Exciting action, mediocre cricket

The Caribbean T20 tournament got under way at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua last Monday afternoon and, as advertised, as expected, it has been exciting, very exciting, and especially so on days three and four.

As far as being the championship where stars are born, however, it has fallen short, very short.

On Day One, Jamaica, aided by two run-outs, blessed by the run-outs of ace Guyanese batsmen, Ramnarash Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, defeated Guyana by 50 runs after scoring a disappointing 117 for seven; on Day Two, Canada surprised themselves, and everyone else, by beating English champions Hampshire by 23 runs; on Day Three, Guyana returned to turn back Somerset in an unbelievable finish, and Day Four, in an almost equally unbelievable finish, Hamp-shire triumphed over Barbados in the Super over.

After Guyana struggled to 112 for eight, thanks to captain Sarwan's won-derful 59, Somerset reached 105 for 3 and appeared heading for victory before they dived like suicide pilots, surrendered like lambs to the slaughter, and, more appropriately, snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory in a manner the likes of which I have never before witnessed.

With seven runs needed to level the score and eight to win the match, with seven wickets with which to get those runs, and with 14 balls (2.2 overs) off which to get them, Somerset failed to get the runs.

They lost seven wickets for six runs off 14 deliveries - including, at 108 for six with one over remaining and four to level the score, four for three in six deliveries, and including, with two deliveries remaining and one to level the score, two wickets for no runs in two deliveries, the last deliveries of the match.

And four of the seven wickets were by the run-out route, including the last one, by the wicketkeeper.

In the Hampshire-Barbados encounter, Hampshire made 136 for three, Barbados were 128 for eight going into the last over, they were 134 for eight, and they were 136 for nine.

In the Super over, Simon Jones removed Dwayne Smith and Carlo Morris in three deliveries without a run on the board, and when Hampshire went to bat, needing one run to win, Sulieman Benn bowled Sean Ervine, reverse sweep, for zero with the first delivery.

James Vince was beaten twice before he managed a single off the fourth delivery.

Those were as exciting as any finish one can get in a cricket match, and if excitement is what the West Indies Cricket Board wants, the tournament, so far, has been a success.

If, however, the tournament is designed to improve West Indies cricket, it certainly is not doing so, and is unlikely to do so.

On the field of play, the cricket has been ordinary.

T20 cricket calls for fast scoring regardless, it calls for tight bowling, it calls for exhilarating fielding, and while the fielding is sometimes brilliant on the ground and in the air, while the bowling can be accurate although void of spin and swing and just short of good length, the batting is usually and simply hit or miss.

In this tournament to date, the bowlers, the vast majority of them, with the exception of Devendra Bishoo and Samuel Badree, Krishmar Santokie, Ravi Rampaul, and Simon Jones, run in, drop the ball in front of them without any attempt of imparting spin or swing, and although that does not test the skill of bowlers, it is not too bad.

Test of bowling accuracy

At least it is a test of the bowler's accuracy.

The batsmen, however, with the exception of a few, such as Marlon Samuels, Sarwan, and Wavell Hinds, Lendl Simmons, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and Adrian Barath, simply swing their bats and hope.

It is commonplace to see a batsman sweeping at a full toss outside his off stump, trying to steer a delivery pitched up to him on middle stump past the wicketkeeper or slip, or just running down the pitch and swinging freely at short delivery.

Those are strokes which would cause a cricket coach to burst a blood vessel, even in a Twenty20 match, but strokes which win cheers whenever they connect and the ball sail through the air or race away to the boundary.

So far, I have enjoyed the Caribbean T20, and I have enjoyed it for what it is, or should be: a festival of fun highlighted by brilliant fielding and innovative batting with the ball sailing to and over the boundary with regularity.

To me, while it will win more friends for the game and encourage others to play the game, it will never return West Indies cricket to where it once was, and although it may improve the West Indies fielding, it will never turn up another batsman like George Headley, like Garry Sobers, like Viv Richards, and like Brian Lara, not to mention another like Rohan Kanhai or another like Lawrence Rowe.