By Cosmo Hamilton
Stop the press. It’s official. The drought is over. Pop the champagne! Strike up the band. Clear the trophy case. There is new hardware coming in. All hail to the 2012 ICC T20 champions – West Indies.
What a year 2012 has been for sports in the Caribbean. Firstly in track and field highlighted by the London Olympics it was sprinter supreme world 100 and 200 meters champion Jamaican Usain Bolt illuminating the planet with his electrifying performances. Then it was crowning glory for world 400 meters hero Grenadian Kirani James in the summer to remember. And there was Trinidad and Tobago’s golden boy Keshorn Walcott who shocked the world if not himself, by hurling the javelin an astounding 84.58 meters to stand like a reluctant colossus astride the world.
Now it is hail to the spanking new ICC T20 World Champion West Indies team which shocked the cricket universe by demolishing Australia by 74 runs in the semi-final, and out-maneuvering hosts Sri Lanka in the final to win by 36 runs to capture the coveted championship on Sunday October 7th. It was a victory heard around the world but was particularly resounding among the 5 million people in the Caribbean from the majestic Blue mountains in Jamaica, all along the shimmering archipelago, down to Guyana, the jewel on the crown of South America that seemed to come together in one big warm embrace. And if only for a moment in time on a sultry Sunday night in Sri Lanka on the other side of the world, West Indies captain Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine and company took the fans in the Caribbean and in the diaspora for a magical ride on their wings soaring to a place near nirvana. And this is not your father’s West Indies team. This is not Sobers and Kanhai, or Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards. These are your diamond stud blinging, dreadlock styling, Mohawk sporting, Mercedes driving, affluent six-hitting machines, who on their day could destroy any cricket team particularly in the game’s newest 20/20 format. For the record, on their way to this World T20 championship, the West Indies slammed 49 sixes in 7 matches. Australia tallied 31 sixes in 6 matches, and England 28 sixes in 5 games.
Who are the other members of the firm? Johnson Charles, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Dinesh Ramdin, Samuel Badree, Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith and Fidel Edwards, all held together by tough task master, coach Ottis Gibson. Perhaps not since Clive Lloyd’s legendary West Indies team won the inaugural cricket World Cup at Lords in 1975 has the region experienced such euphoria. After the victory the Windies team comprising 8 from Trinidad and Tobago, 3 from Jamaica, 2 from St. Lucia and 2 from Barbados, flaunting their culture, pranced all around the Premadasa Stadium field under the lights carnival style but with a distinct ‘gangnam’ twist. Meanwhile this unforgettable spectacle and indeed the entire ICC T20 Championship match between West Indies and Sri Lanka was carried for the first time in history on American television – ESPN amongst its typical Sunday panoply of American sports.
And one could not help but think that this unbridled joy manifested by the team reflected redemption. Redemption for a much maligned team that has enjoyed winning only few and far between for the last 20 years or so. Redemption for captain Sammy, who some critics have said does not warrant a place on the team. Redemption for Marlon Samuels – the hero and the player of the match awardee for his spellbinding knock of 78 in the historic finals, who was banned from the game for 2 years in 2008 for actions that could bring the game into disrepute. And redemption for Chris Gayle who had been at loggerheads with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) after the 2011 World Cup and was isolated from the team for over a year.
This seminal victory feels like a breath of fresh air. The stars are aligned and it could signal a new day for West Indies cricket. In the Boardroom feisty former WICB CEO Dr. Ernest Hilaire must have felt hard done by as the recent events unfolded having left on the eve of this Windies milestone victory. Conversely incoming CEO Jamaican Michael Muirhead would consider himself fortunate to be stepping in on a winning note. In addition the departure of contentious WIPA president Dinanath Narine would hopefully signal an end to the acrimony that so characterized the relationship in recent years between labor and management in West Indies cricket, and usher in a more cordial tenor in negotiations involving the players and the Board. And perhaps incoming WIPA president former West Indies batsman Wavell Hinds might be more prone to see eye to eye with his countryman and begin an era of cooperation over confrontation as they represent their respective entities.
