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.

Gayle is Player of the Tournament

West Indies all-rounder Chris Gayle is the runaway winner of the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 player of the tournament after an outstanding tournament for the 27-year-old Jamaican.

The opening batsman was comfortably the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 474 runs at an average of 79.00 and a strike-rate of 92.94 runs per hundred balls. Gayle scored three hundreds in the tournament, against Bangladesh, England and South Africa. And if that sort of contribution was not enough, Gayle also took four catches and captured eight wickets with his off-spin, a mark only bettered by Jerome Taylor (13 wickets) among his team mates.

'It Was a Beating'

"It was a beating, they (South Africa) really got a beating tonight," was the frank description offered by legendary former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd of the West Indies six wicket victory over South Africa in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy.

Defending champions West Indies steamrolled their way into the final on Sunday against Australia with a hammering of South Africa in the second semi final. South Africa posted a competitive 258 but had no answer to Chris Gayle's onslaught as he finished with an unbeaten 133 to lead the frenetic West Indies run chase.

Lara: We Have To Keep Momentum

West Indies skipper Brian Lara wants his side to keep the positive momentum going finals of the ICC Champions Trophy against Australia.

In a chat with the media after the six-wicket win over South Africa in Jaipur, Lara praised the batting of Chris Gayle and said the pre-tournament tri-nation series in Malaysia helped the West Indies get adequate preparation. Excerpts from Lara's comments follow:

Shiv: The Ball Was Standing Up Nicely

West Indies opener Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who scored a half century against South Africa, fielded questions after the team's victory in the semi final of the ICC Champions Trophy. Following are excerpts from his responses:

On what the game plan was in chasing 258:

Our plan was to have a look and see what was happening out in the middle. We noticed the ball was just standing up nicely on the wicket and not much was happening for the bowler so we decided that we were going to play some shots and try to set up a good foundation for the rest of the guys if we didn't carry through.