A Lil' 50 Here, a Lil' 50 There...

(Barbados Advocate)

"Ah boy Lou, yuh win one!" that is what a friend of mine who does hail for Australia, shout at me Tuesday afternoon after we beat Australia in the fourth and final Test in Antigua.

I turn and holler back, "I ain?t only win one, I win a big wun." 'Cause after all, that is what it was. We ain't only beat Australia, which by itself was a monumental achievement, considering that Australia is without a doubt the best team in the world and we rated down there one or two notches from the bottom. But to have scored the most runs ever in the fourth innings of a Test match, to set a new world record against the best team in the world is an achievement among achievements.

That is why I so proud of my boys ? Mr. Lara and company please take a bow. What was so pleasing ?bout the win is that we do it without a major contribution from Lara himself. It was a total team effort.

Because let us face it, chasing 418 runs and winning, you would expect that Lara would be the chief run scorer, probably finishing at two-hundred-and-nuff, with the others contributing a lil? fifty here and a lil? fifty there.

So that when Lara get out for sixty-odd, everybody was basically saying it all but over, ?cause the rest of these, as we had so grown accustomed, would fold like a house made out of playing cards. We have seen it happen too often, chasing less runs against lesser teams.

But when I see Sarwan and Chanderpaul start cutting loose in them Aussies and the runs start to melt, suddenly, for once in the series, the Aussies start to get rattle and them begin to look like humans.

Suddenly, them start to misfield. Suddenly, for all the sledging that them is known for, when lil? Sarwan start to answer back McGrath, you could see he was rattled. You see, them Aussies like to work you up, make you lose concentration and forget the job at hand, but this time it backfired. My boys wasn?t only talking back to them, but pelting the bat in them tail.

So that when Chanderpaul and Sarawan was going great guns, we were all confident of a easy victory. That is, ?til Sarwan get out to that foolish shot that does get he out all the time. He is a good boy, but he got a lil? Carl Hooper in he.

In come Jacobs, but we was still saying that we going to win ?cause Jacobs could bat and give we a lil? fifty. Then all of a sudden Jacobs gone. As we all saw, the ball hit Jacobs on his elbow, far away from the bat or glove and lob behind for the wicketkeeper to take a catch, to everybody?s disbelief, the umpire was raising the dreaded finger. An awful umpiring decision was now going to spoil a keen competition.

The youngster Omari Banks come in and play like he didn?t understand he was playing against the mighty Aussies. That boy bat like a man who did playing Test cricket for the last fifteen years. But even though he and Chanderpaul did well to take us to close of play needing a further 47 runs to win, I still had butterflies in my belly.

To tell you the truth, I ain?t sleep so good Monday night at all. You wouldda think that I had to go out there and bat the next morning. ?Cause up ?til that point I was hoping for the best, but I know that it is something in the morning air or in the breakfast that don?t allow we to bat overnight.

That is why I was a bundle of nerves Tuesday morning. So when Chanderpaul get out and we did only add another one or two runs and suddenly them forty-lil?-bit of runs did look like ?bout two hundred.

But I say with Drakes coming in, it is now or never. Cause when you look at who was to come; Dillon a man with twenty five ducks, and Lawson who does don?t look like he know which end of the bat is the handle. I say ?Drakes boy, this is what we bring you back for, to prove that you learn something from playing in South Africa. To show that you could deal with pressure.? And he did not disappoint.

We getting back there, all we need is two good bowlers. I feel them ?bout in the West Indies some place, but them ain?t know. I feel them playing basketball or football or volley ball and never pick up a cricket ball. But give them a few lessons in the nets, teach them to bring over them arm, we might discover a fellow.

I honestly feel that there is a youngster ?bout these parts, nearly seven foot tall who got the ability to become a tear away fast bowler and put we back up top, but right now he on a basket ball court having visions of being the next Michael Jordan, but that is only my feeling. See ya.

* Eric Lewis writes for the Barbados Advocate. He can be reached at madderic@hotmail.com.