'West Indies is still the ultimate goal for any young cricketer'

Akeal Hosein on tough times, the legend David Rudder and why he feels confident about the team's future

- Ali Martin

This men's T20 World Cup has seen some fine performances but none more powerful than in Trinidad last week. To a packed house under lights, players and supporters misty eyed in a pin-drop atmosphere, David Rudder delivered a live rendition of Rally 'Round the West Indies, the calypso he wrote in the early 1990s that still serves as the region's cricket anthem.

Rudder, 71, has scaled back this past year after being diagnosed with Parkinson's but his spirit utterly prevailed on the night, West Indies and their supporters transfixed by the words and then living them out in a rousing comeback win against New Zealand.

For Akeal Hosein, a fellow Trini who sung the words and was then central to the cause, there are still goosebumps about it now. "It was just breathtaking, to stand there and witness him live," says Hosein, sitting down for a chat at the team hotel a day out from the Super Eight opener with England in the early hours of this morning.

"To have him come down and give his 100%, to make the fans happy and do exactly what the song said, was just fantastic. I had to go across to him afterwards and pay my respects. I was lost for words, so I just said: 'Thank you, legend' and hugged him for about 10 seconds."

With four wins from four after the group stage (before the England match), West Indies have been leaning into the anthem under Rovman Powell's captaincy, his squad from seven different countries sharing the lyrics in their WhatsApp group before the tournament and united by its sentiment. The buzz on the islands visited these past two weeks has been pretty palpable, too; a sense something could be stirring.