A welcome win for West Indies

It is such a delightful feeling to witness the West Indies team win an ODI (50 overs) game against India, one of the leading teams in the world of cricket. And, it was not a fluke either. It was a convincing victory. Player-of-the-match Shai Hope who is the captain of the home team, played a marvellous innings of 63 not out in front of his home fans at Kensington Oval in Barbados, to bring success to his team. This was the second game in the three-match series.

The first game on July 26 was lost when WI, having been asked to bat first, could only manage 113 runs. India achieved the total although they lost five wickets.

WI’s score came off 23 overs while India needed 22.5. Both teams’ totals painted a picture of the state of the pitch on which they played.

Both games were played at Kensington Oval and the wickets were unsuitable for an ODI contest between two international teams.

When limited-overs were introduced in 1963 in England, it was to improve revenue at the County clubs. It served its purpose and the public, plus the players enjoyed the games. Certain changes to the laws of cricket were made to ensure the success it eventually became.

One of the factors was the type of pitch needed.

It had to be a flat wicket with no advantage to the bowler. The administration believed that spectators wanted to witness batsmen scoring loads of runs, which they assumed would be possible on pitches with no movement off the seam for the faster bowlers and no turn for the slow bowlers. The plan was for plenty of strokes, and huge scores, by dictating to captains where the field must be set etc., plus limited overs for bowlers and for innings.

It worked. The game attracted large crowds due to its novelty and excitement. Its dynamism spread internationally for the enjoyment of all and it evolved into the money spinner it was predicted to be.

The interest also peaked for those who never appreciated cricket’s philosophy, its strategies, tactics, the contest between bat and ball, its difficult techniques to master etc. Therefore, it attracted people who thought that they could go to a game and sit down knowing it will end within one day, thus, they would not have to spend more days to witness the outcome.

Consequently, the pitches for the first two ODIs were against the basic tenets of the limited-overs game and spoiled the value of the matches. The ball turned almost square for the spinners while the fast bowlers obtained considerable bounce and movement from the surface. It was the opposite of how a pitch should play for a game of limited overs.

In the first match, WI batted first and were bowled out in 23 overs. India struggled and got the runs in one ball less.

In the second game, India were sent in and scored their 181 runs in 40.5 overs with WI capitalising by losing only 4 wickets and overtaking their score in 36.4 overs.

The limit was 50 overs and neither side could bat that long because of the state of the wicket. The intention of the limited-overs game was lost. The pitch is the essence of any cricket game.

In an interview before the game the captain, Shai Hope remarked, “It’s another opportunity to showcase our skills and show the world what we can do. We know the Zimbabwe stint is in the past and this is another opportunity for us to improve our skills. There are certain things we need to address but now is a good start to do so.”

West Indies has a bad record in recent series against the Indians. The last series victory against India was 18 years ago and since then they have not beaten India in a single series and during that period they have only won ten ODIs in 48 meetings.

I like the way that Hope states his optimism.

He is a believer with the right attitude. It’s gradually being transmitted to his fellow team members. He’s building up a self-belief in his players and one could see it by the attitude and actions of the team.

Continue the good work, skipper, and continue to build the right attitude of your players. Keep trying and practise hard, the only way to build the strong will to win! You win some, you lose some, but shoulders should never drop.