Can West Indies' young crop of pacers help regain lost glory?

Sun, Aug 4, '13

Over the years, fast bowlers from the Caribbean have been revered and feted for playing a Calypso brand of cricket. With sheer dedication and devotion to fast bowling, crackerjack pacers like Wes Hall, Gary Sobers, Andy Roberts, Colin Croft, Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh, Ian Bishop, and Curtly Ambrose touched the outer limits of excellence.

Even during the early part of the 19th century, bowlers of the calibre of Herman Griffith, Manny Martindale, Learie Constantine and George Francis used to pepper the unsuspecting batsman with chin music. Interestingly, in the year 1933 in England, Constantine and Martindale with their well thought-out stratagem of bodyline tactics tried to unsettle the cricketer who used it successfully to curtail Don Bradman's phenomenal run-scoring efforts in Douglas Jardine. Jardine to his credit handled fast and furious pace bowling of Constantine and Martindale with aplomb and made a gritty century at Old Trafford.