So the World T20 champions West Indies in their drive for five on the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings, embarked on a truncated campaign of five One Day Internationals and one T20 Down Under with some degree of optimism and a measure of confidence, according to skipper Darren Sammy, knowing what they have to do to defeat the Aussies and boosted by some team members with recent experience in the host country’s Big Bash tournament, such as Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, and Kemar Roach.
But lo and behold an all too familiar script is unfolding – before you could say ‘the WACA’ West Indies are down two-nil in the series with a shocking dismissal for 70 in just 23.5 overs in their opening ODI at Perth losing by nine wickets, and in a somewhat better performance in the second match at the same venue going down by 54 runs replying to Australia’s 266 for 7 with 212 all out in 38.1 overs. The least said about the first match the better. In the second contest despite a stunning catching display by Darren Bravo, Kieran Powell and Sammy, an all too familiar scenario played out in both halves of the match.
And to quote hilarious legendary New York Yankee baseball player Yogi Berra, “It was like déjà vu all over again.” The host team sent in to bat, were allowed to recover from 98 for 6 to reach a respectable 266 for 7, while the West Indies batting featured the customary early collapse, some middle order resistance, and senseless lower order capitulation.
It would be easy and accurate to say that the difference between the teams thus far is Starc – pardon the pun – as Aussie left arm seamer Mitchell Starc triggered the collapse in match number one with his five for 20, and spearheaded the tourists demise in the second match with five for 32.
But the difference between the teams is indeed stark. Amongst the mixed blessings for the Windies in the recent match are lanky 21 year old pacer Jason Holder who bowled with great promise if not overwhelming results, and opener Kieran Powell who underlined his class with an imperious 83 that featured level-headed concentration, judicious shot selection, flawless execution, and mental toughness.
The 22-year-old Powell’s innings would have been a model for his teammates, particularly Kieron Pollard whose struggles for consistency as a productive batsman continues at international level where his performances have failed to match his potential. For the burly Trinidadian and other talented players on the team for instance Darren Bravo, Sammy and Andre Russell, there seems not to be an understanding that maturity and consistency in the limited overs genre is predicated on not only aggression, but a generous amount of patience and an acute knowledge of how to build an innings and sustain partnerships.
In ODI’s and even T20’s, prolific scoring is not necessarily constituted of all sixes and fours; it is as much push and poke, singles and two’s, essentially in batting lingo ‘turning the strike over’, and in music parlance, gradually building one’s performance from the overture to the crescendo. There is not much time to come up with answers to stave off the rampaging homesters no doubt bent on avenging their humiliating defeat at the hands of the Windies in the semi-final of the 2012 World T20 in Sri Lanka.
West Indies would do well to emulate their female counterparts now on the Sub-continent in India seeking to capture the 2013 Women’s World Cup, as they awoke from their slumber in the opening match of the tournament losing easily to the host country. Underpinned by stunning batting performances from opener Stephanie Taylor who slammed 171 from 137 balls, and Deandra Dottin the destroyer with 50 runs from 22 deliveries with five fours and four sixes, the Windies women, who posted a monumental 368 for 8, beat Sri Lanka by a whopping 209 runs to lead Group A at the World Cup.
Skipper Merissa Aguillera and the West Indies next face the always formidable England team led by Charlotte Edwards, one of the classiest batters in women’s cricket following her brilliant 109 as they defeated hosts India in their second match. As the team Down Under tries to stay alive in their five match series, Johnson Charles might well replace Ramnaresh Sarwan whose comeback might be put on hold as he is yet to score a run in the ODI’s. Meanwhile Chris Gayle would be seeking to turn his fortunes around to spur the team on.
