Is West
Indies cricket finally set for a rebound? With Chris Gayle and other seasoned
players back in the lineup, and after their convincing wins in the two Twenty-20s,
and the first two ODI games against New Zealand, it certainly appeared that
way.
Then came
the familiar batting collapse in the third ODI, and the humbling defeat while
chasing a not-insurmountable score and it was “here we go again.” The West
Indies have since redeemed themselves by going on to win the ODI series, but
the real challenge begins July 25 in Antigua with the first of the two test
matches.
To cricket
purists, test matches are the real deal, with Twenty-20s and ODIs mere crowd
pleasers, and a warm-up for those players who make it into the test side. As someone whose insights date to the glory
days of West Indian cricket – the 3Ws, Sobers and Kanhai, Hall and Griffith – I
do sense a rebound. The batting lineup looks good and even if the top-order
batsmen fail, the lower-order has proven that they are no rabbits. A test-series win against a team other than
Zimbabwe and Bangladesh – and which isn’t up to full strength – may not seem a
lot to crow about, but it could be the start of something big.
