Return of the Caribbean giants?

After eight long years (and in today's frenetic cricket calendar, that is long indeed), the Windies are back. Just when Brian Lara lifting the Champion's Trophy in 2004 was beginning to look like ancient history, Darren Sammy and his boys have given the “Caribbean people” a victory in a major international tournament.

Indeed, the West Indian team has come a long way from the world dominating team in the 1970s and 80s. Those were the times of four pronged pace attacks; of monsters like Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner and Colin Croft who could generate blinding pace even from the worst dust bowls. If the bouncer after bouncer they sent down were not bad enough, they were physically intimidating to boot. Marshall, at 5'11” was the runt of the group but he more than made up for it with the sheer viciousness of his bowling. The thinking was simple – if the batsman is busy trying to make sure his head does not get blown off, he cannot concentrate on stroke play.

Times have changed. The game, especially the shorter versions, has become much more batsman dominated and bowlers tend to concentrate more on not being taken to the washers than to pin down the opponent. The West Indies have also shifted from pace to a more spin oriented attack – all the stars of this present victory are spinners or medium pacers. Even into the 90s, only few slower bowlers have gone into the history books from this nation, Jimmy Adams being one.

Be that as it may, the present victory is important no doubt. For one, it marks a return of the team effort. The Windies have in the past often depended on individual brilliance to pull the team through, be it Lara's flamboyant batting or Ambrose's bowling. In fact, the series where Brian Lara made his hitherto unbroken world record of 400 not out, the team was humiliated to a 4-0 whitewash.

Things seem to be changing though. Sammy's outfit is a band of friends. Be it during their on-field heroics or “Gangnam-style” dancing – they are one closely knit unit. Thus you see a Marlon Samuels and Darren Sammy chipping in to get the team to a decent total even when mainstays like Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard failed to fire. This bodes well for the team. They have to bond well, not only to face the opposition but also to handle the problems with the countries cricket board, which has been a thorn in the side for the country. This victory makes sure, that the present team will not be changed in the near future.

The young team has already proved that they have flair and talent. But to truly regain their past glory, they have to prove themselves in Test matches. For that they need consistency, maturity and team work. They have the last, and with time, will acquire the first two. Darren Sammy might just be the man to pull his team back up to those levels.

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