Ever wonder what happens to professional athletes once that final game is over? For some athletes, the road down the hill can be even rockier than the ascent to the top. For a chosen few, the thrill never seems to end as they assume prominent roles in society and even in Hollywood, but for many it can be a steady demise highlighted by crime and addiction as that transition is made back into real life.
In the Caribbean, where most of athletes hold jobs to supplement their moderate earnings, it is never as dramatic as it is here in the United States, where there is so much more of everything. This however, doesn’t change the equation much, but mainly the variables as athletes in the smaller islands never really get further than those big games. It is always the caliber of the player and the level of his intellect that determines what’s next on the limited menu.
In the case of Cameron Cuffy – an outstanding star West Indian cricketer playing with the world-famous West Indies Cricket Team – there was always a backup plan.
Born Cameron Eustace Cuffy in South Rivers, St. Vincent, a small Caribbean island with a great legacy of fast bowlers, the 6 foot 7 inches, 36-year-old Cuffy realized his second lifelong dream when he began his college education at New York City Technical College in the fall of 2005.
“Attending college was my second dream,” Cuffy said, his first already accomplished in playing cricket at the highest level with the West Indies Cricket Team. He has been able to utilize the vast wealth of experience and discipline acquired playing the second most popular sport in the world, to make the effective transition, adjusting to his new life as a New York City resident and returning to school after a 16-year absence.
“I grew up and developed the love for the game because that was all you really knew,” Cuffy said, speaking of his childhood in the undeveloped rural district of agrarian St. Vincent. Not having the many distractions and technological gadgets youngsters have at their disposal today, he grew up playing cricket and soccer with the other boys in his village, using bats made out of coconut branches to hit the small breadfruits and other round fruits that were used to substitute for the unavailable ball.
It was not until at age 15, when Bradley Booker invited Cuffy to tryout for the St. Martin Secondary School Cricket Team in Kingstown that his potential was realized, leading to his selection into the St. Vincent under-19 Team.
“I started to make leaps and bounds in 1987, but I really came on when I played for the under-19 St. Vincent Team,” Cuffy said. He immediately placed his stake, taking five wickets for 15 runs in his first game against St. Lucia. Playing under-19 cricket in the tournament, Cuffy was spotted by the legendary West Indian and Barbadian fast bowler, Malcolm Marshall, who had some encouraging words for him.
“‘Don’t worry, keep working, I think you will make it,’” Cuffy reported Marshall of saying that day. Having heard these words from one of the better fast bowlers this fine game has seen, Cuffy saw no other way but forward as he aspired to follow in the great man’s footsteps, earning selection for the West Indies Under-19 Team for the 1989 tour of Canada.
It was that very year, at the age of 19 that Cuffy played his first game for the St. Vincent senior team, called to replace the injured Casper Davis. Having taken 11 wickets in the game, Cuffy had to make way for the returning Davis the following game. His absence wasn’t for long as he again replaced Davis in the next game.
Coming from a poor family, Cuffy had nothing but praise for Carlos Viera, and Brian “Paper” Alexander of the Rivals Cricket Club of Kingstown for the moral and financial support they provided throughout his developmental years. Having three brothers and four sisters on his mother’s side, and six brothers and two sisters on his father’s side, Cuffy’s family was unable to purchase the expensive equipment required to play the game.
Cuffy’s first class career began in the season of 1990 when he was selected to play for the Windward Islands Team. Having to contend with Casper Davis, Ian Allen, Wesley Thomas, and a returning Winston Davis, it was harder for him to make the team. It wasn’t until Winston Davis’ retirement in 1992 that Cuffy became a permanent fixture in the Windwards Team.
In 1994, Cuffy got his break when he was selected to represent the President’s Eleven Team against the touring English Team. Cuffy’s outstanding performance impressed England’s Captain Alex Stuart, landing him a contract with Surrey, Stuart’s English County Team.
“That really set the tone for my selection, because there wasn’t anything else needed for me to get into the West Indies Team,” Cuffy said. Having an abundance of fast bowlers in the West Indies at the time, Cuffy’s problem was being born at the wrong time. Having to contend with a number of outstanding competitors, Cuffy just had to keep working and hoping for his turn to break into the ranks of the great players. His big break finally came in 1994 when he was selected in the West Indies Team to tour India, where he shared the new ball with the legendary Courtney Walsh, on his debut in Mumbai.
“It was a very difficult tour. With temperatures in the high 90’s, you could hardly breathe,” Cuffy said. “Even though the return wasn’t great, I think I held my own taking two wickets for 19 runs in the first one day.”
Cuffy was recalled for the 1996 Cricket World Cup, then again for the 1996 – 1997 tour and finally in 2001 after a long absence due to surgery, It was then his Captain Carl Hooper told him, “the selectors no longer have their eyes on you,” preferring to go for the younger prospects.
“I was very disappointed and lost all confidence then,” Cuffy said, suddenly realizing that the time had come for him to move on. Abruptly severed from an umbilical cord that had fed him moderate fortune and fame, Cuffy was left yearning for a bigger piece of the pie that had left the sweet taste of success on his shriveled lips.
The final straw came in 2004 when Cuffy returned from England to join the St. Vincent team in preparation for the Windward Islands Tournament. He was again disappointed by his controversial omission from his home team, making him ineligible for selection to the Windward Islands Team.
Cuffy had one thing in mind coming back to the Caribbean; Norbert Phillip’s record of being the Windards player with the most wickets. Having 161 wickets, just seven wickets shy of Phillip’s record, for him, it was the simplest task of his career. With his hopes dashed and nothing really left to play for, there was one more dream to pursue; a university degree.
Having worked 11 years with Cable and Wireless, St. Vincent ltd., he knew just what he wanted to pursue. In the fall of 2005, Cuffy entered The New York City Technical College where he is currently pursuing an Associates degree in telecommunications. With a G.P.A. of 3.8, his focus is no longer on maintaining line and length, but maintaining his academic standings as he concentrates on a new beginning in a new city away from home.
After a season with Atlantis Cricket Club in the Eastern American League, Cuffy now spends his Brooklyn summers playing cricket with the Cavaliers Sports Club in the Brooklyn Cricket League. He has proven to be a great asset, being quite instrumental in the club’s winning of their first championship in eight years.
Looking back over the years, Cuffy says, “I don’t have any regrets, because that would be making excuse for failures, something I didn’t really have.” Having taken 252 wickets from 86 first class matches, returning best figures of 7 for 80 against Jamaica, Cuffy continues to make great strides up the eventful wicket of life.
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