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West Indies cricket – makes you wanna holler

Mar 05, 2010 Sports

Says Michael Benjamin

The very next time I crave a heart attack I will go to a West Indies cricket match. The truth is I nearly had one yesterday afternoon. I have heard seasoned commentators josh about our boys snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. I really thought that they were being too harsh on the maroon clad bunch that we refer to as our regional ambassadors. Alas, yesterday’s embarrassment at the Providence National Stadium give frightening credence to the view, and like a host of fans that attended the match between the Windies and Zimbabwe, I am calling it quits.
My journey to the Providence Stadium started just after the Zimbabweans had resumed their innings after a ten minutes shower almost threatened to institute the infamous Duckworth/Lewis method. This was not to be as the rains mercifully subsided and the match resumed some ten minutes later. At that time Zimbabwe were 207-3 in the 44th over. Six overs later, the Zimbabweans were 254-5, posting a healthy but gettable total of 254 for the West Indies to draw first blood in the five match series.
I entered the venue in a foul mood. Firstly, I was forced to drive around the perimeters of the stadium looking for a place to park. Either that or fork out the $500 for a parking spot. Imagine my surprise when I entered the almost empty stadium!
I heard someone say that the WICB has an offer where upon buying two tickets patrons would receive a third free of cost. With the way things are going and with the disillusionment among the fans, WICB might very well have to pay spectators to go to the match tomorrow morning. Such is the state of affairs.
To be honest, when Chris Gayle and Adrian Barath opened the batting and were at the crease I felt comforted. Both negotiated the initial part of the innings stroking the ball to all parts of the field, striking the occasional boundary.
As the partnership neared the century mark Barath flicked the ball and took off for a single. A sharp return from the Zimbabwe fielder hit the stumps and caused the third umpire to intervene. The decision went in favour of the home team and the spectators close to me breathed a sigh of relief.
Gregory Lamb, the Zimbabwean spinner persisted and was aptly rewarded in the same over with Gayle’s wicket after he stepped back into his crease from a full ball that thundered into his pads (98-1).
One would have expected that after losing their key batsman the Windies would have exercised more caution, unless they had underrated their opponents. What followed afterward was a collapse that had the West Indies scrambling, as the overs ran out, to eclipse a total that should have been a canter in the first place.
The ever dependable Shivnarine Chanderpaul stayed around and compiled a total of 70 before he departed two overs before the end. For me the match was over and in an effort to preserve my sanity I left the venue. However, the temptation was too much and I switched on my car radio as I headed to Georgetown.
I had just exited the East Bank thoroughfare when Nikita Miller struck a six that sent my heart soaring. With four to get from the last over I felt that we had pulled off an amazing win. “There is still a little hope,” I thought. It proved to be an anti-climax. West Indies lost by an agonizing 2 runs.
I was not privy to listen to Gayle’s analysis after the match but I could almost recite verbatim what he said. “It was a pretty good match and our boys were really up to the task but in the end our batsmen failed us. I guess we will now have to examine our prospects and come back fighting.”
Well, if the Windies have not lost the will to fight, I have lost to will to expect to see them fight. A few unprintable adjectives escaped my lips.
I had involuntarily breached an oath I had made to my pastor and the West Indies team was responsible. I have been through several mood swings from annoyance to exasperation to downright anger. I am now standing with my hand s in the air and a bloodcurdling scream is welling up in my throat. West Indies Cricket — Makes you wanna holler!

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