Cricket

The Independent Bangladesh

Back from the grave

BY IMTIAZ AHMED (English)
Sat 2 Oct 2004

West Indies were dead and buried. The fat lady was humming and about to sing. But something extraordinary happened; West Indies turned it around from an almost impossible situation and clinched the ICC Champions Trophy or Mini World Cup right under England’s nose. The heroes of this superb triumph were the two Barbados Bs- Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw.

Brian Lara won the toss in a gloomy Kennington Oval and unlike Inzamam he made the sensible decision to bowl first. Bradshaw struck twice early on and reduced England to 43 for 2. Soon England found themselves at 123 for 5 thanks largely to the bowling of the seemingly innocuous Wavell Hinds and Bravo. In the end the hosts could only manage a meagre total of 217. This total was largely due the lone hand played by Trescothick who scored his eight ODI century (104). He was the only English player who got into terms with the pitch and the disciplined Windies attack. Hinds and Bradshaw were the most successful bowlers in the Windies attack taking 3 for 24 and 2 for 54 respectively. West Indies were helped by their fielders enormously notably Lara who bagged three catches and a run-out including perhaps the greatest catch of his illustrious career; a stunning low one-handed catch scooped inches above the ground to remove the ever dangerous Flintoff!

So, the chase for the title was on! West Indies knew that it wouldn’t be easy chasing down the seemingly low total because the pitch was conducive to pace bowling and England had two of the most in-form bowlers in their ranks - Harmison and Flintoff. England started off on the right note as Flintoff and Harmison duet clicked early on. The fearsome duo was backed up by two stupendous catches from Strauss and Solanki. So, it was game on as West Indies were stifled at 49 for 3. Then Lara and Chanderpaul steadied the ship somewhat when Lara got out slashing for a wide one. It was the umpteenth time that Lara got out to Flintoff. Bravo soon followed his skipper and Windies were crawling at 80 for 5. Chanderpaul was still there and he built partnerships with Ryan Hinds, Powell and Browne before perishing to Collingwood after scoring 47. Chanderpaul’s wicket was huge as it reduced Windies to 147 for 8 and without any recognised batsmen! The English players celebrated Chanderpaul’s wicket as if the trophy had been won and who could blame them. For there were only two West Indian wickets left with none having any batting credentials, the light was quickly fading and Harmison and Flintoff were bowling with their tail up. With such odds stacked against them even the most passionate West Indian supporter wouldn’t have bet for a Windies victory. However, what transpired was sheer magic.

The two lesser known West Indian players - Bradshaw and Browne dug deep and slowly started building a partnership. They didn’t go for any lofty or risky shots as the equation didn’t require any. They played out the game logically and with little risk. Vaughan threw everything at the pair - Harmison, Flintoff, Gough, Wharf, Trescothick and Collingwood but no one could break the partnership. Although Vaughan missed a trick by not bowling Giles at that moment, he was the variety missing from the one-dimensional pace attack! The West Indian pair was also offered the light but they refused and played on! They brought Windies within striking distance in the last few overs and when the pair needed to accelerate the tempo they did just so. In the end the unbroken 71 run partnership between the two got the Windies home! The partnership was without a doubt the turning point of the match but more than that I found the manner in which the two chased down the target even more fascinating. It was thoroughly professional and it seemed like these two had been in such situations numerous times. The man-of-match award was duly awarded to Bradshaw for his part in the now famous partnership.

So, West Indies have come back from the dead both in this match and in terms of their place in the cricket world. No one (including me) really gave them a chance to win the trophy but they did so fittingly. Before the tournament Windies suffered humiliating defeats at the hands of the English both home and away. There were calls for Lara’s head and moreover, the country was in disarray as hurricanes lashed the Caribbean islands recently killing more than 1500 people. So, amidst such turbulence the West Indian players found strength in adversity and never stopped believing. There was too much clinging on this match for them and in the end the team who wanted it most lifted the trophy.

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