'The Pressure Got to Lara' - Hooper
West Indies skipper Carl Hooper says Brian Lara's inability to
cope with the pressure on the final day was partly to be blamed for
the second Test defeat at the Queen's Park Oval.
Hooper, who is contributing a bylined
column for Press Trust of India (PTI) during the series said
Lara was unusually tense on the final day when the West Indies
needed an additional 182 runs with eight wickets in hand.
"There has been a lot of talk about this series being a showdown
between Lara and Tendulkar...After the Indian master's hundred in
the first innings, Lara wanted one for himself. What better way
than to do it in the final innings of the match and win the Test
for the team," Hooper wrote.
"But going out to bat with Brian on the final day, I found he was a
bit tense. Even before we padded up, I noticed he was tense. I
wanted him to take the initiative, wanted him to get a bit of
pressure off him by getting to push the ball away, get the momentum
going. I could sense by the first couple of overs he faced, Brian
was not his usual self."
Lara, who made the unusual request to have all the music turned off
at the ground, was the first batsman out on the final morning,
caught at slip off the left-handed Nehra for 47.
On his decision to play aggressively after Lara's dismissal, Hooper
said memories of the South Africa match last year, when
time-wasting tactics came into play to help West Indies save the
match was haunting.
"Having watched Brian struggle in his stay, I didn't want to get
bogged down. It was one of the things I had learnt against South
Africa at this venue last year. We needed 199 to win and we were
guilty of being a little bit too negative. I didn't want to repeat
that mistake against the Indians. If I had to wait for a bad ball,
it wasn't going to come along."
Hooper, a new convert to Christianity, said his belief in God
helped ease the disappointment of losing the match.
"I put God before everything. I believe whatever happens was meant
to be. You can't read too much into it. If we were supposed to win
today, obviously we would have won. It is very, very disappointing.
But it only strengthens my resolve and we've got to pick ourselves
and bounce back. Because I think we have it in us to beat this
Indian side. Mark my words, we would be back. Before long."
CRICBLOG
Hooper: 'Chanders Should Have Taken Chances'
"Right to the very last end, I thought that we had a chance.
Thirty-odd runs is not a lot runs but you needed somebody. Shiv
[Chanderpaul] maybe needed to take a few more chances but that?s
the game"
'My Sweetest Victory' - Ganguly
"So far it is my sweetest moment as skipper. But the series is not
over yet, it will be better if we go back with a series win."
Tony Cozier on the Final Day
"(Lara's)uncertainty was clear when he signalled to the usually
bacchanalian ?Trini Posse? Stand to mute its music even before
facing a ball."
Hooper: 'Chanders Should Have Taken Chances'
"Right to the very last end, I thought that we had a chance.
Thirty-odd runs is not a lot runs but you needed somebody. Shiv
[Chanderpaul] maybe needed to take a few more chances but that?s
the game".
Bawl by
Bawl
"Truth is, this whole Test match was a torment from me beginning
from the minute Tendulkar made his century not that I am not a fan
of the Indian only that I have gotten (easy, Ms Undine, the word is
slipping into the accepted vocabulary if it hasn?t slid in already)
caught up in the match-up between him and Lara."
Bedi Warns Ganguly on Tactics
"Ganguly must not go into a defensive shell. That would enable the
West Indies to bounce back."
* CricBlog is compiled by Ryan Naraine. To suggest a story to be
linked in the blog, email ryan@caribbeancricket.com.