Denesh Ramdin's awkward celebration: Freedom"s sticky wicket

The headlines: "Abdulah out''; "Ramdin fined''; "COP activist resigns''. On this Labour Day celebration of freedom there is sufficient evidence that freedom is never absolute, its enjoyment not without consequences. In many cases it comes down to doing what is right without being wrong.

West Indies' Denesh Ramdin sends a message to cricket legend Sir Vivian Richards

With Denesh Ramdin, wicketkeeper, batsman and pamphleteer, we may have missed the real story. Focused on four words scrawled on a piece of paper and deemed inappropriate, there were a few other things which stood out as Ramdin released the shackles of low scores and dodgy performances. In the first place Ramdin was willing to take on his critics, and silence them with results. Unlike our politicians Ramdin did not ignore the noise, sputtering on, voices of concern inconsequential. He took criticism to heart and fashioned a fitting response. He needs to remember that Viv Richards' message to him was about consistency, not lack of potential.

The legend- Sir Vivian Richards

Second, Ramdin's triumph is in the fact that he kept this pamphlet in his pocket as he started the fourth day of the Test, he on 60 runs, Rampaul on a few and last man Tino Best still to come with a batting average under ten. Remarkably, Ramdin actually needed the sheet of paper, a moment of celebration and defiance becoming necessary, his second Test 100 achieved. Ramdin's continued belief in the face of those disheartening odds is a more significant story than disciplinary action appropriately condemned by Geoff Boycott.