TO?SAY?THAT?ONCE?AGAIN the West Indies have managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory would be to express, at worst, a most cruel sentiment; at best, an exaggerated ill feeling associated with constantly venturing down memory lane.
West Indies’ three-wicket loss to the touring Australians at Kensington Oval yesterday evening truthfully had to do more with being outwitted, being dared to be a Daniel – standing by a purpose true.
West Indies’ fate was virtually sealed when the guys in maroon, obviously thrown by the Aussies’ Tuesday afternoon declaration, failed to come to grips with the re-ordered scheme of things. Cricket is not only a physical game; it is as much a match of wits and mental skill.
And strategy seemed to have left the West Indies at the wicket. Their consequent First Test second innings collapse on the fourth day would put a heavy burden on their bowling attack.
Having batted themselves to a respectable 449 for nine declared in their first innings, they eased the pressure on their opponents to let a last-wicket pair gather 77 runs between them, and inspire Australian captain Michael Clarke to declare with a first innings deficit of 43 runs.
This turned out to be mind-boggling for West Indies.
Clearly our boys not only have to learn how to press home the advantage after getting themselves in a good position, they must practise being focused, and they must be mentally prepared for the wily.
Sadly, there is a problem with concentrating by West Indies as the match progresses – which probably explains why our boys are more competitive in the shorter forms of the game.
West Indies fans suffered nausea when a similar display of lack of concentration occurred in a Test match against India late last year. West Indies nearly lost the game despite making close to 600 in the first innings.
To be fair, the West Indies are much better now than they have been in years, and even more so than some people would wish to think. They may never recapture the glory days of the 1970s and 1980s, but they are a spirited lot and could be a very competitive team, if only the batsmen would perform in their second innings as they do in their first.
We play two more Tests with Australia. How we fare will be of deep interest to England whom next we meet in England in May, and New Zealand whom we play at home afterwards.
Our boys have their work, and we have our expectations.
While most of us can accept that progress has been made by the West Indies in the last year, we want nonetheless to see positive results – emphatic victories.
It will not be enough for captain Darren Sammy and the side to settle on being competitive. It is time to starting winning!
