West Indies Cricket- A new high?!
West Indies’s cricket has been the eye candy of International Cricket ever since they began playing the game. From Clive Lloyd to Chris Gayle, and Malcolm Marshall to Dwayne Bravo, West Indies have produced the finest of cricketers the sport has seen. The era of West Indies’s dominance commenced during the Clive Llyod era with Sir Vivian Richards in the middle order along with the captain Lloyd himself, Gordon Greenidge opening the batting, the all round prolific Sir Garfield Sobers and the devilitious quartlet of Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding knocked the air out of batsmen for fun forming an invincible team . With 11 wins in succession out of a record 27 matches undefeated streak under Lloyd, the West Indies cricket team was feared and till date one of the most ‘spoken’ sides in cricketing history . However with the retirement of these stalwards in quick succession, the West Indies Cricket Board found it difficult to find the right replacements though producing singular supreme indivisuals like the legendary Brian Charles Lara, Shivnarine Chandrepaul and Ramneresh Sarwan. However, a team like the one a few generations ago could not be built due to unforeseen and unresolved situations much to the dismal performances of the sides. But, the time has come that all that could change and possibly, the change has already begun.
If I claim that West Indies are the next powerhouse of international cricket, a few may abandon the article here itself. Hence, lets state that West Indies Cricket have a huge possibility of being a force to reckon with in the coming future. How?! Here’s how. Now, if you observe every Ipl franchises keenly(reference has to be Ipl as it is the most ‘happening’ form of cricket, sadly) one would observe a singular or two West Indies players around which the team revolves. May it be Dwayne Bravo at CSK, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Smith at the Mumbai Indians, Darren Sammy at Sun Risers Hyderabad, Sunil ‘the mystery’ Narine at KKR or the mammoth Chris Gayle at the Royal Challengers Bangalore(what a buy he has been for Dr. Mallya), every team has one or two calypso boys who form the core of their particular team. And not just the Ipl, West Indies cricketers are in tremendous demand in foreign leagues as well. What has brought about this sudden upserge of bringing in West Indian additions?! A) Availibility of players due to lack of international games and fallouts between the board and players, resulting in contract terminations and disagreements( what happened with Chris Gayle) and B) A flavour of attractiveness( Oh cumon, every West Indian has something special about him) C) Immense talent in the shortest format of the game.
It is true that despite having such BIG names, the West Indies haven’t proved it at the top level in recent times. Crashing out at the 2011 world cup in the quarter finals versus Pakistan more recently and defeats v Bangladesh in Bangladesh proves this sort of certain hypothesis and also raises a few questions over this team of good players being able to play together. However, becoming t20 champions at the 2012 t20 world cup and indivisual performances at the Ipl does prove that the graph of this team is on the ascend . The squashbuckling Chris Gayle and talented Darren Bravo upfront ; Dwayne Bravo, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Kieron Pollard and Marlon Samuels forming the middle order with Dinesh Ramdin behind the stumps and the bowling prowess of mystery man Sunil Narine, the revamped, much fitter Ravi Rampaul along with the pacy Tino Best; the side looks balanced and still have a slot to fill. That’s a side any franchise would give anything to buy wouldn’t they!
Calypso beats have been strumming cricketing ears from generations. Flamboyance, panache and a sense of dynamism forms the bedrock of West Indian cricket. The degree of these beautiful adverbs is so much so that at times it forms an impression that the players are not driven enough to achieve. From a certain Usain Bolt to Brian Charles Lara, the Carribean islands have always produced outstanding sportsmen and their presence in world sports has always been larger than life. With the big guns firing and raring to go, it will be interesting if this team of big boys achieves greatness, or succumbs to the professionalism of international cricket. Terms agreed between the board and players, the squad upbeat and with the will to progress, this team can win every trophy there is to be won in world cricket including the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy commencing in mid June. They have a taste of the coveted trophy after winning it in the most dramatic of fashions versus the hosts more recently. The West Indies are my favourites if not to win the Champions Trophy, but to be the most attractive side the tournament will witness. Strong words?! Maybe. But they do make sense don’t they?!
West Indies squad for the Champions Trophy
Dwayne Bravo (capt.), Denesh Ramdin (wk & vice-capt), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith.