It's all about the red ball now
by CHRIS GAYLE (Diary provided by West Indies team sponsor Digicel)
What a sensational way to announce our arrival in South Africa!
Yesterday’s Twenty20 International triumph over the hosts – in a match shortened even further by rain to 13 overs apiece – was exactly what we in the West Indies touring party needed to kick-start our campaign against the No. 2 team in One-Day International cricket.
This is serious business. It’s time to walk the walk and not simply talk the talk – and no doubt we have started well.
It was a thriller at St. George’s Park punctuated by some scintillating bowling on both sides of the divide – with triple-wicket overs both by our ace speedster, Jerome Taylor, and South Africa’s new find, Dale Steyn – as well as big hitting and sharp fielding and catching. It was fast-food cricket in overdrive and we kept our heads on and wits about us to canter home by five wickets with 19 balls to spare. The scores: South Africa, 58 for eight in their 13 overs and the Windies, 60 for five in 9.5 overs.
I know the cynics will say we can’t put too much stock on a game that didn’t even last half of one innings of a One-Dayer but cricket is cricket and we still had to go out there and do what was necessary. It’s not every day that South Africa are reduced to 22 for seven! In essence, a victory is a victory, especially at international level and versus such a high-calibre team.
Our players worked hard, enjoyed the match and we thoroughly deserved our success. It was a great feeling and we were all ecstatic.
There were some important positives from the game in Port Elizabeth. Naturally, Taylor was the star of the show with a rare triple-wicket maiden that set us up nicely. His Man-of-the-Match figures of three for six from three overs were complemented by Daren Powell’s one for six off three overs and Darren Sammy’s one for nine off three overs. Fidel Edwards also picked up a wicket and had batsmen jumping in their crease as he and Dwayne Bravo supported well.
In our reply, we started confidently and sensibly and reached 32 for one before we too suffered a batting slump as the much-heralded Steyn showed his venom with the ball. In no time we were 41 for five but we didn’t panic which we have perhaps been guilty of in past outings. We stood up to the challenge and displayed a lot of character, with the experienced Shivnarine Chanderpaul and a very capable Denesh Ramdin finishing off the job.
Once again, I can’t say enough about the team effort and spirit that were the hallmarks of yesterday’s outcome. Everyone chipped in, playing their part at some stage – whether it was Shiv’s one-handed, diving catch at mid-on to send back the dangerous Herschelle Gibbs or Bravo’s fantastic run-out of Albie Morkel or Runako Morton’s efficiency in getting the ball back to Ramdin to dismiss Shaun Pollock via the same route. Morton also set our batting on track with a vital knock of 20.
Of course, I can’t help but mention the aggression shown by Windies opener, Brenton Parchment, in launching Pollock out of the ground for a huge six in the first over of our innings. That shot got the crowd really excited and let South Africa know that we weren’t afraid of them. He’s becoming accustomed to the big stage and beginning to show what he can do.
The Twenty20 International was also a great opportunity for us to scrutinise Steyn and be exposed to his pace. He is very accurate and we will have to be patient against him and believe in our ability. Clearly we have some work to do as batting will be a key factor in the three Tests.
Last Friday’s 25-overs-a-side match versus the Makhaya Ntini Invitational XI – affected by rain too – gave us some good practice and a feel for the conditions though we lost by five runs. The guys are in the right frame of mind and morale in the camp is high. We are really up for this series. Preparation for the first Test – starting on Boxing Day – commences with training today followed by a four-day game (December 19-22) against South Africa ‘A’.
It’s all about the red ball now.
Meanwhile, I’m continuing to recover from my hamstring injury and it remains a day-to-day assessment with no set time for my return to action. I’m just doing what is required and focusing on getting better.
I’ve met our new coach, John Dyson, and we have discussed a few things. Despite the euphoria of yesterday, the real work starts now and we know there’s a long road ahead.