Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
THERE WAS a time when, at this time of the year, cricket fans around the region lift their glasses in a toast to some wonderful performances by the West Indies. Unfortunately, however, there is not much to celebrate this time.
As it has been in recent years, it has been nothing but disappointment after disappointment, and the way things are going in Durban where the West Indies are now up against South Africa in the second Test, unless something strange happens, the year will end in another one with the West Indies losing one more time and South Africa moving to an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
As bad as things have been, however, the West Indies have enjoyed a few fine performances, one great, record-breaking one, some magnificent individual ones, and although they have been accustomed to more than that, the fans should raise their glasses in a toast to those who at times rose to the occasion and brought a little sunshine into their lives.
The first of the few was in Cape Town where, despite the disappointment that followed, the West Indies, led by a brilliant century by Brian Lara, some exciting batting by Ricardo Powell and Ramnaresh Sarwan, and an accurate last over from Vasbert Drakes, defeated the home team and second favourites in the opening match of the World Cup.
UNKNOWN EDWARDS
The second was at Sabina Park where the West Indies, led by the unknown Fidel Edwards with figures of 5-36 and Corey Collymore with 7-57, defeated Sri Lanka to win the two-match series 1-0; and with nine wickets down in their second innings, with the West Indies facing defeat in what would have been their most embarrassing performance ever, another was the batting of Ridley Jacobs and Edwards to save the first Test against Zimbabwe.
The great, record-breaking performance, the one that really lifted West Indian hearts, was at the Antigua Recreation Ground where the West Indies stepped out of the grave to beat mighty Australia.
After losing the first Test by nine wickets, the second by 118 runs and the third by nine wickets, and after they were set 418 to win the fourth and last Test match and appeared set to suffer another whitewash their first at home, the West Indies stormed to a victory that left the fans singing and dancing not only in the ARG, but also all around St. John's.
It was truly a memorable performance a performance in which the stars were fast bowler Jermaine Lawson, who ripped out the Aussies for 240 in their second innings with figures of 7-78, Lara, 60, Sarwan, 105, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 104, Omari Banks, 47 not out, and Drakes who scored 27 not out as the West Indies dashed to 418 for seven.
Apart from Lawson's brilliance at the ARG, Collymore's haul against Sri Lanka at Sabina Park, among the top individual performances were Chander-paul's magnificent innings of 100 off 72 deliveries in the first Test against Australia, the injured Jacobs' courageous innings of 54 not out in that same Test, and of course and although he scored 209 in the first Test against Sri Lanka in St. Lucia, Lara's 191 off 203 deliveries versus Zimbabwe in Harare and his 202 off 274 deliveries against South Africa in the first Test in Johannesburg.
After watching his team going so close to losing the first Test, Lara played a great innings in Bulawayo in the second and final Test and set the stage for the West Indies victory.
As brilliant as that was, however, and despite the presence of pacer Heath Streak and to an extent that of left-arm spin bowler Ray Price who bamboozled the other batsmen, it was like taking candy from a baby.
Not so his innings in Johannesburg, however. That was a masterpiece, a performance fit to be placed beside the best of his illustrious career.
LARA'S EXCEPTIONAL SKILL
It was an innings during which Lara paraded his exceptional skill and his amazing repertoire of strokes against a trio of good fast bowlers on a pitch that favoured pace bowlers.
It was during that innings, in the penultimate over of the day's play, that he blasted left-arm spinner Robin Peterson for a world Test record 28 runs in one over. It was after that innings that Easton McMorris, a former Test batsman himself and a man who is a student of the game, said these words: "I never saw Bradman, or Trumper or Hammond, and I only saw Headley late in his career, but they must have been great batsmen. I am telling you this, however, as great as they were, at best they could only be as good as Lara not better."
That is high praise coming from a man who once said "when you talk about batsmen, you talk about Bradman, Headley, probably Sobers, and then the rest", it was Lara's performance at Johannesburg that forced McMorris to change his mind, that performance took place this year - just a few days ago, and that is why, despite all the disappointment in 2003, West Indian cricket fans should say thank you to Lara and to those, particularly the stars of the ARG, who, even for a while, gave them something to cheer and to remember.
