Perry the prophet sent to rescue a fallen idol (17 March 1999)

17 March 1999

Perry the prophet sent to rescue a fallen idol

Trevor Chesterfield

PORT ELIZABETH (South Africa) - One of the early myths about West Indies invincibility is how, when they shook a palm tree or two on some Caribbean island out would fall a crop of fast bowlers and fresh-faced batsmen. The supply we were led to believe was endless.

And so it must have seemed to the countries who faced West Indies teams from the late 1960s until the mid 1990s. They were also such past masters in escapeology from tricky match situations there was a rumour all the players, from the captain down, had passed their masters degree on the subject at a special course at the University of the West Indies.

Over the years, however, they seemed to have chopped down most of the palm trees, especially if Nixon McLean was an example of what we could expect from modern Windies pacemen. But they have found one of the few palm trees still standing in Jamaica and when they shook it the result was not quite what they expected.

Instead of discovering another Curtly Ambrose with a handy bazooka aimed at blasting the opponents into submission, they were confronted with some one called Nehemiah Odolphus Perry. A prophet of a gentler bowling persuasion; an off spinner but whose christian names conjured brimstone and fire.

Just what his parents had in mind when he was baptised certainly had more to do with the bible and preaching the gospel than help bowl Australia to defeat 30 years later.

After all, the last great West Indies off-spinner of note was Lance Gibbs who managed to take more than 300 test wickets in his career. There are problems starting a career at the age of 30, but five wickets in an innings and six in a match is not a bad start. Clarrie Grimmett was 35 when he began his test career and still holds the record for the fewest tests need to take 200 wickets.

Amid all this we have had a turn-around of sorts of Windies fortunes. Whether it is permanent or still-born is a matter for the remaining two tests decide. And we have had Brian Lara putting together a classic double century and no doubt retaining the captaincy.

Applauding the double century, and how it was scored under pressure, is easy; it would be churlish not to. The question of captaincy, however, is another matter; the West Indies Cricket Board have shown the spine of an amoeba over Lara and the pay dispute and have shied off from confrontation.

There are still a lot of passionate people in the West Indies who remember the humiliation of the tours of Pakistan and South Africa and Lara's indifference until, when the heat was turned on in Durban, he appealed to a public, at home and on tour, he had long shunned for support.

One victory, no matter its margin (in this case 10 wickets), one century, no matter how it was scored, does not alter a track record which found him lacking in simple good public relations policy. Keep him as a player but not as a captain.

Source :: Trevor Chesterfield, Pretoria News