Beyond the boundary - Clouds and Silver Linings (22 May 1999)
In the subcontinent, even a match which pitted a minnow like Bangladesh against one of the erstwhile giants of the game, could not have been played on a ground which did not seat even fifteen thousand on a slow day
22-May-1999
22 May 1999
Beyond the boundary - Clouds and Silver Linings
Shakil Kasem
In the subcontinent, even a match which pitted a minnow like
Bangladesh against one of the erstwhile giants of the game, could not
have been played on a ground which did not seat even fifteen thousand
on a slow day. The only reason why the sight of some obscure patch of
green in a cricketing backwater like Ireland did not depress me any
further (after the Indian debacle), was because it was in Dublin.
Dublin, home to Trinity College, James Joyce, Singular Man and
Balthazar B, all of who had laid claim to my stream of muddy
consciousness for a considerable period of my misspent youth. But
therein ended all similarities. There was nothing Joycean about the
cricket. Or maybe that is what it was.
For a while my patriotic fervour overcame all dictates of reason and
logic, and all cricketing sense went for a six. I was ready for the
unspeakable: was it about to happen? Was Bangladesh about to do a
Kenya? Had not Gordon Greenidge passed the edict that the West
Indians were fallible, that they were ripe for the picking? We won
the toss, the wicket was supposedly good, we chose to bat. All right,
if one must insist on nit picking, conditions were overcast, gloomy
and blustery. Still, batting first always puts the other team under
pressure. And so we attempted to do just that. Except that the man
who was meant to orchestrate such matters once again let down a whole
nation. There are more things in heaven and earth, Aminul, than are
dreamt of in your philosophy. Etc., etc.
Courtney Walsh did the early damage, not letting the opening stand
get into double figures, for the second time in a row. But the rest
of the batting order trod the familiar path back to the dressing
rooms in the same monotonous fashion that is now becoming a trademark
for the team. Apart from Walsh, the rest of the bowling was mundane
and mediocre. Yet the batting of the senior pros of the side ensured
that the West Indians, in spite of shoddy bowling and shabby
fielding, were not going to be upstaged in Dublin. Fallible they
perhaps were, but batting pedigree they still had in plenty.
It was left to Mehrab Hossain and Naimur Rahman to repair the gaping
holes left behind by their senior colleagues. To their credit these
two youngsters rose manfully to the need of the hour. Mehrab scored a
truly responsible and methodical 65 while Naimur was quite steadfast
in notching up 45. He missed out on one of the most important fifties
he is likely to score for his country. But the writing was on the
wall. The seniors really have to pull up their socks for the rest of
their stay in England.
Bangladesh looked well on their way to 200 plus. Only Courtney Walsh
was not yet ready to have things going Bangladesh's way. He carved
the innards out of the lower order and 182 looked par for the course
for West Indies. But it could well have been so different.
Bangladesh bowled with a purpose and plan for a change. The opening
bowlers were impressive with their line and length and had the
batsmen struggling for the better part of the first 15 overs. But
Ridley Jacobs, Sherwin Campbell and Jimmy Adams are hardened pros,
they had sailed this route before. In the end it was a case of what
is, what was and what must be. West Indies-by 7 wickets.
West Indies are a pale shadow of what they once were. Sadly, we are
watching the demise of one of the great powers of world cricket.
Judging by the present scenario of cricket in the West Indies, a
revival does not seem to be on the cards. Judging by what we saw in
Dublin, judging by what we might have achieved perhaps, let's hope
for the improbable. Well, why not? This could be the time for the
changing of the guard.
Source :: The Daily Star