Half way around the world in a hot bed of emergent international cricket – the city of Dhaka in the nation of Bangladesh, hosts of the 2016 ICC Under19 World Cup, it was Valentine’s Day – Sunday February 14th the most iconic day on the calendar indicative of the manifestation of love in the realm of the romantic, but there was no love lost between the underdog youth of the West Indies and the prohibitive favorites India as they battled in the final for the coveted trophy and bragging rights for the next two years as the best young team on the planet.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, it was in the waning hours of Saturday February 13th at about 10 pm when the match got underway and it was barely so when India, offered first strike by inspired skipper Shimron Hetmyer, lost their captain Rishbabh Pant to a bizarre stumping by the alert Tevin Imlach on the fourth ball of the innings. It was this dismissal that set the tone for the veritable meltdown of the Indian juggernaut that saw the team sink to 50 for 5 and all out for 145 in 45.1 overs under the weight of the withering pace attack of Alzarri Joseph and Chemar Holder reminiscent of the legend of Andy Roberts and Michael Holding.
And by the time the West Indies had painstakingly slayed the Bengal tiger with sheer grit and determination and reached 146 for 5 with a mere three balls to spare, Valentine’s Day had dawned in the West Indies and North America and it is safe to say that half of the Caribbean and many thousands in the diaspora got up from their TV sets and computers ecstatic but tired and bleary-eyed and mentally worn from worry, that ball after ball, over after over from a desperate, guileful, and miserly Indian attack, that this team inexperienced, with no body of work, seemingly struggling at 77 for 5 in the 29th over, could come close and yet fall short in what should have been a modest run chase.
Keacy Carty – 52 not out from 125 balls and Keemo Paul 40 not out from 68 deliveries manifesting maturity beyond their years in the end ensured that incurable romantics and traditionalists – some in sub-zero Fahrenheit temperatures gleefully ventured out to purchase over-priced bouquets of roses and enjoy perhaps their most memorable Valentine’s Day. It is highly commendable that these two young players in a less than supportive environment against a heavily favored team, batted resolutely and with such composure that would have been the envy of their senior team prone to habitual capitulation in similar circumstances.
To quote well known Indian commentator Sanjay Manjrekar – “Paul and Carty showed qualities in that partnership that you don’t quite attribute to current West Indies cricket – technique and temperament.”
It is a statement that spoke volumes given the chaotic state of play on and off the field in the Caribbean and one could have almost felt the shock waves coursing through the cricket world that awoke on Valentine’s Day to the news that a team from the West Indies with no household names on board had beaten a team from India arguably the center of the cricket universe and were world champions. Kudos must be extended to selector Courtney Browne and his panel for assembling the team and coach Graeme West for honing those talented individuals into a unit that believed in itself and trusted each other implicitly.
Evidently West and his staff emphasized the 4 ‘F’s in their preparation leading up to the tournament – Familiarity, Fitness, Focus, and Fortitude. Even after losing all of their warm-up games to the local team in alien conditions and then lost the opening match of the tournament to England, the team acclimatized in short order and played progressively better as they advanced, astutely led by Hetmyer who brought to bear the experience gleaned from his participation in the 2014 Under 19 World Cup in Dubai. The team adopted a laser-like focus after the early setbacks and engendered admirable self-belief and a winning attitude after their first victory.
This unheralded group of proud young men quickly understood what it took to win and win at all cost. To wit they were unjustly maligned by the hierarchy of the ICC no less, for ‘mankading’ in the pivotal match against Zimbabwe. To their credit the team stayed focused and showed commendable fortitude in shrugging off the criticism and kept their eyes on the Holy Grail. As coach West said, “the management team were well aware we needed to keep things simple and very much to the pattern players were used to.”
Whether these world champions are afforded every opportunity to advance their skills to the highest levels of the game is left to be seen. They should at the very least be mentored and nurtured to explore and develop their skill set to maximize its potential for their own benefit and ultimately for the good of West Indies cricket. Apparently there is hope. In the words of the President of the West Indies Cricket Board Dave Cameron, “This is the beginning of how we plan to seamlessly transition to the Cricket West Indies brand, and the programme will be sustainable with the region’s support.”
If one were to venture an opinion as to the most likely member of this world championship team to succeed at the highest level of the game it would be Alzarri Joseph – a prototype pacer, willowy, mean and venomous with a propensity for hard work. The gifted Antiguan brings to mind the 20 year old South African speedster Kagiso Rabada, a top performer at the 2014 Under 19 World Cup whose meteoric rise has catapulted him into the Proteas’ leading opening bowler at Test and International level. Joseph is a mouthwatering prospect that needs to look no further than his countryman Sir Curtly Ambrose for inspiration.
