David Leggat: Legend of West Indies' rise to power over 'colonial masters' well told

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If you happen to be under 25, and have been told that not long ago the West Indies crushed all before them in world cricket, you might think someone was having a laugh.

But the misfiring, under-achieving, dysfunctional mob now are as far a cry as it is possible to be from those who bestrode the game for almost two decades from the second half of the 1970s.

And so those who scratch their heads at that mental image should make haste to the New Zealand International Film Festival to catch Fire in Babylon today or next Tuesday to see what it was all about.

Things will look rather different after watching this compelling documentary on the rise to absolute power of Clive Lloyd's team.

It is not all cricket. The story is placed in historical and social context. The words "colonial masters" pop up more than once.

It is told by the players, as well as historians, writers and musicians (reggae master Bunny Wailer describes the 5-0 dusting of England in 1984 as "like the slaves whipping the arses of the masters").

The story begins from the ashes of a 5-1 loss in Australia in 1975-76 when the West Indies were beaten up - no other term for it - by their formidable hosts, led by spittle-flecking speedsters Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson.

The humiliation set Lloyd on a search for speed of his own and he found it. Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Croft, all operating in excess of 145km/h, provided a crushing nap hand for Lloyd and, with a phalanx of brilliant batsmen led by Viv Richards and Gordon Greenidge, the die was cast.

The film explains the pride the disparate group of Caribbean islands drew from their exploits and, particularly from the beatings of England, which had strong social meaning.

The casualties were plenty among opposing batsmen. Antiguan Roberts, the father of the quick men, put it neatly: "I didn't go out to try to hit people; it's just that a lot of people got hit".

The way the players - Greenidge, Lloyd, Richards, Roberts and Holding predominantly - told it, they learned a rough lesson in Australia and vowed it would not happen again.

On their watch it didn't. Whether you liked the methods, theirs was an approach by which the foot was placed on the opponent's throat and left there.

Those who know their cricket will enjoy seeing England captain Tony Greig and his gloating "I intend to make them grovel" line ahead of the 1976 series.

To a backdrop of growing upheaval over apartheid in South Africa (Greig being a blond South African) and the way black people had been treated in Britain, "that wasn't a clever thing to say", said Greenidge. "We took that very, very seriously," added a very, very serious Richards. Cue carnage.

The cricket action is terrific; the opinions and music provide the colour. After losing 1-0 in New Zealand early in 1980, the West Indies were unbeaten in series for 15 years.

A minor quibble? No opponent is there to offer a view on what it was like at the other end. Then again, this is a Caribbean perspective, their thoughts, their music, their identity and no poorer for that. Enjoy.

* Fire in Babylon screens at the New Zealand Film Festival today (Rialto Newmarket 6pm) and Tuesday (Rialto Newmarket 6.30pm).