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| Saturday, 2 October 2004 |
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Cricket the winner What makes the game of cricket such a fascinating sport is because of the glorious uncertainties it offers. No one in their wildest of dreams would have picked on the West Indies to win the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions trophy beating the favourites and host country England for the plum. That such a shock result was produced in front of a packed London Oval was another wonderful example of why cricket towers above every other sport especially in the countries that play it. The result is so unpredictable mostly in the abbreviated version of the game that there is a famous saying for this sport - a match is not won until the last ball is bowled. From the outset and the way the tournament was timed it looked quite evident that everything was tailor made for a famous English victory. How many times has England tried to use their conditions to win a World Cup or mini-World Cup tournament and failed? It was not England who conducted the tournament but the ICC, but still. The 1999 World Cup tournament was held at the start of the English summer. It was cold, clammy and the fresh pitches offered so much of movement against the white ball it totally squashed out any challenge the Asian countries could have offered. Only Pakistan came through to the final despite a shock 62-run loss to Bangladesh, but was totally outplayed by Australia in the final. The condition was ideal for England but they couldn't get past the first round stage. Five years later the ICC Champions trophy hosted by England again very much towards the latter part of the season in mid-September in autumn where the weather was once again cold and the winds tearing at the body made it difficult for the subcontinent teams who are quite used to the sun on the backs to make any proper progress. All four teams failed to make it to the final including India of whom much was expected. Advantage West Indies That West Indies overcame the wintry conditions to qualify for the final with England was largely due to the fact that they already had the experience of the English weather having been there for the best part of the summer from mid June to mid August before returning again for the Champions trophy. During that period West Indies were outplayed 4-0 in the Tests and made it to the NatWest Series final ahead of England only to be beaten (by 107 runs) by New Zealand at Lord's. West Indies were also at the receiving end of England early this year in the Caribbean where they lost the Test series 3-0 (1 drawn) and drew 2-all the seven-match one-day series (3 no results). Knowing the conditions well is one thing. To beat England at their own game was totally another. England no doubt deserved to be in the final after coming up with a stunning batting performance to knock out world champions Australia in the semi-finals. That performance alone has set up a thrilling contest for the 'Ashes' next summer. England has not beaten Australia in an Ashes series since 1986-87. With West Indies at 147-8 in the 34th over chasing a winning total of 218, Michael Vaughan, the England captain would have certainly fancied his team's chances of winning their first major trophy in their lengthy cricket history. But lo and behold! In the impending gloom two West Indians unknown previously for their batting abilities, found the guts and courage to deny England a win. What a transformation the game took from there onwards. Try as he might Vaughan could not separate the ninth wicket pair of Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw who had by now come to terms with the situation and conditions at hand and even refused the offer of bad light from the umpires. "When the light was offered to us, I didn't want to go out since we had the momentum. I spoke to Courtney and he said the same," said Bradshaw who rated the win as the 'biggest moment of my life'. Bradshaw stroked a priceless unbeaten 34 and Browne 35 not out to script a dramatic come-from-behind triumph by two wickets sharing an unbroken ninth wicket partnership of 71 - a performance which was remarkable for its composure. Experience counts West Indies captain Brian Lara pinpointed their success to experience. "The thing to remember is that both of them are from Barbados and have played together for many seasons. Both of them are very experienced. This is the thing about this side - experience. We brought in quite a few senior players for this tournament and it has made a difference," he said. For Lara the victory was a personal triumph especially because it was against England they have been at the receiving end for so long. "In terms of the battering we have received from everyone in the past few months and then doing it against England, who smashed us in seven of the eight Tests, this win is pretty special," he said. With the next ICC World Cup tournament scheduled to be held in the Caribbean in 2007 winning the mini-World Cup would be just the confidence-booster West Indies need to start preparing a side that would take them back to their glory days of the eighties. The win could provide the impetus they lacked to propel themselves towards achieving that objective. Lara who had many ups and downs as captain said: "I hope it's the foundation of another beginning." West Indies won the first two World Cups, in 1975 and 1979, but has consistently failed to reach the highest echelons of one-day cricket since a shock defeat to India in the 1983 final. A couple of seasons ago it appeared that the lights had gone out on West Indies cricket. This victory gives them hope that there is some light at the end of the tunnel for them. The progress of West Indies cricket from now onwards leading up to the 2007 World Cup will be viewed with great interest by all the cricketing nations. For the Caribbean's sake let's hope they can get together a team of world-beaters and once again regain the mantle of world champions. Australia it seems is gradually on the wane after having been the dominant force for the past decade or so. Maybe it is time for the balance of world cricketing power to shift once again to the Caribbean. Let's wait and see. |
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