Resurgent Windies in sight of unexpected series victory against Australia
West Indies’s Kieron Pollard smashes Brett Lee enroute to a spectacular 102 off 70 balls in the fourth ODI against Australia © AFP
By Madan Mohan
While India fretted over the Asia Cup, a great cricketing nation has found reason for cheer – and after a very long time. West Indies thumped Australia in the fourth ODI at St Lucia on Friday to gain a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Which means West Indies cannot lose the series from here. And should they win, it would be one of the few significant triumphs for them in any form of the game since winning the ICC Champions Trophy in 2004.
West Indies have caught a vulnerable Australian side off guard and skipper Darren Sammy is about to be rewarded for his persistence. Not much faith was placed in Sammy when he got the top job – considered a compromise captain in some quarters. Seniors like Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle had had an unsuccessful shot at captaincy and it fell on Sammy, more or less by default, to lead the team. His inability to life the side with his own batting or bowling performances also attracted criticism.
He would have liked a word with the critics on Friday after producing an all-round performance. He plundered 31 off 13 balls to add crucial runs with Kieron Pollard (who struck 102 off 70 balls), singling out speedster Brett Lee for harsh treatment. He also deceived Shane Watson and Peter Forrest with subtle changes of pace to have them caught attempting the pull shot. A superb catch off-spinner Sunil Narine’s bowling to dismiss Xavier Doherty was the icing on the cake.
With the ball, West Indies were resourceful and intelligent. With the bat, they were flamboyant and powerful, treating the much touted Australian bowling attack with disdain. Sri Lanka had earlier exposed Australia’s vulnerability in the Commonwealth Bank series, for which Australia could barely hold off Lankan resistance. With Michael Clarke unavailable due to injury, their problems were compounded as they embarked on a Caribbean tour after four years.
When Australia won the first match of the ODI series, it looked like it would be business as usual in the tournament. But West Indies bounced back in the second fixture and fought out a tie in the third. On Friday, they appeared down and out when Darren Bravo was dismissed after a scratchy 25 to leave the team score at a precarious 146 for five. But Andre Russell and Sammy ably supported the explosive Pollard as West Indies mounted a total of 294, comfortably exceeding the expectations of commentators and spectators at the ground. Australia lost too many wickets far too early to ever settle down in their chase and Lee’s valiant efforts to atone for his poor death-over bowling were eventually in vain and they fell short by 43 runs.
I love the West Indies cricket team for the way they play their cricket. They entertain audiences with their carefree attitude while their incredible talent gets them across the line effortlessly. But they haven’t been doing much of the latter in a long time. As for talent, let alone cricket lovers, even some former West Indies greats were left dismayed by the situation.
On Friday, they reminded the cricket world of what it has missed for so long. I have previously suggested that cricket is poorer for the decline of West Indies (True potential of Twenty20 is yet to be unleashed). There’s nothing like their effortless might and, apart from Pollard or Sammy’s massive hits, some brilliant catches on Friday showed why. If a (possible) triumph over Australia doesn’t inspire them, one wonders what will. But as of now, the Carribean dream is alive once more and cricket will once again dance to Calypso beats.
(Madan Mohan is a 26-year old chartered accountant from Mumbai. The writing bug bit him when he was eight and to date, he has not been cured of it. He loves music, cricket, tennis and cinema and writing on cricket is like the icing on the cake. He also writes a blog if he is not feeling too lazy at http://rothrocks.wordpress.com/)