Singles Add Up

You have to admit that this ICC Champions Trophy is turning out to be an exciting tournament. This is not just because the West Indies have been winning matches, sweet as that is.

It's been gripping to watch how consistently the teams have been going in and losing clusters of wickets early. The winning teams have been the ones whose middle and lower orders have dug in. It was the difference between Pakistan and South Africa, the latter being in terrible shape at 42 for five and then crossing 200, while Pakistan went relentlessly downhill, never picking themselves up from the 45 for seven they found themselves in.

Ntini was formidable and Pollock demonstrated how experience can lend accuracy as speed diminishes. Still, you had to miss Inzamam ul Haq as much as they did, knowing his presence would have lent some solidity, despite the schizophrenic nature of the team.

I'd come to align Pakistan and the West Indies on the basis of that shared schizophrenia. You never know which of the possible teams will take the field on any given day. Whether or not it is a mood thing, I cannot say, but it was the difference between our match against Sri Lanka followed by the one against Australia. We've come to know the pattern so well, that a win has become a momentary gasp of pleasure, no longer does anyone dare to predict that corners have been turned. Cynics all, has this team made its supporters.

Still, one of the lessons I'd like to believe they've learnt is that singles add up, as they seem to be more willing to move the score along in small, steady increments, rather than trying to hit each ball over the boundary.

Against England, Chris Gayle made a century with ten fours and a six, pacing himself steadily and adding depth to his batting with measured restraint. Bravo, reaching his first ODI century too, was beautiful to watch as he moved forward along his learning curve.

As usual, we have witnessed each member of the team rising at critical moments (the kind West Indies love to give us): Morton, Chanderpaul, Sarwan, Taylor and Bradshaw notably. Taylor has been the other one who is improving steadily and delightfully. To be fair, the team has shown signs of improvement despite the tense moments they still conjure. And it is a mark of how tentative they have made us that it is hard to conclude that this will be a consistent development.

If you look at the batting order, it is not bad, and I find my pleasure in watching Gayle and Sarwan doubled, while I look forward to seeing what Morton and Samuels will do. On the other hand, Dwayne Smith has remained embedded within his instinctive responses rather than tempering them with more thoughtful consideration. Perhaps time will release his cricket brain more fully on the field because he has considerable ability, and his reflexes are fast enough as a fielder to indicate that he can see the ball early.

Lara seemed to have trouble seeing the ball in the last two matches, and it is difficult to say whether his reflexes have been slowed by his back trouble, or other factors. At least his captaincy has not been troubling, and his decision to air out the younger players is good for building their experience and confidence.

The England match is on as I write, and fortunately the team has already qualified out of the group stage. Whatever happens at the next stage with the West Indies will still be anybody's guess. Certainly it will be exciting. I have to admit that the satisfaction I got after the win against Australia was as fulsome as if we had won the Champions Trophy. Everything else after that is pure icing.

* This column is republished with permission from the NATION newspaper in Barbados where it first appeared.