It is ironical that I am attempting to write about the glorious history of
West Indian cricket when it is at its nadir. The sad state of affairs is palpable and the administrators and players are guilty of doing nothing to alleviate the situation. But then it is also apt, as it reminds one and all about their extraordinary contribution to world cricket. No other team has managed to produce as many naturally gifted batsmen, outstanding fast bowlers and brilliant all-round fieldsmen like the West Indies have. While selecting the all time XI of the West Indies, people are in a complete quandary considering there are at least 25-30 top players to pick from. Richie Benaud, the doyen of commentators, himself calls them 'The True Entertainers' of cricket and I cannot help but agree. I have grown up watching and reading about the fantastic exploits of West Indian legends and this work is the smallest tribute I can pay to a team cherished by every cricket lover.
West Indian cricket has seen many highs and lows, exceptional captains and dominant players. It can be divided into different periods detailed below.
1.
The Headley yearsCricket was given to almost every country by England during the course of its imperialistic conquests. West Indies made their entry into international cricket in 1928. The islands of the West Indies did not have a fair representation in those early years though. Majority of the players in the team were whites and very few locals were preferred. Learie Constantine was an outstanding all-rounder who played in his country's first Test match. The
tour of England under Karl Nunes turned out to be a disaster though, as the team went down by an innings in all three matches. But in 1929-30, when England toured the West Indies, a new batting star was born. George Headley of Jamaica plundered the England attack and scored 703 runs in four Tests including four centuries as West Indies
won their first ever Test at Georgetown.
After a couple of disappointing series, West Indies won their first ever series against England in 1934-35. A loss in a low scoring first Test was followed by an outstanding performance by Headley, who by then was known as the 'Black Bradman'. He scored 485 runs including a superb 270 in the
final Test at Kingston where England were beaten by an innings. Headley's
record before the World War was simply outstanding. He scored almost 26% of the team runs during the period and averaged more than 66. He finished his career after the war with 10 centuries in 40 innings, a rate second only to Bradman's. He also averaged 71 at number three which remains one of the best for that position.
Centre:George Headley, the first great WI batsman2.
Era of the 3 W'sEngland toured the Caribbean in 1947-48. George Headley led the West Indies in the first Test at Barbados becoming the first black captain to do so. But he was immediately replaced in the next match by Gerry Gomez. Frank Worrell, Clyde Walcott and Everton Weekes made their debuts in this series. Known as the 3 W's, all three were born in Bridgetown and soon became the batting heavyweights of the team. West Indies went on to win the series 2-0 and on the next tour of India, Everton Weekes set a record for the most consecutive centuries when he scored five hundreds in five innings and was run out for 90 in the sixth. West Indies dominated the 1950 series against England winning 3-1 with Worrell leading the scoring. He aggregated 539 runs at nearly 90 with a top score of 261 at Nottingham.
Australia won the series down under in 1951-52 by a comprehensive margin of 4-1 but the series was a lot closer than that. The Aussies won the first Test by three wickets and the fourth by just one wicket. Despite the excellent individual performances, West Indies were not able to establish dominance. This was in part, due to the absence of a local captain. The 1955 Australian tour of West Indies saw the home team losing heavily with the Aussie batsmen feasting on some weak bowling. Clyde Walcott though was in superb batting form scoring 827 runs with five centuries in the series, including a century in both innings on two different occasions in the same series.
Left:The three greats from Barbados: Worrell, Walcott and Weekes
Right: Meckiff is run out by Joe Solomon's direct hit as the Brisbane Test is tied
3.
Rise of the greatest all-rounder- SobersThe England tour of 1954 witnessed the debut of the 17 year old Garfield Sobers, who played in the lower middle order and bowled occasionally. He had not scored a single century despite getting numerous starts. On the disastrous England tour of 1957, when West Indies lost 3-0, Sobers was one of the few quality performers. Finally, in 1958 against Pakistan at Kingston, Sobers announced himself with a spectacular 365*, in the process surpassing Len Hutton's 20 year record. Conrad Hunte scored 260 and the West Indies amassed 790/3 beating Pakistan by an innings. This series was followed by a victory over India and a defeat to Pakistan and England. The next series was against Australia down under and was expected to be a no contest considering Australia were easily the best team.
4.
Worrell's eraFrank Worrell became the first black captain of the West Indies and encouraged his team to play attacking cricket. He united all the islands and there was enormous respect for his leadership. Richie Benaud was the opposing captain and in the first Test at Brisbane, the West Indies were in trouble early losing three quick wickets. In the passage of play that ensued, Sobers and Worrell unleashed a scintillating array of strokes, with Sobers in particular dominating the Australian bowling. He scored a stunning 132 as West Indies made 453. Norman O'Neill made 181 as Australia secured a 52 run lead. Alan Davidson who had scored a half century earlier bowled superbly to keep the West Indies down to 284, with Worrell top scoring. Australia were expected to get the runs easily, but Wesley Hall's aggressive fast bowling left them in tatters at 92/6. Benaud and Davidson fought back and took Australia to 228 when Davidson was run out by Joe Solomon. When Hall started the last over of the match, all results were possible. Benaud was caught behind with five required putting West Indies on top. Then the drama started. Hall spilled an easy catch two balls later and when Wally Grout was run out going for the third run, the scores were level. Kline pushed the ball to square leg and set off for what would have been the winning run, but Solomon swooped and effected a stunning direct hit. The match had ended in a
tie, the first ever in Test history and had set the precedent for a glorious summer. Australia and West Indies won the next two matches comfortably and when the fourth Test started in Adelaide, the series was level 1-1 with two to play. West Indies dominated the match, but Australia's last pair of Kline and Mackay frustrated them for almost two hours to draw the game. Australia won a tight contest at the MCG by two wickets to take the series 2-1. At the end of a fascinating
series, Frank Worrell and his team were given a parade through Melbourne and the Australia-WI contest ever since is known as the frank Worrell trophy. Worrell's team comfortably defeated England and Australia over the next two years and Garry Sobers took over the captaincy in 1966 for the England tour of West Indies.
5.
Sobers as captain and the declineSobers took over the captaincy from Worrell in 1966 and reestablished West Indian supremacy in his first two series as captain. In the ultimate all-round performance, he scored over 700 runs, picked up 20 wickets and held 10 catches against England in the 3-1 victory. The team though had lost much of its sheen and the bowling had gone rather weak. In what turned out to be a premature decision, he declared both innings of the Trinidad Test in 1967-68 setting England 215 to win which they managed to do with few balls to spare. He was vilified extensively for this blunder and despite his best efforts to win the next Test, England drew and won the series 1-0. Sobers did not win a single series after this. After the 1-0 loss to India in 1971, Rohan Kanhai took over the reins. A loss against Australia at home was followed by a 2-0 win in England with Sobers stroking a fantastic 150 at Lord's. Sobers announced his retirement in 1973 and the captaincy was taken over by Clive Lloyd for the tour of India. Lloyd's reign was the start of what would go onto become an unprecedented period of dominance over the next two decades.
Left:The greatest captain and motivator- Frank Worrell
Right:All rounder nonpareil-Garry Sobers
6.
Pace is the keyThe first Test at Bangalore on the
1974-75 tour of India witnessed the debuts of two players who would go on to become the most outstanding batsmen over the next fifteen years. Vivian Richards and Gordon Greenidge had contrasting debuts; while Richards made just 4 and 3, Greenidge scored 93 and 107. West Indies went on to win a close series 3-2. Lloyd's success continued in the first World Cup in 1975 when they won all their matches enroute to the title. They were lucky to win against Pakistan when they were down 166/8 and 203/9 chasing 267, but Andy Roberts and Deryck Murray put on 64 runs for the last wicket to clinch the win. In the
final, Clive Lloyd smashed a brilliant 102, his century coming off just 82 balls to lead West Indies to a 17 run win. Australia's chase was thwarted by Richards who ran three batsmen out including the Chappell brothers. The tour of Australia in 1975-76 taught the West Indies some harsh truths about the game. The Aussies were the best side by a distance and in Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, they had the best new ball pairing in the world. Max Walker and Gary Gilmour provided superb support and the tough cricket they played clearly hurt the West Indies. Roy Fredericks smashed the Aussie bowling around in his 169 in the 2nd Test at Perth, but the West Indies were routed 5-1. The only man to emerge with his head held high was Viv Richards, who after being promoted to open the innings made 98, 101 and 50 in the last two Tests. India toured the Caribbean later and squared the series by chasing down a then record 406. The West Indian spinners proved to be totally ineffective and Lloyd realized that the only way to batter teams into submission was to assemble an array of top fast bowlers. In Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Croft, he had a terrifying set of fast bowlers who changed the way Test cricket would be played over the next decade.
7.
The summer of 1976 >;Tony Greig's remark that he would make the West Indies 'grovel' turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes. The term had a racist connotation to it and nobody was angered more than Viv Richards, who took it upon himself to inflict all the suffering on the England bowlers that
summer. Richards was in exceptional form scoring 829 runs in 4 Tests and might have gone on to touch 1000 runs had he not missed the second Test. In the Old Trafford Test, Brian Close and John Eldrich were subjected to a barrage of bouncers by the West Indian quicks. In the final Test at the batsman friendly Oval, Michael Holding produced a masterclass. After Richards' 291 had led WI to 687, England had managed 445 thanks mainly to Dennis Amiss who made 203. Holding produced a blistering spell of fast bowling picking up 8 wickets including the prized scalp of Tony Greig. Six more wickets in the second innings brought him match figures of 14/149, an amazing performance on a flat track. England were thrashed 3-0 and this began a period of unprecedented West Indian dominance over England. Richards went on to make 1710 runs in the calendar year, which remained a record for 30 years.
Top:Whispering death Michael Holding who destroyed England at the Oval with 14/149
Centre:Gundappa Viswanath's glorious 97 at Chepauk is one of the finest knocks played against WI
Right:The WI pace quartet- Roberts,Holding, Croft and Garner
8.
Packer and beyondMost players around the world had issues with their pay and when Kerry Packer of Channel 9 started World Series Cricket after discussions with Tony Greig and Ian Chappell, most West Indian players joined the fold. After two seasons of SuperTests and one-day games among the rebel teams, the boards accepted the demands and the players were back in the main team. During that period, a depleted West Indies lost
a Test in India. Lloyd's team embarked on a tour of New Zealand which turned out to be one of the most ill-tempered. In the first Test at Dunedin, the WI bowlers were incensed after a blatant caught behind decision was turned down. New Zealand squeezed a one wicket win and held on to win the acrimonious series 1-0. The series is sadly remembered for Michael Holding kicking the stumps down and Colin Croft barging into umpire Fred Goodall.
9.
Lloyd's reignLloyd's powerful West Indian team drew 1-1 against Australia after a classic Kim Hughes century at the MCG enabled the Aussies to win a close game. India were beaten easily in the home series with Richards smashing an exceptional 61 off 36 balls to chase down 173 in 26 overs at Kingston. The WI went to England confident of lifting the trophy for the third consecutive time. An early setback against India was quickly forgotten as they went about their business clinically thrashing Australia by 101 runs, with Winston Davis picking up 7/51. India had a superb tournament and reached the final on June 25th at Lord's. It was a classic mismatch and despite India having tastes success against WI at Berbice earlier and in the World Cup, the Caribbeans were expected to cruise to victory. David Frith was so confident of India being humbled that he famously stated that he would "eat his words" if India won. When India were bundled out for just 183, everything seemed to be too easy for the champions. But when Greenidge forgot about the Lord's slope and was bowled by an innocuous Balwinder Sandhu delivery, the Indians were hopeful. Richards quickly proceeded to change the game with some terrific shots. He had seven fours in his 33 and looked like he would end the game within the next twenty overs. Then came the moment of truth! Richards played a pull off the hapless Madan Lal andjust when the ball seemed headed for safety, India's captain Kapil Dev ran more than twenty yards to pluck the catch. The tide had turned. India's medium pacers squeezed the WI batsmen and eventually won a shock victory by 43 runs. The WI were stunned and Lloyd was resolved to establish that India's victory was only an aberration.
In the series that followed in India, the WI definitely sought revenge for the defeat in the final at Lord's. India failed to win a single Test and were ruthlessly hunted down by the pace bowlers, Malcolm Marshall in particular. He picked up 33 wickets in the series with his best spell coming in Kanpur. On a flat and lifeless track, Marshall destroyed the Indian batting with a spell of 4 for 9 in eight overs and accounted for Sunil Gavaskar. At the peak of his bowling prowess, Marshall dominated Gavaskar dismissing him seven times below 20 runs. Gavaskar scored a scintillating century at Delhi and unbeaten 236 in Chennai coming in at No.4. Richards' famously remarked to Gavaskar, who came in at 0/2 "No matter when you come in, the score will be zero." India were thrashed 7-0 in the ODI series, the highlight being Richards' superb 149 off 99 balls at Jamshedpur. The result was truly a reflection of the greatness of the WI team and how far ahead of the pack they were.
Top:Infamous series in NZ- Holding kicks out following an umpiring howler
Centre:Lloyd introduces his team to the Queen
Right:Malcolm Marshall, the greatest fast bowler from the Caribbean
10.
The blackwashesWI secured an emphatic 3-0 win against Australia at home, not losing a single second innings wicket in three victories. WI then travelled to England, who they had dominated in recent series. But what transpired in the next five games was truly extraordinary. After an innings defeat at Edgbaston, England fought back at Lord's picking up a 41 run lead courtesy an 8 wicket haul by Ian Botham. David Gower declared at 300/9 setting WI an enormous task of chasing 342 in 75 overs. Gordon Greenidge however was in a belligerent mood and made a mockery of the target scoring 214 off 242 balls as WI chased the target down for the loss of just one wicket (a run-out)in just 66 overs. The WI comfortably won the next Test at Leeds after Marshall ripped through England with 7/53 despite a fracture in his left hand. A
5-0 thrashing was sealed at the Oval few days later and WI were firmly sitting on top of the tree.
WI also won the ODI series 2-1. The first ODI at Old Trafford witnessed a stupendous 189* by Viv Richards, which is by far the greatest ODI innings ever played. WI were reeling at 166/9 when Richards, on 95, was joined by Michael Holding. The last wicket stand was worth 106 with Richards contributing 94 of those runs. He cut loose on the England attack and hammered Willis, Pringle, Foster and Botham to all parts of the ground.
Old Trafford had witnessed some of the cleanest striking of the cricket ball ever and his 189 out of a team 272 is still the highest contribution to a team's completed innings (total greater than 100 and overs greater than 25).
Lloyd retired at the end of the away series against Australia which WI won 3-1. Marshall was again the pick of the bowlers and was at his peak with 11 five wicket hauls in 14 matches. Richards took over the captaincy and led WI to a comfortable 2-0 win over New Zealand at home. The home series against England was another mauling for England. They were swamped 5-0 again with Richards scoring the fastest Test century at Antigua in a 240 run win.
11.
The Richards' eraViv Richards led WI with distinction after Lloyd's retirement, not losing a single series as captain. The only team that consistently challenged WI was Imran Khan's Pakistan who drew three series in the 1980s. WI were bowled out for 53 in Faislabad with Abdul Qadir taking 6/16, but bounced back to win by an innings in the next game bowling out Pakistan for 131 and 77. In the home series that followed, WI lost the first Test at Guyana by nine wickets mainly due to Imran Khan's 11 wickets and Javed Miandad's century. The next Test was a tight affair and Pakistan held on for a draw with one wicket in hand. WI squeezed home by two wickets in the final Test to square the series 1-1. WI had a disappointing World Cup, not making the semi finals for the first time. Courtney Walsh's act of sportsmanship when he refused to run out Saleem Jaffar, who had backed up too far, resulted in defeat for WI and elimination from the WC. But his terrific gesture was commended by one and all. WI thrashed England 4-0 in the 1988 series, with Marshall ripping the England batting apart at Old Trafford with a haul of 7/22. Richards's side, despite losing most of the stars, dominated cricket for the next two years and he retired after another home series win against Allan Border's Australia.
Top:Terrific on one leg-Greenidge's 214 at Lord's set up a 5-0 rout
Centre:Richards' 189* at Old Trafford- the finest ODI knock ever
Right:The king and Botham- best of pals12.
The beginning of the end of dominationRichie Richardson took over the captaincy after Viv Richards and led WI to series wins against Pakistan and Australia. The series against Australia witnessed the closest win in Test history when WI pipped the Aussies by one run in Adelaide. Ambrose, with a spectacular spell of 7/1 destroyed the Australians at
Perth in the next Test to win the series 2-1. The series also unearthed the genius of Brian Lara, who made a superb 277 at the SCG. He followed this effort up in the next year by scoring 375 against England at Antigua and a 501* for Warwickshire against Durham. Mark Taylor's team visited the Caribbean in 1995 to try and win the
Frank Worrell trophy, which they had not won for the last 20 years. Australia won the first Test comfortably, but were thrashed in a low scoring third Test. In the final Test, the Waugh twins shared a stunning partnership to put the match beyond the West Indies. The Australians had won the series 2-1; the first time WI had lost a series for 15 years. This turned out to be the beginning of the end of the dominance of the West Indies.
13.
The sharp fallAfter a 2-2 series draw in England in 1995, West Indies travelled down under to try and regain the Frank Worrell trophy. They were outplayed in the first and second Tests and despite fighting back to win the third Test at the MCG, they lost the fourth to lose the series. A century by Lara and some fine bowling enabled them to gain a consolation win in the final Test.
A disappointing World Cup campaign began with defeats against India and Sri Lanka (WI refused to travel to Colombo). More humiliation followed as they were bowled out for 93 against Kenya at Pune. They managed to qualify for the quarterfinal after defeating Australia in Jaipur. Few gave them a chance against South Africa in their QF clash in Karachi. SA had won all their five group matches with ease and were the favourites to lift the trophy. What followed though was sheer brilliance. Brian Lara produced a masterpiece, scoring 111 off 94 balls which took West Indies to 264. Excellent bowling kept the Proteas down to 245 and the World Cup has witnessed a huge upset. In the semi-final in Mohali, the West Indies started superbly reducing Australia to 15/4. Michael Bevan, the man for a crisis, who had singlehandedly won an ODI in Sydney earlier in the same year against WI, combined with Stuart Law and put Australia back on track. However, the total of 207 seemed inadequate when Lara and Chanderpaul were going great guns. Lara fell to a superb off-cutter from Steve Waugh and this opened the sluice gates. Warne returned to wreak havoc in the middle order. Umpiring decisions went against the West Indies and in the panic that ensued, Richie Richardson fought a lone battle. Curtly Ambrose's run out and a mindless hoick by Courtney Walsh put an end to the campaign and Richardson resigned as captain after the exit.
Walsh took over the captaincy but there was no way he could stem the rot. WI lost 3-0 in Pakistan and he was forced to retire. Lara's start at the top began horribly as the team went down 5-0 in South Africa. In February 1999, Australia made a trip to the
Caribbean under Steve Waugh. In the first Test in Trinidad, Wi were bowled out for 51 and there were numerous calls for Lara's axing. Under extreme pressure from all sides and with absolutely no support, Lara produced a string of exhilarating performances that is surely the stuff of legend. He started with a stunning 213 at Jamaica, enabling WI to recover from 34/4 and secure a 10 wicket win. In the next Test in Barbados, his glorious 153*, remembered best for his partnership with the tail, helped WI to triumph by one wicket in a thriller. He followed this up with a violent century in the fourth Test, but Autralia held on to square the series 2-2. In the not so memorable 90s, this show of individual brilliance stood out.
However, the cracks were only widening as the WI were thrashed 3-1 in England. This series marked the end of Curtly Ambrose's career and with his departure, WI had lost a fantastic match winner. His absence was felt in Australia as the spineless attack was hammered all round. Jimmy Adams resigned from captaincy soon after a 5-0 rout and Carl Hooper took over for the tour of Sri Lanka in November 2001.
Right:Don't cuss me man..Ambrose flares up against Steve Waugh and is hauled back by Richie Richardson
Left:Lara's finest moment- the surreal 153* to snatch a win in Barbados, 1999
14.
The prince's second comingBrian Lara very well knew that the fortunes of his team rested squarely on his batting performances. He produced what is arguably the greatest series batting display by a batsman from a losing side. His 688 runs in just
three Tests in which he ran up scores of 178, 221 and 130 were not enough to prevent a 3-0 whitewash. He had amassed more than 42% of the team runs and his superb command over the magnificent Muttiah Muralitharan was a joy to behold.
In every series that followed, WI plummeted to new depths. A 4-0 loss in England was followed by another home series defeat against England. In the final Test, Lara scored a record 400*, surpassing Matthew Hayden's 380 to restore some pride. A shock win in the ICC Champions trophy was the only bright point in an otherwise horrible phase. Amidst series defeats in South Africa and Australia, Lara played some glorious knocks. His 226 in Adelaide took him past Allan Border's Test aggregate. He made a splendid double-century in Multan, taking Danish Kaneria for 26 runs off one over.
Lara retired from all forms of cricket after a disappointing World Cup loss to England. With his retirement, WI had lost their last great batsman who was the only one capable of standing up to the world's best bowling attacks. Lara's second coming yielded 21 centuries at an average over 60 and he definitely looked good enough to carry on for two more years. His greatest regret though, will always lie in the fact that his best phase coincided with time WI cricket was in its doldrums.
Right:Lara after his superb 202 in South Africa
Left:The prince essays a scorching driveChris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan have provided resistance on occasions and youngsters like Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo and Kemar Roach have shown promise. But it will take a while (I hope!) for WI cricket to emerge from these dark times and thrill one and all.
There has never been a sports team so universally loved and admired, yet feared and respected. Headley's batting exploits, the outstanding and inspiring leadership of Frank Worrell, the great performances of Walcott and Weekes, Sobers' extraordinary feats, the stunning standards set by the teams led by Lloyd and Richards, the assembly line of fast bowlers and finally the genius of Brian Lara. These memories will undoubtedly last till my dying day and will serve me in good stead when I sit down to narrate the fantastic achievements of the greats from the Caribbean islands to my children.
Ok guys..here's a small set of questions for all you WI cricket fans at the end..have fun!
1. Name the bowler who split Wally Hammond's chin in a terrifying spell in 1933.
2. What is the record run tally by a West Indian batsman in a WI-India series?
3. Who hit Nari Contractor on his head resulting in a life-threatening injury?
4. Who were the two batsmen recalled from retirement by England to face up to Michael Holding and Andy Roberts in 1976?
5. Who was the captain of New Zealand when they beat WI by one wicket in a controversial Test in 1979-80 (it was to be 15 years before WI lost another series)
6. Two batsmen were seriously injured my Malcolm Marshall on the 1984 tour of England
batsman 1 (temple) and batsman 2(shoulder). Who were the players?
7. Who scored a spectacular 154* against WI at Leeds in 1991 to enable England win a close contest?
8. What were Curtly Ambrose's figures when he bowled England out for 46 at Port of Spain in 1993-94?
9. How many sixes has Brian Lara hit in Tests?
10. WI hold the record for not losing a single Test in Barbados for 59 years (1935-1994). Who was the man of the match in the Test they lost in 1994?
