West Indian wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs dives for a superb catch to dismiss England's Mark Butcher late on the second day of the first Test at Sabina Park yesterday.
-Junior Dowie photo
Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
CRICKET FANS who are eagerly awaiting the day when the West Indies will once again be powerful and probably all-conquering may not have long to wait - not after yesterday's action at Sabina Park on the second day of the exciting first Test of the Cable & Wireless Series between the West Indies and England at Sabina Park.
As every West Indian knows, pace, real pace, was the ammunition that the West Indies used to knock over all comers in their glory days stretching from the mid-'70s to the mid-'90s, for some time now West Indians have been praying to find a few with the fire of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Colin Croft, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall, and yesterday those present at Sabina Park saw two young bowlers in action who may well be the answer to their prayers.
FASTEST SPELL
In the fastest spell of bowling at Sabina Park for a long, long time, Fidel Edwards and Tino Best, both from Barbados, peppered England's batsmen with some thunderbolts - some of which, delivered at more than 90 miles per hour, flew off their helmets when, bobbing and weaving, ducking and turning away in fright, they failed to get out of the way.
One passed Marcus Trescothick at 94 mph, ripped a stump out of the ground and sent it flying towards the wicketkeeper.
"This is pace, real pace," said an elderly Jamaican with a smile on his face, and as Mark Butcher, 58, and Nasser Hussain, 41 not out, will admit, it was pace - real pace.
Chasing 311 after pacer Matthew Hoggard removed Edwards after 10 minutes without addition to the overnight score, England started confidently with Trescothick driving Edwards through mid-wicket for two runs, with Vaughan hooking the pacer to the mid-wicket boundary and then, next ball, going forward and driving handsomely to the cover boundary.
Had they known, however, Trescothick and Vaughan would not have thrown down the gauntlet so early as within an over or two they were under fire from the 21-year-old speedster and quickly followed each other back to the safety of the pavilion.
Bowling from the south, Edwards, three wickets for 50 runs off 16 overs, stormed Trescothick with a screaming bouncer that flew over wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs' head and then, next ball, bowled the left-hander off the inside edge with a delivery as fast as the wind - the sound of leather hitting wood echoing around the ground like a gunshot.
