INCREDIBLE WI COMEBACK

The West Indies Test Team, with world record holder, Brian Charles Lara, leading by example with an all time Test high of 400 not out, has made an incredible comeback in the Fourth and Final match against England, when after down three-nil in the series it has a virtually unassailable lead of 466 runs in the first innings. England had been bowled out for 285 by mid afternoon. England, the dominant partner in the series equation until now, was only able to muster 285 runs all out in the first innings, after West Indies with a stunning 751 for five declared sent it in to bat on Monday afternoon. By close of play on Monday, England had slumped to a miserable 171 for five, with most of its top batsmen, including its captain, Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe back in the pavilion and wondering what had gone wrong. 

But whatever the result today, and the Test may be heading for a West Indies victory over England or a draw, it will take a subordinate position for all time to the West Indies cricketing rebirth in general and in particular Lara’s superb 400 and his classic, determined reshaping of cricket history. In the process he would add four more records to his name — the highest Test score; the first man to score 400 runs in  Test; the first batsman to hold the highest Test score twice — the first in 1994 until October of last year — and the highest Test score by a cricket captain. In addition, on Monday he became only the second batsman to score 300 plus Test runs twice, joining the legendary Australian batsman, Don Bradman, whose highest Test score by a captain he eclipsed.  Lara had lost the world top scorer in Tests crown briefly to Matthew Hayden, the Australian batsman, who had temporarily dethroned Lara when he (Hayden) scored 381 in Perth in October against Zimbabwe.

Admittedly, Zimbabwe had been in terms of international cricket a minnow. Nonetheless, Lara was gracious in defeat, concerning himself not with the side against which the record had been chalked, but the feat itself. Within a relatively short time of Hayden’s shortlived ascension to the cricketing throne Lara was on the telephone offering his congratulations. At the time it had seemed virtually impossible that Lara at 34 would be able to wrest the crown from the Aussie to become only the first man to wear it twice. By the end of the second day of the current Test against England, however, Lara with a hunger reminiscent of that April ten years ago, signalled with a quality 313 that he was ready to reclaim the record. And in the process to be the undisputed Cricket King of the World. And in much the manner that Bradman had eclipsed the legendary W G Grace, Lara would replace Bradman.

But it was not merely a comeback by Lara that must have confounded his and the team’s relentless critics, many of them Caribbean commentators. The team had moved, almost to the man with him in the cricket renaissance — Ridley Jacobs, who would be there with him at declaration, with 107; Ramnaresh Sarwan - 90; Chris Gayle — 69 and Ryan Hinds — 36. Ricardo Powell with 23 and Daren Ganga with 10 would stumble, but with time are almost certain to regain their feet. The bowlers, too, when England came in to bat,  Tino Best, Pedro Collins, Fidel Edwards and company did not disappoint.  The West Indies Test cricket rebirth is underway.