Dear Editor,
With just days to go before the third most auspicious sporting event in the world graces the Caribbean, cricket fans are doing nothing to conceal their anxieties about what might be the likely outcome of the competition. It seems as though everyone I converse with is breathless in anticipation.
Hence, the recent losses by the Australians have fuelled cautious optimism among locals that the World Cup might not be headed down under again. Indeed the losses have given some of us, like myself who doggedly support the West Indies and any other team that plays against Australia, a renewed sense of enthusiasm.
However, though Australia have lost to England and have been pulverized by New Zealand subsequently, which eventually propelled their relegation to number two in the abbreviated format of the game, they still remain arguably the best team around. And it will be stupid for any team in the competition to harbour feelings of complacency. As a matter of fact, Ricky Ponting who spoke superciliously prior to his team’s departure for the Caribbean, unambiguously declared that Australia is the team to beat. Previously, it was Mike Hussey who enumerated his list of potential threats, but no mention was made of the West Indies.
Although my optimism might seem like a pebble in the immensity of the Grand Canyon, I am supporting the West Indies to reach the final of this World Cup. I know that they are an inconsistent team and have repeatedly managed to release the grasp from the throat of victory. But, they have also shown that they can be unforgivably destructive to their opponents. The Australians will know only too well that it was the West Indies who defeated them twice and met with them in successive finals late last year.
Ultimately, in unquestionably his final World Cup appearance, Brian Lara who is arguably the best batsman in these contemporary days will want the much coveted world cup to remain on the shores of the Caribbean. I am cognizant that he cannot do it alone, but he leads a clutch of young players, among whom there is a resilient nucleus comparable to that of any team in the world, which can collectively catapult any team.
I know that the West Indies are not without their faults. But, if we scrutinize the other teams, we will also recognize that they are all very much engulfed in some difficulty as well. With this note I think that the competition is very much open and I wish to exhort West Indians to rally around the West Indies.
Yours faithfully,
Raul Khan
