In the world of sports, I find nothing more painful to watch than the fall of the mighty. When once unrivaled champions of the game get relegated to levels of mediocrity, the whole world sits up and takes notice. And they rejoice, because if there's one thing sports fans love to hate- it is the irksome monopoly of a single bunch of players at the top of their game. These fans eagerly wait for the leaders to implode, to come stumbling down the ladder and get replaced by new champions. But when the priceless vintage languishes in unknown depths, their once complacently appeased supporters are left disillusioned and almost heart-broken.
Take the West Indies national cricket team for instance. If any more proof was needed of the despicable state of affairs in WI cricket since the glory days of the 1970s, it arrived in the form of a scrape-through victory against a valiant Bangladesh team in the 10th edition of the cricket world cup. A bowling attack containing two of the fastest bowlers (Messrs Roach and Sammy) and the tallest spinner in the world struggled to bowl out the wonderfully adept Bangla batsmen, allowing them to reach the massive total of 58 runs. So terrible was the bowling that it would at times be almost a couple of balls since the fall of one wicket to fell another, while the outstandingly brilliant batting on display reminded the spectators of the batting of such legendary South Asian batsmen as Saleem Durrani and Abdul Riyaz. That almost every Bangla batsmen broke the duck while only 3 Windies bowlers were brave enough to come on and bowl further fortifies the overwhelming feeling of utter and comprehensive Bangladeshi superiority.
About West Indies' batting, the lesser said the better. Shafiul and Naeem Islam, visibly chuffed following such devastating exhibition from their ever reliable batsmen, lined up to bowl the opening overs, with a look in their eyes that suggested they would be showing absolutely no pity for the Carribean willow-wielders. The supremely confident and versatile Bangladesh team used half a dozen bowlers, each more lethal and terrifying a figure than the other. The WI batsmen huffed and puffed their way to the target with only a precarious 38 overs to spare, largely due to the thick edges flying off their bats into the boundary and the Bangla fielders being blinded by the bright Mirpur sun that has been known to cast doom for many a Sheikh and Haseena in the past. That the West Indians then celebrated wildly as if they had achieved the victory almost effortlessly just goes on to show the extreme levels of delusion they currently find themselves in the clutches of.
So the Windies left the ground as fortuitous victors, whereas their immensely talented opponents whose performance would be making India and South Africa quake in their boots right now left with their heads held higher than the distant clouds. A distraught Clive Lloyd was seen in the stands weeping inconsolably into the shoulders of Maninder Singh (of all people). In an interview later that evening, Lloyd expressed little or no hope for WI cricket as long as they are going to allow the opposition to slaughter their bowling and annihilate their batsmen like this.
How very depressing. There was a time when the West Indies cricket team, spearheaded by none other than Clive Lloyd himself was on top of the world, even untouchably so. Their super-human powers made them an unstoppable force of nature. India, England and Pakistan were poor excuses for rivals, living in constant mortal fear of the men from the Carribean. And look at them now. They can barely manage to pull one over a team of novices, many of whom were not even thought of during the time Lloyd and co. were obliterating their adversaries with brazen nonchalence. Unless they can swiftly create younger clones of Lloyd, Richards, Garner, Sobers, Roberts and Walsh, the West Indies will forever be lost in the wilderness of international cricket.
At the very end of my rant, I am faced with a rather philosophical question: how do I even give a damn if West Indies cricket rots in hell?
Watch this space for more.
Take the West Indies national cricket team for instance. If any more proof was needed of the despicable state of affairs in WI cricket since the glory days of the 1970s, it arrived in the form of a scrape-through victory against a valiant Bangladesh team in the 10th edition of the cricket world cup. A bowling attack containing two of the fastest bowlers (Messrs Roach and Sammy) and the tallest spinner in the world struggled to bowl out the wonderfully adept Bangla batsmen, allowing them to reach the massive total of 58 runs. So terrible was the bowling that it would at times be almost a couple of balls since the fall of one wicket to fell another, while the outstandingly brilliant batting on display reminded the spectators of the batting of such legendary South Asian batsmen as Saleem Durrani and Abdul Riyaz. That almost every Bangla batsmen broke the duck while only 3 Windies bowlers were brave enough to come on and bowl further fortifies the overwhelming feeling of utter and comprehensive Bangladeshi superiority.
About West Indies' batting, the lesser said the better. Shafiul and Naeem Islam, visibly chuffed following such devastating exhibition from their ever reliable batsmen, lined up to bowl the opening overs, with a look in their eyes that suggested they would be showing absolutely no pity for the Carribean willow-wielders. The supremely confident and versatile Bangladesh team used half a dozen bowlers, each more lethal and terrifying a figure than the other. The WI batsmen huffed and puffed their way to the target with only a precarious 38 overs to spare, largely due to the thick edges flying off their bats into the boundary and the Bangla fielders being blinded by the bright Mirpur sun that has been known to cast doom for many a Sheikh and Haseena in the past. That the West Indians then celebrated wildly as if they had achieved the victory almost effortlessly just goes on to show the extreme levels of delusion they currently find themselves in the clutches of.
So the Windies left the ground as fortuitous victors, whereas their immensely talented opponents whose performance would be making India and South Africa quake in their boots right now left with their heads held higher than the distant clouds. A distraught Clive Lloyd was seen in the stands weeping inconsolably into the shoulders of Maninder Singh (of all people). In an interview later that evening, Lloyd expressed little or no hope for WI cricket as long as they are going to allow the opposition to slaughter their bowling and annihilate their batsmen like this.
How very depressing. There was a time when the West Indies cricket team, spearheaded by none other than Clive Lloyd himself was on top of the world, even untouchably so. Their super-human powers made them an unstoppable force of nature. India, England and Pakistan were poor excuses for rivals, living in constant mortal fear of the men from the Carribean. And look at them now. They can barely manage to pull one over a team of novices, many of whom were not even thought of during the time Lloyd and co. were obliterating their adversaries with brazen nonchalence. Unless they can swiftly create younger clones of Lloyd, Richards, Garner, Sobers, Roberts and Walsh, the West Indies will forever be lost in the wilderness of international cricket.
At the very end of my rant, I am faced with a rather philosophical question: how do I even give a damn if West Indies cricket rots in hell?
Watch this space for more.
Hapak lolz! A real 'Viva la vida' story, ain't it?
ReplyDeleteThis. Is. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteNo mention of the brickbats?
@ Murty
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. WI cricket used to rule the world- now they are screwed beyond words.
@ Lefty
Brickbats, I love them. One such genius in England came up with the term 'Dumbslog Millionaires' for KP and the rest of the ineffective bunch of English T20 cricketers. The same bunch soon went on to win the T20 WC.