The Passing of the Mantle
Not winning the ICC Champions Trophy raised a couple of emotional questions. Should we celebrate reaching the final as sufficient victory given recent West Indian cricket history? Or should we lament the batting collapse that again made a mockery of a brilliant opening partnership?
Despite the fulfillment of watching us beat Australia earlier, I am not inclined to say it was good just to reach the final. Of any team in the world, beating Australia carries a special sweetness, and I suspect that is true for every other cricket lover but an Australian. But to have come to the final, especially after having to qualify, meant that we had shown enough mettle to get there.
It was there in the match against South Africa. Granted that what was also on display was the continuing proclivity for batting collapses, but that should have become the element of team building that was most heavily pronounced in preparation for the finals.
I couldn't wholeheartedly lambaste some of the youngsters who are still learning, but one itches to scratch a little at the gentlemen who have been around long enough to use their bats with more purpose than to block balls defensively as a cricket strategy.
As usual, the application of the Duckworth-Lewis formula to a final brings a sense of having been robbed of a true match, but truth is, there was no way a total of 138 was ever going to be a challenge.
Out of this tournament though it has been made clear that a West Indian mantle has been passed.
Chris Gayle has taken over the mantle of a batsman in the great tradition of past West Indian batting. Wielding his bat with much more care and fluency, he has refined his muscular power with the control of a measured mind and the effect has added the dramatic dimension to West Indies cricket that had once been its hallmark. Remember when it seemed that he waited somewhat woodenly at the crease just to play his favourite cover drive?
Throughout this series, Gayle has consistently shown a composure that communicates his ease with any kind of bowling attack. Not one of the opposing bowlers could say that he created trepidation or unsettled the cool Gayle demeanour. Even when he and Michael Clarke squared off -- a prolonged engagement between the two that resulted in a 30 per cent match fine for Gayle -- his deviation from his usual calm never suggested that he was swayed from his purpose.
Rather, it injected the team with an almighty adrenaline rush that was the turning point of the game. It was a gathering force that lifted the team spirit high enough to beat Australia. It made me wonder how strategic Gayle's intervention had been.
Within that framework his maturity appears to have reached the right platform. He's brought something welcome back to the precincts of West Indies cricket, and that landmark arrival could bear some scrutiny.
His three centuries in the tournament were of the style of Clive Lloyd. His disdain for the bowling was Viv Richards. His calm was that of a Worrell. His stance now is a reminder of his lineage.
A couple seasons ago, when he had scored his first triple century, Brian Lara had put his confidence in Gayle as the man most likely to break his record. Now that Lara is in the twilight of his career, the mantle he has carried for nigh a decade has been passed to Gayle.
It has taken Gayle some time to arrive. It required perseverance from the WICB to keep faith. I do not know to what extent the presence of Lloyd in India has helped Gayle at this juncture, but I imagine it was helpful. It might be a lesson in the value of nurturing as we prepare the young ones for the next big series and their cricket careers.
* This column is republished with permission from the NATION newspaper in Barbados where it first appeared.