The last fortnight has been a roller coaster ride of mixed emotions for West Indies cricket fans, as the past, the present and the future appeared to be whirling simultaneously in a time gyroscope to generate disappointment, joy, anger, hope, nostalgia, worry, and euphoria. As the depression cloud hovering over the Caribbean since the commencement of the 2023 ICC World Cup finally begins to dissipate, the anguish of missing the tournament for the first time is being replaced by a multitude of distractions. Three regional teams are participating in separate series, there was the standard selection bacchanal, and an off-the-field reminder of the good old days.
Albeit, its just a thin slice of time, but it is enough to sow the seeds of hope, similar to the oft cited opening lines of Charles Dickens’ seminal novel, A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…”.
On Monday, the West Indies Academy concluded their encounter with Emerging Ireland on a high, sweeping the two-match four-day series by an innings and 134 runs, and 432 runs, respectively. This follows on the heels of a 2 – 1 triumph in the ODI series, after the visitors had captured the opening game by 26 runs. The five matches, which were hosted by Antigua at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium – two ODIs – and the Coolidge Ground, provided a glimpse of our pipeline of developing talent in both the white ball and red ball formats. The dominant performance should only serve to whet appetites, not for fans to get too carried away, since Ireland is by no means a world power in the sport.
On the next tier, the mixed results of the West Indies A team in South Africa are more of a true reflection of the fluctuating standards of our cricket over the last two decades, vacillating between two extremes. Chasing 224 for victory in the first unofficial Test at Benoni, the West Indies side, delicately poised at 199 for seven, were sliding towards the inevitable defeat, before the promising Kevin Sinclair, batting seventh in the order, guided his team to an unexpected victory by one wicket, with an undefeated knock of 80. This euphoric feeling was quickly replaced with a reality check seven days later, last Saturday, as the visitors succumbed by 232 runs in the second unofficial Test at East London. The inability by West Indies cricketers to string together streaks of consistently high performances has become an ingrained part of the culture, similar to the plague of nonchalant acceptance of a losing environment. This latter trait has been a major contributor to the abandonment of the team by many a fan, fed up with their laissez faire approach to competing at the highest level of the game.
When the West Indies squad for the current CG United ODI series versus England was announced on the 20th November, the name of Darren Bravo was conspicuously missing from the list. The left hander, arguably one of the best batsmen in the West Indies today, was the leading scorer in the just concluded Super50 Cup in Trinidad, compiling 416 runs at an average of 83, whilst captaining the hosts to their 14th regional one-day title. Chairman of the Selectors, Desmond Haynes cited forward planning to the 2027 World Cup as the reason for the 34 year old Bravo’s non-selection. At the same time, the committee opted to include the 32-year-old wicket keeper Shane Dowrich, who had only played in one ODI four and one half years ago, and last appeared for the West Indies three years ago, before abruptly abandoning the Test tour of New Zealand, for “personal reasons”. Lo and behold, Dowrich, promptly announced his immediate retirement from international cricket, last Thursday, during the preparatory stages for the series. No doubt this only served to further embarrass Haynes, who was heavily criticised for the apparent double standard in age criteria, and accused of insularity in recalling his fellow Barbadian. One would have thought that Bravo’s veteran presence and experience of 122 ODIs would be an asset in the dressing room, whereas the selectors view it through a different lens. In cricketing timelines, 2027 is eons away, and discarding Bravo now, is a terrible waste, when he has at least two more good years of cricket to offer the West Indies.
On Sunday, the West Indies team lived up to the selectors’ expectations, securing a spectacular victory over England. Set the daunting task of chasing 326, the West Indies achieved their highest ever ODI run chase against England – exceeding the 286 they compiled at Lord’s in 2004 – and their second highest against any opponent. Led by Skipper Shai Hope’s undefeated century, the home side won by four wickets with seven balls to spare. The million dollar question is, which West Indies team will turn up for the next two matches? The team which produced this resounding victory, or the one which will surrender meekly and be a shadow of Sunday’s? One never knows with this team.
On Saturday evening, at the Coolidge Cricket Ground, the Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB) honoured two past players, Antiguan Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards and Montserrat’s Charles Henry ‘Jim’ Allen at their second Gold Jacket Award Ceremony. The event was conceptualized to honour players during their lifetimes for their contribution to the development of the game in the Leewards, and was initiated last year, with the honouring of Elquemedo Willet, a Nevisian and Antiguan Sir Andy Roberts, the first two Test cricketers from the Leewards. It is ironic that Richards and Allen should be honoured together, since it is quite possible that their roles could have been reversed, and today we could be talking of Allen with the same reverence reserved for the “Master Blaster” Richards. Hats off to the LICB for this executing this programme. Much too often in life we fail to acknowledge and pay tribute to our fellow citizens whose efforts to improve our lives and well-being are taken for granted. Current members of the three West Indian squads should spend the time to acquaint themselves with the sterling contributions made by, not only of these two players, but of all past cricketers, to West Indies cricket.
