Measuring expectations
Mon, Jul 17, '17
It looks like West Indies have a chance now.”
As with many others invigorated at what appears to be the imminent return of Darren Bravo to international duty, a young man with great cricketing aspirations of his own was speaking enthusiastically on Thursday night about the regional team’s prospects in England next month.
It is just the latest manifestation of that yearning for a return to glory ever since the dark clouds rolled in with the watershed triumph of Mark Taylor’s Australians in 1995.
However this undimmed desire for the dawn of another era of sustained Caribbean dominance is such that too much is often read into the very occasional outstanding performance or the even more infrequent major success, wishfully celebrating those moments as if the gloom was being lifted at long last from the West Indian brand of style, panache and ruthless efficiency which remains the diamond standard of cricketing excellence.
From the demolition of India in the lone T20 International at Sabina Park eight days ago to the announcement that Bravo’s exile is over, coupled with hints of a compromise clearing the way for the prominent T20 franchise stars to represent the West Indies across all formats, the growing optimism is palpable.
Which is why a reality check is necessary.
