Brian Lara hopes his swansong at the Queen’s Park Oval will be sung by future generations as the anthem of the revival of West Indies cricket.
PORT OF SPAIN: Brian Lara hopes his swansong at the Queen’s Park Oval will be sung by future generations as the anthem of the revival of West Indies cricket.
“Sunday will be my last game here, and it is an emotional moment for me,” said the West Indies maestro, now in his third and easily the most influential stint as captain. “I don’t have too many months left, but in that time I hope to take Caribbean cricket to its former glory.”
It’s a sentiment which has struck a chord with people across the West Indian islands, and nowhere more than in his home country Trinidad. The largest circulated Guardian, in its Saturday edition, led the tributes by showering encomiums on the left-hander in an editorial titled Hail Lara, WI Hero.
“Let us in T&T and the West Indies begin the long goodbye to Brian Lara the cricketer and at the same time say welcome to the emerging statesman of WI cricket,” said the editorial, “…Too often in the past we in the Caribbean have acted ungratefully to our heroes, not fully appreciating what they have done for us as a people belonging to societies considered marginal to the existence of world civilisation.”
The shrill emotionalism of the editorial is understandable in the context of the criticisms that have accompanied Lara’s tumultuous career, and more especially since he was reappointed captain this season. Vivian Richards, another West Indies great, had cited ‘commercial reasons’ for Lara getting a third term, which has upset Trinidadians terribly if the spate of letters to newspapers taking issue with Richards is any indication.
Lara, for his part, has kept his counsel, wanting the performances of his side to provide the replies. “We were the underdogs, but we planned hard, especially to win those close contests on the field which ultimately win matches,” he said.
Some evidence of this came on Thursday when Lara switched on his innate brilliance to win the one-day series with a superbly crafted 69. He had been subdued in the three earlier matches, the famed footwork sluggish, the exotic strokes rationed. But once he sensed the opportunity for the kill, Lara moved in swiftly, ruthlessly.
Young Dwayne Bravo, also hailing from Santa Cruz, was man of the match for his three wickets and an unbeaten 61 but, in every way, Lara had had been the architect of the victory: in tactics, in technique — and in some luck by winning the toss.
He marshalled his resources imaginatively. The fast bowlers were rotated around cleverly, Chris Gayle, despite his success in the previous matches, was removed from the attack when Yuvraj and Kaif appeared to have sorted him out. Bravo was used again in the death overs, egged on to deploy his slower delivery without fear. In chasing the target, opener Wavell Hinds was held back to provide experience lower in the order, and Bravo, riding high after three wickets, pushed to number 5 to cash in on his overflowing confidence.
With bat in hand, of course, Lara was magic, especially in the manner in which he countered Ramesh Powar and Harbhajan Singh, the two likely dangermen on this turner where the ball would grip and jump. He nullified Powar’s deception in flight and Harbhajan’s greater turn with twinkling footwork and extraordinary strokes, lofting them over the infield with utter nonchalance after he had got his eye in. The beleaguered Indians had no counter to Lara on Friday. He remains the biggest stumbling block on Sunday too.
The series lost, Rahul Dravid hinted about some changes in the playing eleven for Sunday, with Robin Uthappa coming in, and either he himself or Sehwag batting in the middle order. “In the larger context, every match is important. We’ve got to be positive and play to win,” said the captain.
If they don’t, Lara’s swansong would sound like a dirge to the Indians.
Scorecard
India: Sehwag c Gayle b Bradshaw 11, Dravid c Sarwan b Collymore 15, Raina c Sarwan b Bradshaw 7, Yuvraj c Baugh b Edwards 52, Kaif b Bravo 62, Dhoni not out 46, Pathan c Collymore b Bravo 8, Agarkar b Bravo 0, Powar not out 0, Extras: (5lb, 9w, 2nb) 16, Total (for 7 wickets in 50 overs) 217
FoW: 1-13 2-28 3-47 4-127 5-188 6-206 7-206
Bowling: Edwards 8-1-19-1, Bradshaw 10-0-41-2; Collymore 9-2-49-1, Bravo 5-0-32-3, Gayle 6-0-28-0, Samuels 10-1-37-0, Smith 2-0-6-0.
West Indies: Gayle c Agarkar b Powar 46, Samuels lbw b Pathan 9, Sarwan c Sehwag b Agarkar 6, Lara c Raina b Powar 69, Bravo not out 61, Hinds not out 13,
Extras: (5lb, 8w, 1nb) 14, Total (for 4 wickets) 218,
FoW: 1-28 2-49 3-91 4-182
Bowling: Pathan 5-0-32-1, S’santh 9-1-39-0, Agarkar 8-1-24-1, Harbhajan 10-1-42-0, Powar 9-0-56-2, Yuvraj 2-0-10-0, Raina 1-0-10-0
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