'You miss having success in the game, but you don't miss the pressure'
Omari Banks talks about his playing career, and moving on to making music instead
I had a pretty entertaining and fun childhood. Grew up around music - that was a big part, performing in talent shows, listening to my dad perform, practising in the band house, going to the beach. A typical Caribbean lifestyle. Playing football, playing cricket, doing athletics, singing in bands, those are the things you did on summer days. It was cool.
Quite a few, actually. All of the guys from Anguilla. Even [Dwayne] Bravo's been someone I've known since I was very young. [Chris] Gayle too. I mean, I don't see them every day, but with social media now you kind of connect even if you're not meeting. You see what they're up to, and if you're coming into their town, you say, "Yo, I'm gonna be comin' in, let's hang out and have a few drinks", or whatever.
When you've played internationally, you probably miss the game in terms of playing, because you feel good if you bowl and get a wicket, you hit a four or a century. But the professional game is different. It's more than just cricket, it's the discipline, it's the ups and downs, all of that is a part of the game. You miss the feeling of having success at times in the game but you certainly don't miss the pressure that comes with that.
I got some big ones - I remember getting [Matthew] Hayden out in a one-day match. Justin Langer was my first Test wicket. Rahul Dravid caught slip, Kumar Sangakkara caught slip, [Tillakaratne] Dilshan, I think I got him.
I actually started out bowling fast, and was good at it. I've still got a couple of records in my sub-division competition. And all through my Under-19s career, I would bowl spin and pace. I was a good batsman as well - I used to bat No. 3 or 4. For West Indies Under-19s, I batted No. 4-5, bowled pace, bowled spin.
I actually played a West Indies retirees match in Jamaica, got two wickets and scored 30-odd runs. I was one of the youngest people on the team, so it was good to smash some of the older guys (laughs).
Of course. I played T20 cricket for Somerset, for Anguilla, and I enjoyed that. I enjoyed T20 cricket because I can hit a few blows. T20 is really exciting cricket. It's very marketable, it's a brand of cricket in which the momentum shifts every couple of overs. I think it's a good format of the game, but I'm still a fan of Test cricket.
Nothing really. I was reading somewhere recently that they're trying to get rid of the toss. I don't know if I'm a fan of that. I think there's a reason why you have the home-team advantage. You want to see being able to cope with the conditions, people preparing themselves because they know they're going to a particular country. And that is a good thing for cricket. When you go for the toss, you're hoping that you win the toss, maybe you can utilise the conditions a bit more. I think that's kind of necessary.
I think Darren Sammy is a good captain. I would have loved to play with the [West Indies] team that won the World Cup. I've got a lot of respect for a lot of other players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni - we know of his exploits. Playing with somebody like him would have been a great experience. Playing in the IPL would have been a great experience. I would have liked to be a part of that whole phenomenon, but music took precedence and I wasn't drafted, so… (laughs).
Dwayne Smith was pretty fast. Bravo is quick as well. They are athletes. I think Jermaine Lawson was a quick one as well. Mervyn Dillon - he could run and swim, he was a good swimmer.
Off the top of my head I can't remember anybody who had horrible taste. But I'm sure there'll be a few. How it goes in the West Indies dressing room is, some of the guys who are more outspoken will decide who was going to play music. So you won't get the opportunity to do that.
I don't know, you're getting me locked up here now. (laughs) I would say Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels were always flamboyant.
I'm good with everybody. I think the Australian team that I played against, they were really good. Matthew Hayden was nice to me, even though he smashed me all over once (laughs). Darren Lehmann was kind of similar. I played with Justin Langer for Somerset, so he's a good friend as well. A few of them have been tough and competitive, but off the field they were nice guys, I would say.
I remember the feeling after the Test match in Antigua was a big celebration. But I remember as well playing against Bangladesh. I came in for the last Test match, in Jamaica. We won the match and I got four wickets in the first innings. Pedro Collins got a few wickets as well.
Curtly Ambrose, Brian Lara, Viv Richards, obviously Sachin Tendulkar, Saqlain Mushtaq. I really like Harbhajan Singh, Shane Warne, Richie Richardson. Those are the guys I really admired. My coach Cardigan Connor, he was somebody I really looked up to. Some of the local cricketers in Anguilla who really inspired me to continue doing what I did…
I wouldn't say I have changed as a person, for sure. As a musician you can connect with the culture little bit more, go to the clubs a little bit more, eat a little bit more different food. I mean you're not bogged down by "What if I get sick?"
Vishal Dikshit is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo