. There was an unhealthy atmosphere within the team with some players hell-bent on doing their own thing; that simply can't go on in a team situation.

`The really sad thing is that the people who matter only seemed to sit up and take notice after we lost 3–0 in Pakistan before Christmas. They should have seen it much earlier and acted. When we played against India and Sri Lanka we managed to win, but both those teams realised that, finally, they were capable of beating us.'

But what if West Indies do rebuild behind Brian Lara and manage to beat England?

`This series is make-or-break for Lara. One can't really believe how much pressure he is under.'

`It depends on the margin of victory or defeat in this series,' Roberts replied. If West Indies do lose to England it spells huge problems in the future because our next series are against South Africa and Australia.

`But for the sake of West Indian cricket, we cannot afford to lose this series; I really don't think the people would tolerate it. I put all of this uncertainty down to a lack of foresight by the West Indian Cricket Board. There is no cricket vision from any of them; or if there is, I haven't seen it. They might have plans for the future of our cricket, but I can't see them being implemented.'

 Roberts feels this series is `make-or-break' for Lara. `He is under tremendous pressure; one can't really believe how much. His batting recently has been disappointing and I'm sure he's aware of that. The main thing – and this is why Viv is still the best player I've seen – is that when Lara has to score runs for the sake of the team, he doesn't seem to. That's an area he has to improve. His centuries seldom win matches for the West Indies. Viv was different: he would take the responsibility on his shoulders and see it through.

`We'll see if the captaincy makes Lara knuckle down at the crease. The trouble is that most Test captains over the past 10 years have found that their batting suffered because they are under so much more scrutiny. In Lara's case, with West Indies cricket in this state, it's going to be even worse.

`The players have to lift themselves and the fact is that everyone loves to beat England. I was always more inspired at the thought of playing against England than any other team. It comes down to the attitudes of some of their players and journalists over the years who seemed to believe that only the English can play cricket. If we lost a match to England it would hurt me more than anything. Fortunately, it never happened to me.'

Rather cautiously, I raised the subject of Roberts's dismissal as coach.

`When the news came through in India, I couldn't believe it. I can't put into words how I felt. I simply had to pick myself up and move on. But, do you know, to this day, I have never been told why I was sacked or even had a letter saying thank you – or anything.

`Maybe the Board felt I couldn't communicate with the players. But I will only make the point I want to make once because, if people want to listen, that should be enough. The problem is that some members of the team didn't want to listen.

`I suppose I've always been quiet and I can honestly say that I never had a cross word with anyone on the field. Maybe that was because batsmen didn't want to have a cross word with me!'

It always amazes me how inter-island politics and rivalry affect all aspects of life in the West Indies. These small islands – plus Guyana– really are independent states and fiercely proud of it. It is a terrific tour for learning your passport details off by heart because each time you move on, there are immigration forms to complete and customs to clear.

`We need people who are entirely committed and, vitally, people who are successful,' declared Roberts. `Much of the insularity is caused by unsuccessful people. Let me explain: if you were always a borderline player, in and out of the Test team, it's easy here to say, Oh! It's because I'm a Jamaican or an Antiguan that I'm kept out of the team by a Barbadian, rather than accepting that he is probably a better player than you in the first place.

`The media has also played a part. When I was playing, I was always known as the West Indian fast bowler, Andy Roberts. I bet most people outside the West Indies had no idea I was from Antigua. Nowadays, it's the Jamaican, Courtney Walsh' or the Antiguan, Curtly Ambrose, and these feeds the insularity and rivalry. Everyone has to get behind the West Indies, not the territories. If we can conquer that, we'll be halfway there.

`We have to get people playing cricket once again and, most important, we need to involve former players – not `just in coaching, but we need their ideas and input. West Indies have produced some really great players over the years but only a very few former cricketers stay in the game. There have to be more cricketers involved with the administration.'

It is a worrying fact that you hardly see beach cricket in the Caribbean these days. Just occasionally, in the villages, you may glimpse a group of children using a piece of wood to swing at a tennis ball. That is how Roberts and Richards started out. `I always bowled quick,' Roberts said with a glint in his eye. `As a kid growing up in Urlings Village I bowled fast with a tennis ball. We played on the road and I bowled in bare feet.

`At 16 I played my first representative game and teamed up with Viv for the first time. We joined the same club and then made our debuts together for Antigua. He was always going to be special. I'll never forget his century here against England in 1986 off only 50-odd balls.'

Then, thoughtfully: `I'd like him to be more involved with Antiguan cricket now. That's part of our problem.'

A rather earnest young chap suddenly appeared in the stand and approached Roberts. He appeared to be clutching an air ticket. The pair had a brief discussion, lapsing into machine-gun-like Antiguan slang, none of which I understood.

`I've got to go,' said Roberts`as he wearily clambered to his feet. `The turf for the ground is being shipped in from Miami and they need me there. Don't worry; you will be back here here for the Test. You'll see!'

Unbeatable: Roberts never finished on the losing side in a Test against England. Here he disturbs Tony Greig's stumps at Trent Bridge in 1976

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