A magical triumph

IN FAR OFF London yesterday, the West Indies cricketers produced an exhilarating tonic for the depressed and hurting spirits of their home region, largely devastated by the season’s hurricanes. In a poised and confident display of teamwork, they captured the ICC Champions Trophy by beating England at the Oval in the final, a tense encounter which brought the two-week tournament to a fitting climax. It was an unexpected, magical kind of victory, as if the gods of cricket had decided at last to smile upon the West Indies when we desperately needed a psychological boost both in our agonising struggles to lift our game and in the widespread dejection that Ivan the Terrible had left in its wake. Most satisfying of all, it was a triumph that was well deserved, revealing the cohesion and maturing development of a team of young, talented players and confounding the know-it-all critics who continue to dismiss the efforts of the Windies and to call for the removal of Brian Lara as captain.

The Windies, in fact, entered this tournament among the least fancied of the 12 teams selected as the best in the world. The favourites, of course, were Australia, the current Test and World Cup champions; England, enjoying a resurgence and playing at home; Sri Lanka who crushed the South Africans 5-0 in a recent one day series; and New Zealand who beat the Caribbean team in the NatWest triangular tournament two months ago. The Windies, in the dumps after a Test drubbing by England at home and away, showed their grit and resilience by literally clawing their way to the top, gaining confidence with each victory. On the way to yesterday’s finals they crushed Bangladesh, South Africa and Pakistan. And they crowned it all by winning a thriller at the Oval, edging out England by two wickets and seven balls. At one point in the match, in fact, the prospects seemed quite gloomy as the Windies, chasing England’s 217 all out, were toiling at 147 for eight.

The winning runs came from splendid knocks by the two Barbadians, left arm pacer Ian Bradshaw and wicket-keeper Courtney Browne, who jointly produced 71 nail-biting runs, registering the highest ninth wicket partnership for the West Indies in one-day cricket. The jubilation that exploded among West Indian spectators at the Oval must have been matched by the delight of fans at home when Bradshaw capped the victory on his knees with an exquisite cover drive to the boundary. The stroke wrote a handsome and indelible Caribbean signature to the match, to the first Windies win in this tournament which is second only to the World Cup, and to the message that our cricket is finally on its way back to the top. Will the performance of our players, their impressive all round play including their brilliance in the field, all under Lara’s able captaincy, now staunch the negative flow from certain “knowledgeable” commentators? In inspiring our young players to greater achievement, Windies cricket can do without that kind of pessimism.

Even though he was not particularly outstanding with the bat in this tournament, Lara more than justified his captaincy in several other ways, including his field placings and his exemplary action in the field, taking three valuable catches, one of which was undoubtedly the best catch of the series, scooping up with his left hand a full-blooded drive from Flintoff. We congratulate Sarwan, adjudged player of the tournament, and the rest of the Windies team. They have all done us proud, not only by their triumphant performance in this ICC series but also by the tangible empathy they have displayed for the hurricane victims back home. Donating part of their TT $3 million Ispat bonus to relieve the suffering of stricken Grenadians is a worthy and commendable gesture. We are vastly encouraged by that kind of commitment.