Shattered Caribbeans' days of glory consigned to history (8 Dec 1997)

08 December 1997

Shattered Caribbeans' days of glory consigned to history

By Lateef Jafri

The West Indies, an invitee to the golden jubilee quadrangular in Lahore, were thrashed in all the three round-robin fixtures. Later in the Tests against Pakistan they lost the series before the third engagement at Karachi's National Stadium, a venue of their many batting and bowling exploits. They have been cheered and admired by the crowds here, some of whom have seen them scintillating on Gymkhana ground in late 1948.

Later in 1949 two famed West Indians, Holt and Worrell, being members of a visiting Commonwealth XI, carved what was beauty of batsmanship at Lahore's Bagh-i-Jinnah. Their stylish strokes had thrilled the hearts of the Lahore fans. Frank Worrell, the gay cavalier, later became a knight of cricket. The other Ws, Weekes and Walcott, were also honoured with knighthood.

Why then a metamorphosis, a decline in standards and in the fighting capacity of the Caribbeans, ask the cricket enthusiasts? Have their players tired out or they have become stale? Most of them perhaps are nearing the end of their career. Their swift field work and extraordinary catching too have deteriorated. The West Indians are no more the cricketing force they were some years ago.

As one watches them on the TV or scans through the scoresheets in the matches on their present tour of Pakistan it appears that only Hooper, Chanderpaul and Campbell are in batting form. Even Lara, the record-holder of the highest individual score of 501 in first class cricket and the maker of 375 in Test cricket, cannot launch a full and fierce assault on the bowlers. The fast bowlers - Walsh, Ambrose and Bishop - have lost their speed, bite and penetration. Among the new ones Rose is too erratic to be passed by the purists as a Test and one-day prospect.

Long, long ago the West Indies upset the applecart of England at Georgetown overwhelming them by an innings and 289 runs. This was just a year after the Caribbeans' promotion to the Test level. The series were squared. Francis and Constantine, with lightning pace and two-way swing, just shook the Englishmen - George Gunn, Sandham, Wyatt and Ames. It was in this Test of the 1929-30 series that George Headley, the 'black Bradman', hit a century in each innings against bowlers of the calibre of Voce, and Wilfred Rhodes, showing an iron temperament and bold strokes. In an earlier match at Barbados he made a hundred on his Test debut, a neat and crisp effort, announcing the arrival of a great batsman.

Some four years later the West Indians had the upper hand over England, claiming the series by 2-1. The English batsmen quivered against the violent pace from the turf of Hylton, Martindale and Constantine, a trio of seam bowlers whose consistent control over line and length was in later years matched by the rhythmical bowling action of Marshall, Garner and Hall. Alas, all have retired but must be feeling sad over the fall from grace of the Caribbean! At Kingston in the same series of 1934-35 Headley cut the English bowling to ribbons with a brilliant and majestic unbeaten 270. Nimble of feet and wrist his judgment of the balls was but to be admired.

Came the period of the three Ws - Worrell, Weekes and Walcott - and the spinning duo of Valentine and Ramadhin after the second World War. The famed willow-wielders punished and flicked away the rival bowling with strong and fluent hits while the slow bowlers mesmerised the batsmen with their crafty, deceitful breaks. Goddard, the captain, would rub out the shine of the ball and then Valentine and Ramadhin would demonstrate their art, their flight and their turn. England had no chance in the 1947-48 series on the West Indian venues and on the English soil in 1950. India too surrendered to the all-round power, strength and variety of the Caribbeans in the 1948-49 and 1952-53 encounters in India and the West Indies.

Against Pakistan the Caribbeans were almost invincible in the first representative series on the West Indies' grounds in 1957-58, though the former outfit had the satisfaction of seizing victory in the last Test at Port-of-Spain. It was in these duels that Garfield Sobers set what was then the highest Test score of 365. Gilchrist and Dewdney provided the fast attack while Gibbs, an exceptional off-breaker, was at service to give variety. It was a thrilling tussle in the rubber as Hanif batting with correct deportment and technique, showed signs of permanence at the crease and scored 337 in 970 minutes, taking over four days - the longest stay in first class cricket.

The years passed and the climes changed. The era of West Indian fast bowling returned. It was an ordeal for batsmen to face Roberts, Holder, Julien, Boyce, Croft, Garner, Clark, Marshall and Holding. There was frightfulness in their galloping motion with whirlwind speed. Then the diagonal movements of the ball stained the nerves and technical capacity of the batsmen. In Karachi on National Stadium's dead wicket in the 1980-81 series Garner, Clark, Croft and Marshall displayed the magnificent art of fast bowling and seam control. They hurled the ball down ferociously and made it bounce menacingly. It was a wonderful sight for the spectators who were enjoying the fine bowling of Imran with terrifying pace. Then there were aggressive, sure and sensible stroke-makers like Greenidge, Haynes, Kallicharan, Kanhai, Lloyd, Richards and Richardson. Those were the days of the West Indian ascendancy in global cricket. Crowds flocked to see them in action - their bowling, batting and fielding delighted all the sundry. The good old days are now part of history. The West Indian cricket is now passing through a lean period.

Never before in their Test series the West Indians have been drubbed by Pakistan twice by such a wide margin as an innings. At Peshawar Mushtaq sent them crashing to earth with a haul of 10 wickets for 106. At Rawalpindi in the second Test they had done quite well with a first innings score of 303. One thought the visitors were to put up a fight. But in the second knock on the third day they were tottering at 99 for six - an awful batting performance. It took the Pakistan bowlers just an hour on the fourth morning to send the West Indies packing to defeat. Hooper, in punishing mood, was a helpless batsman seeing his team-mates falling like ninepins to Wasim and Waqar.

Aamir Sohail made a confident and hard-hitting century, which showed his return to true form. Inzamam too was in attacking mood and became the highest scorer for Pakistan with an effort of 177. The Sohail-Inzamam third wicket partnership yielded 323 for a record against the West Indies. Azhar Mahmud, it seems, is a new find as an all-rounder. He will hopefully play a long innings for the country and contribute well both as a medium-pacer and a batsman.

Both skipper Wasim Akram and coach Haroon Rashid expect a whitewash of the Caribbeans in the third Test in Karachi. Whatever may be the outcome of the match one wants to see a thrilling and enjoyable game, now that the series has already been pocketed by Pakistan. The renowned Caribbean speedster, Malcolm Marshall, now a coach of the West Indies team, is disappointed over his players' show but has promised a lively fare.

Source:: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)