‘Well done Windies’

WEST INDIES cricketer Ricardo Powell is following the Digicel 2005 Home Series and in this article which is sponsored by the Jamaica Inter-national Insurance Com-pany, Powell writes: Many were skeptical when the WI team chosen to face South Africa in the First Test was announced. Some were even more skeptical when Shivnar-ine Chanderpaul was named captain.

Those of us who play the game simply chose to observe with no comments as we understood fully that cricket is a game of glorious uncertainty. Well, the first Digicel Test has just concluded in Georgetown, Guyana. It was five exciting days of Test cricket as many of us thought the Windies had a real chance of securing an outright victory against the South Africans. This “understrength” team gave South Africa a fight for their money. The team demonstrated their batting was just as strong as any other as they piled on runs which South Africa could not make in their first innings and the visitors were  forced to follow-on. The West Indies batsmen, captain Chander-paul, opener Wavell Hinds, debutant Donavan Pagon and all-rounder Ryan Hinds gave the West Indian fans something to come out and see.

I don’t know about you but I was really proud of these guys. Given all the speculation and uncertainty around the team, they still came through for the West Indian public. They must be commended for a job well done. At the end of the day they demonstrated how all West Indian players feel and that is, the game is bigger than the player! No matter what is happening at home or abroad, when we go on a cricket field, you want to win.
We now have a new team to face the South Africans in the Second Test at the Oval in Trinidad.

Many “pundits” of the game have said this is the “real test,” as it is not the norm to have a result in Guyana. However, rest assured there would be one in Trinidad, not to mention Barbados. We should have no problem as we welcome back our full strength team with record holder Brian Lara, Ram-naresh Sarwan, Christo-pher Gayle and Dwayne Bravo. The line-up looks im-pressive.In the final analysis, we are up against one of the best teams in the world. South Africa did not come to the Caribbean to lose. The West Indies team has always been able to win matches as a team in the past. Many are awaiting the outcome of this Test match. In my mind, this can be considered to be one of the most exciting series at home for a long time.