The summer of 1976. It's a moment in history when I can say - "I was there''.
It was like the summer would never end. Temperatures soared, Elton John and Kiki Dee seemed immovable from number one of the pop charts and we were introduced to fire and brimstone in the form of the West Indies fast bowlers.
How we winced when Brian Close and John Edrich were battered and bruised by Andy Roberts and Michael Holding.
I loved cricket but knew little about politics but was just about old enough to realise that Tony Greig had opened his big South African gob too far when he said he wanted to make the Windies grovel.
The true context of that victory has never been made as clear to me, however, as in Stevan Riley's fabulous documentary Fire In Babylon.
I couldn't get to see it when it was on short release at cinemas last month. I caught it on Lovefilm and I was mighty glad I did.
This is an insight into the greatest sporting team of all time. The magnificent West Indies side of the 1970s and early 1980s.
A team which destroyed all in their path by imperious batting and unbelievably quick and hostile bowling.
What I didn't understand was how the West Indies difficult history was burned into the consciousness of this team and made them the magnificent outfit they were.
What I do remember of 1976 was that when we were playing cricket in back gardens and at the nearby school fields, that we were all trying to impersonate these brilliant players, not the English rabble.
Riley's film benefits from interviews with all of the gladiators of the time - particularly Holding, Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, Colin Croft and Gordon Greenidge - all of them icons of the game.
It goes into the political background of the Caribbean, has a marvellous reggae soundtrack and goes through the chronology of the team's ascent from the 5-1 defeat in Australia in 1975.
The tactics of the brutal bowlers, and the mindset of the batters is discussed but most important was the fantastic team ethic.
This is a very good film indeed and I have to say superior to the recent From The Ashes movie.
Why, well because, as they proved in 1984, the Windies were better than the England side highlighted in that movie.
From The Ashes hinges on one remarkable test series, Fire In Babylon has an entirely different axis.
This surrounds people who were leading fightback against white oppression. As well as the sport, it shows their battle for fair pay and even their moral dilemmas when offered colossal amounts of cash.
Kerry Packer and the rebel tour of South African come under the spotlight.
But most of all one must remember the brilliance of some of the best cricketers who have ever lived. All in the same team, at the same time.
It's rating. It has to be 9/10.
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