Test No. 3: West Indies v England - A week of leisure before the fire!!

This last week had some very enjoyable moments, and a rather sad some one too, for me. I savored and accepted them fully, as I know that come this next weekend, fire, brimstone, excitement, and a result, should rain down at the 3rd Test at Old Trafford. No quarter should be asked, and no quarter should be given. The devil must take the hindmost here. This is as crucial a Test match as both England or the West Indies would have played recently. The winner could, even should, win the series.

In 1995, my first year in "real" Sports Journalism, Lee, my then 14 year old son, was in England for the West Indies tour that year. While he does not really like cricket, he reveled in the standard "attention" he got as being the son of a former West Indian Test fast bowler. The standard question of "will you be like your father and be a fast bowler?" was, very pleasantly for me, normally met with a blank stare. Thankfully, I think, he disliked, and still does, cricket that much. With Lee's presence, though, (he thinks that he "helped" the West Indies to draw that series 2-2), the West Indies did rather well on that tour. Of course, Lee did not mention the brilliance of Richie Richardson, Courtney Walsh, Ian Bishop, Curtly Ambrose and of course, Brian Lara. Oh, the last time I noticed, Lee, now a supposedly very handsome almost 20 year old, (I am a bad judge for such situations, especially where my son is concerned) actually likes only himself, and thankfully, again, some aviation and engineering too.

I think that now that Shannon, my 10 year old daughter, who is definitely in love, at least, with the present captain, Jimmy Adams, is on this tour, the team could actually go one better and win this next game, and with it, in my mind, the series. Normally girls bring better luck than guys anyway. The West Indies need all of that luck, plus skill, confidence and everything else they can muster for Old Trafford. Maybe Shannon's presence in England will help. Perhaps, too, she can concentrate on the cricket, and, for once, forget about the shopping. It will not only help the West Indies, but it will ensure my own survival too.

The week started with me attending the Farnborough Air Show on Monday last, courtesy of a great friend of mine from the British Civil Aviation Authority/Joint Aviation Authority (based in Holland), Mr. Andy Dow, giving me a Press/Business Pass to Farnborough. He is such an ardent English cricket supporter that he traveled to the Caribbean in 1994; (we met after one of my pilot exams in 1992); to see England bowled out in Trinidad & Tobago for 46. Imagine his immense pleasure when he mentioned, with a tremendous grin on his face, on Friday last, that "the tides and times have changed, and that the West Indies have now been repaid in full, having been bowled out for 54 at Lords."

In real terms, going to the Farnborough Air Show is like making a pilgrimage to Mecca or at least looking, if not indeed finding, the Holy Grail. If you like aviation, then a day at the Farnborough Air Show, believe me, could be as orgasmic as anything else one can imagine, or even do. To see the Euro Fighter, or a F/A-18, or my favorite military airplane, the F-16, do a "Hammerhead", or a massive Air Bus 340 airliner gliding over in "slow flight", among many other performances, would bring tears to aviation hearts and eyes. Tremendous stuff.

Unfortunately, Tuesday brought that other part of aviation, when the Air France Concorde crashed at Paris. While the Russian variant, the Tupulev TU-144 also crashed in Paris at the Paris Air Show in the 70's, no-one could expect the "Angel of the Skies" to do the same. As the London Telegraph newspaper put it, "It was like losing the 'Titanic of Aviation.'" That just about says it all. Sad indeed, for the families and the aviation industry as a whole.

Thursday was also very special, from a cricketing perspective. About 50 former, present and even perspective Test players, including yours truly, entertainers and even great tennis players of the past, like Chris Evert, came to the Honorable Artillery Company Ground, in the center of the business district of London, supposedly the most wanted and expensive piece of real estate in London, to celebrate the short but magnificent 41 year life of Malcolm Denzil Marshall, lately of Hampshire, Natal, Barbados and of course the West Indies.

Everyone was there, from Sir Viv Richards, Mike Holding, Joel Garner, Deryck Murray, Phil Simmonds, Brian Lara and Courtney Walsh, to Glen McGrath, John Emburey, Chris Cairns, Mohammed Azzarrudin and a host of others. It was tremendous array of stars coming out for the benefit for another past, but certainly not fallen star. Malcolm Marshall was not mourned on Thursday last. He should never be. He was celebrated by the sold out crowd and the players alike. Mali, Malcolm's son, and his wife, Connie, should benefit well from the over 50,000 Pounds Sterling which was realized from the benefit. They certainly deserve it, for Malcolm's sake.

On my way to Leicestershire, and then to Old Trafford, I managed to stop in at a celebration, of sorts, for Hemel Hampstead Cricket Club, which was also celebrating its anniversary with a cricket week. The game on Friday was played between the present and past teams. My association with HHCC is that I played a few games for them in 1995 when I was doing commentary for the West Indies tour then. To be brutally honest, I had really forgotten how pleasurable it could be at just enjoying club cricket, with swans in the ponds and canals around, and acres of very colorful flowers just a six hit away. Who says that cricket, at least in its purest form, as relaxation, could not be a great game. That was probably the last time on this tour that I will relax a bit.

At Grace Road, Leicester, my mind was brought back to the job at hand, cricket at its highest level, as I saw Wavell Hinds blast his second century of this tour. I am constantly reminded of the comment by the incomparable Sir Garfield Sobers whenever I see Hinds bat. Said Sir Gary: "He hits the ball so positively, so much like a young Clive Lloyd, that I am sure that, like Lloyd, he will be something very special to West Indies batting in the not too distant future." After his 150 against Leicestershire, one has to agree that if Sir Garry says so, then I think most of us would agree that it must be so!

Many of the journalists, though, were speculating as to whom would replace the injured, and unavailable Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the West Indies cricket team come Thursday next. His injury, and everything else around it, should be further thoroughly examined, but for now, I think there is no contest. Ramnaresh Sarwan will, I think, fill the spot, as the only other contestant, Chris Gayle, is not getting many runs. How Sarwan does will be up to him. He started Test cricket well, but these days, he seems to also be content with only 20's and 30's. That certainly is not enough in terms of Test cricket. Simply , as I have heard Sir Garry suggest many times; "A batsman must bat and bat long!"

There was also speculation as to whether leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo would be considered and selected for the Old Trafford Test, since the pitch there has been unreliable recently, and also the fact that "Naggas" has been getting wickets and making runs too, 30's and 40's, not to forget that England have also included off-spinner Robert Croft in their squad. From what I hear, the inclusion of Croft is causing headaches in the England camp. To include a spinner, especially now, though, the West Indies selectors will have to go directly against tradition. Let us see what happens.

The thought of Nagamootoo, for his first Test, is a good one, but I believe that the four fast bowlers format will survive. Of course, while Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh will start, the selection of the other two leaves some conjecture. Reon King's recent form suggests that he is bowling as badly now as I have ever seen him bowl. Franklyn Rose, while marginally better at the bowling crease, is still much too inconsistent for his or the team's good, while Nixon McLean has looked the best of the latter three recently, but has not played any Tests so far on this tour, and therefore could be short on confidence and support for his selection. McLean, or indeed Nagamootoo, though, could be the surprise selection for Test No. 3.

England are cocky, the West Indies quietly confident as the Test approaches. By the end of this 3rd Test, tremendous eruptions, not unlike that rumbling mountain in Monsterrat, could be the feel of the losing team. For the sake of the game, and for cricket generally, I hope that it lasts more than three days. While exciting for the spectators, three day Test matches cannot be good cricket, as played by twenty two professionals at the height of their game. Both team have many points to prove.