A Calypso start to the 2003 World Cup

One could not have asked for a better start to the 2003 World Cup - the West Indies toppling favourites South Africa by three runs at Newlands in the opening match. As I had mentioned in my preview, the game turned out to be a very closely fought encounter, one that was decided by South Africa choking when it mattered most.

The greatness of Brian Lara was once again on display at Cape Town. May it be one-day cricket or Test cricket, the 'Prince of Trinidad' seems to deliver the goods whenever the West Indies need it the most. His century against South Africa was of immense importance, for it has given the West Indies' morale a leg up.

In one way it was one of the finest comeback one-day hundreds by Lara. Mind you, he scored a hundred against Kenya during the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka before being carried away to the hospital and diagnosed as suffering from severe jaundice. But it still must have been one long haul for the great man to get back into top physical condition after having missed international cricket for almost four months.

What was most heartening about Lara's match-winning knock was the way he paced his innings. Walking in with the Windies struggling at seven for two, Lara hung in there and steadied the faltering innings before unfurling his memorable range of strokes. It was indeed a picture-perfect performance.

I did mention in my previous column that nobody dare take the West Indies batting lightly. Shivnarine Chanderpaul helped Lara to steady the Windies innings, and then Carl Hooper raised the scoring tempo with a clinical exhibition of hitting.

Ricardo Powell also contributed his mite. I have always been very impressed with his ability to hit the cricket ball. Also notable was the fact that there was not even one instance of slogging by the youngster or any of the other West Indies batsmen.

Ramnaresh Sarwan, who forged a blazing partnership with Powell towards the end of the West Indies innings, meanwhile, seemed to have carried his rich vein of form into the World Cup. The young man from Guyana is a rare talent and all it takes for him to harness his skills is to believe in himself. After Lara stamped his authority on the game in fine style, Powell and Sarwan literally took the game away from South Africa.

Chasing 279 runs under lights was never going to be an easy task for the hosts. The loss of Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes for next to nothing made their task all that much more difficult. But Lance Klusener almost went on to pull off the possible.

We all know what Klusener can do when he starts tonking the cricket ball. Actually, the West Indies allowed him to get into the groove, gifting him and Mark Boucher easy runs.

It is here that I think the West Indies missed their fourth fast bowler. I just can't fathom why they did not play Jermaine Lawson. Despite the narrow upset win, the West Indies think-tank will, then, have a lot of thinking to do about the composition of the team. They would also have to do a lot of work on their fielding, which almost cost them dearly at Newlands.

All said, the West Indies' win over South Africa has just re-emphasised how open this World Cup is at this stage. If West Indies make it to the semis and this now looks a very likely possibility indeed, it will definitely be a catalyst for the rebirth of that joyous Calypso cricket that we have all cherished in the past.

Having said that, South Africa are by no means out of the World Cup. Their pride must have taken a severe beating, and the next time they go out to play there won't be any complacency. Trust me, they will tear into their opposition like a wounded lion in the coming games.