‘Shai brings hope to Windies’, ‘Hope abounds as Windies stun England’ — these were some of the euphoric headlines that greeted readers a day after the West Indies’ momentous victory in the Headlingly test match after having been comprehensively beaten by an innings in the first test match at Edgbaston. That Shai Hope became the first batsman to score centuries in both innings was the icing on the cake.
For those of us who grew up adoring the all-conquering West Indies team of the 1970s and 1980s, their slump in its cricketing stature over the last two decades has been depressing. West Indies’ dominance began in 1976 when they defeated England 3-0 in a test series. The England captain, the late Tony Greig had famously predicted that England would make West Indies grovel. In response, Lloyd’s team hammered England with Viv Richards blasting two double centuries and Michael Holding blowing the English batsmen away.
The West Indies’ star started ebbing in 1991 when they drew a hard-fought series against England 2-2 and when they were beaten 2-1 by Australia in a home series in 1995, their domination ended, apart from a couple of bright spots such as the Champions Trophy victory in 2005 and the T20 World Cup last year.
It’s not as if West Indies did not produce talented cricketers in the last two decades — Lara, Chanderpaul, Walsh and Ambrose come to mind — but the team was clearly floundering. That cricketers such as Gayle, the Bravos (Dwayne and Darren), Sammy and Sunil Narine don’t find a place in the current team reflects poorly on the Caribbean administrators. Under Jason Holder, the West Indies now have a young bunch with talent and ability. The Headingley victory has given cricket romantics a lot to smile about. There are expectations, too.
Baskar B Deputy Editor
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