Prelude to the ICC Champions trophy: West Indies – An opportunity to revive their glorious past

As someone who grew up in a country where cricket is one of the many religions, hearing tales of cricketing legends from the good old days was as common to me as hearing tales from Ramayana or Mahabharat. And of all the countless legends that I’ve been told about, none were more unequivocally revered as the invincible West Indies of the ‘70s. Starting in the early ‘70s and continuing up to the late ‘80s, the West Indies team was the most feared opponent in the realm of International cricket. Featuring the likes of Clive Lloyd, Garry Sobers, Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Michael Holding, Colin Craft, Joel Garner and Andy Roberts, it was a team that could send shivers down the spines of the bravest opponents. This dream line-up was full of players who, even after 40 long years, would still be considered as the best in their craft. After dominating the world stage in all formats of the game for nearly two decades, the Windies started to go into decline. Following a string of retirements from the heavyweights, the West Indies team, for the next two decades, remained but a shell of its former glory.

1979 World Cup: Just another jewel in the crown of the Legendary West Indian team

Since the start of the ‘90s, a struggling Windies outfit, failing to match up to the standards set by its predecessors, tried to regain its footing under changing commands. This is not to say that the Caribbean islands has failed to produce any talent in these past twenty years; quite the contrary. West Indies continued to produce some of the finest cricketers the world has ever seen. The likes of Brian Lara, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh were more than capable successors. There certainly was individual talent; and as individuals they excelled, breaking records previously unheard of. But somehow, West Indies failed to come together as a team and find that edge which made them the stuff of legends. The one memorable achievement for the Windies in this period however, was winning the Champions trophy in 2004. It has been 9 years since; and going into yet another Champions trophy, the outlook of West Indian cricket is looking a whole lot brighter than what it was 9 years ago. Almost twenty years after its decline started, the West Indies team finally has at its disposal a team with potential to match up to the legendary side that brought about the zenith of West Indian cricket.

Having never seen Viv Richards bat, trying to imagine him at the crease from all that I’ve heard about him – intimidating the bowlers while calmly chewing on a gum-stick, trying to decide which corner of the stands to send the ball next to – the one inevitable picture that flashes in my head every single time is that of Gayle standing at the crease, looking down at the bowler with a kind of swagger and ruthlessness unique to him. Featuring at the top of the highest run scorer lists in T20 leagues all around the world, he has made quite a reputation for himself; an image that transcends words like explosive and destructive. On his day, he can demoralize the opposition by unleashing the whirlwind within him and finding the boundary every single ball. His very presence at the crease is enough to send chills down the spine of any opposition.

He has able partners at the top of the order in the form of Johnson Charles, who was picked into the West Indies side as a successor to Gayle during one of his recent spats with the cricket board, and Darren Bravo, considered widely as a successor to Brian Lara. The vastly experienced veterans, Marlon Samuels and Ramnaresh Sarwan, in the middle order and the useful and explosive all-rounders like Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard in the lower middle order, make up a very formidable-looking batting line-up. This extremely talented cohort easily has the potential to emulate the success of their counterparts from the golden era of West Indian cricket.

Although the current Windies bowling attack lacks the kind of reputation commanded by the quartet of Holding, Croft, Garner and Roberts, it is certainly skilled enough to trouble any batting line-up, even on a good batting track. Spearheaded by an experienced Ravi Rampaul, who in recent times has enjoyed much success all over the world, and bolstered by Jason Holder and Kemar Roach, two of the most promising pacers produced by the Caribbean islands in the recent times, on pace friendly English tracks, the Windies new ball attack would be a force to be reckoned with. The middle overs, manned by the wily all-rounders in the form of Dwayne Bravo, Pollard and Sammy, who compensate for their lack of pace with variations, deceptions and witty thinking, would be tough to score off.

The one thing in which this West Indian team scores over their counterparts from the ‘70s and ‘80s is that they have a world-class spinner in the form of Sunil Narine. This mystery man can easily be the find of the decade for the Windies, if he continues his splendid run. His success in the recent times is a direct consequence of his ability to spin the ball sharply both ways, on any kind of surface, with almost no apparent variation in the action. This, coupled with his shrewdness and sense for the game, makes him one of the top two, if not the best spinner in contemporary cricket; Saeed Ajmal, being his only equal.

Can the West Indies rise to the occasion and carry over their T20 success to the ODIs?

With Gayle, Pollard and Narine providing the X-factor in all three departments, and with the energy brought into the field by their skipper Dwayne Bravo, the Windies squad for the Champions trophy is easily the best limited overs team for their country in quite some time. And the timing couldn’t have been better, with the Aussies falling from their pedestal and the quest for hegemony wide open. It is true that West Indies have a tall task ahead of them taking on South Africa, India and Pakistan to clear the preliminary stages; but, they have the potential to emerge not just as the victors of the trophy, but in the long run, truly emerge as the champions of the world.