‘Ordinary’ Windies Destroy England - Again!

Before this series started, Geoff Boycott described the West Indies side as ‘very ordinary, average cricketers’. In comparison with the Caribbean conquerors he faced in the Seventies, they probably are. The team languish a lowly eighth in the ICC Test rankings and ninth in the ODI list. Prior to Antigua, I had to scroll down to 33 before locating their highest ranked batsman, Jason Holder, and that followed his amazing double-century in the Barbados massacre.

After that humbling 381-run reverse, the consensus back home was that England had messed up by dropping Stuart Broad to fit in an extra spinner. For a side ranked in the top three, that hardly excuses such a dreadful batting display. Furthermore, since the tourists obviously learnt their lesson by reinstating Jimmy Anderson’s old partner for North Sound, how on earth did Joe Root’s team capitulate so meekly once more, this time inside three days?

Eighteen months ago, Holder’s men surprised everyone, myself included, by achieving a hefty run chase at Headingley. Hmm, maybe this lot aren’t so bad after all. And yet still the West Indies came into this home rubber without a series success against a top eight nation for seven years, and it’s only a matter of weeks since they lost to Bangladesh.

While the West Indies have resisted England at home for many years – and in 2009 they actually achieved a 1-0 victory – it’s not since 1988 that they inflicted a ten-wicket drubbing. That was the era of Viv Richards, Haynes, Hooper, Dujon, Marshall, Walsh and Ambrose, giants of the global game. With the best will in the world, the current crop don’t match up to the Eighties generation. However, with a series win already secured, Holder’s team should take a huge confidence boost. I feared that the T20 World Cup triumph would harm first-class cricket in the islands but the powers-that-be are gradually turning things around.

But what about England? They may well be licking their lips in anticipation of the ODI World Cup and Ashes, but they seem to have forgotten how to drop anchor when required. On most pitches, Root, Bairstow, Stokes and Buttler have managed to hit their way out of trouble and rely on Anderson and Broad to bowl out the opposition. Apart from Burns in the second innings at Bridgetown and Moeen Ali in the first at St John’s, nobody has lasted very long in the face of Kemar Roach and co. Compare and contrast with Kraigg Brathwaite, Shannon Gabriel and the recalled Darren Bravo, who toiled for almost six hours over his half-century last week. As Mr Punch would exclaim, that’s the way to do it! Respect, too, to Alzarri Joseph who persevered with the ball despite losing his mother the day before.

In the past few weeks England have been outplayed in every department and desperately need to grab a consolation victory in St Lucia to restore some pride. No doubt Australia at home will be a much easier prospect and for most cricket-aware people here, that’s the only contest which counts. However, all the best to the Windies: I really hope they can kick on and charge up the Test rankings. Roach is no Curtly Ambrose, Campbell no Gordon Greenidge and Holder no Richards, but if they inspire youngsters to follow in their footsteps, they can hold their heads high for the rest of their lives. Very ordinary and average? No longer.

CSK lead the way

I know it's not my favourite competition - give me the County Championship any day, even with Somerset's dreadful run! - but the IPL is worth following just to see how the world's best cricketers fare against each other in the biff-bang game. Chris Gayle is the king of Twenty20 but even his sixes couldn't drag RCB into the top four. Not only that, but the Chennai Super Kings feature batsmen who have outperformed the West Indian opener.

Surely CSK should have the firepower in depth to win the final this weekend, whoever the opposition. Mike Hussey has played the same number of games as Gayle, yet has accumulated 24 more runs, featuring six half-centuries in the 16 innings. His 58-ball 86 not out against the Indians was superb and it took an even more ferocious performance by team-mate Suresh Raina to steal the headlines, though not the Man of the Match award.

Of the top players, Gayle doesn't even boast the best strike rate. That belongs to another CSK stalwart, their irrepressible skipper MS Dhoni. He may have endured considerable criticism since India slipped off their perch as number one Test nation but in the short formats, MS is as good as anyone. A strike rate of more than 167, with just the final to come, is phenomenal. Needless to say, he has also made more dismissals behind the stumps (15) than anyone else in this year's competition.

With the ball, CSK also field the highest wicket-taker, Darren Bravo. His 28 scalps often seem to come at the death, with a soaring economy rate to match, but his contribution to the Chennai cause cannot be overlooked. Lasith Malinga has been eclipsed at last! He wasn't even the best fast bowler in Mumbai's side; that is Mitch Johnson. Mean bowling is usually the preserve of the spinners such as Harbjajan Singh, Mishra and the excellent Sunil Narine, but Dale Steyn's 19 wickets at under a run a ball have taken the Sunrisers to touching distance of the final. James Faulkner has snared an impressive 27 IPL victims this year, making him the star of the Royals' march to the final eliminator. I hadn't realised what a fine all-round record he has in first-class cricket, too, so could a Test call-up be far away?

So will Chennai Super Kings claim their third title in four years? Even if they don't, their ace performers have lit up the tournament. Mike Hussey may have retired from Test cricket but his class in all cricket remains undimmed. The lights may have gone out on Tendulkar and Ponting this Spring but Mr Cricket, about to reach his 38th birthday, shines as brightly as ever.