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Sunday, Sep 26, 2004

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Bradshaw & Browne script a glorious Caribbean victory

By Vijay Lokapally

ON TOP OF THE WORLD: Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw experience the sort of feeling that no West Indian cricketers have gone through in a quarter of a century. Bradshaw and Browne put on 71 runs for the ninth wicket to bring up an improbable victory for the West Indies over England in the ICC Champions Trophy final at the Oval in London on Saturday. The last time West Indies won a one-day competition involving all the Test teams was in the 1979 World Cup in England. _ Photo: V.V. Krishnan

LONDON, SEPT 25. As Ian Bradshaw went down on his knees to majestically herald the winning runs a crashing square drive, West Indian cricket glowed at The Oval. Never had a boundary carried greater value in West Indian cricket for a long, long time. The wild celebrations, tearful embraces, as Brian Lara and his men took a victory lap marked a grand revival of cricket in the Caribbean, something the cricketing fraternity would welcome universally.

Two men from Barbados— Bradshaw and Courtney Browne— scripted a glorious chapter in the history of the game and left England frustrated in a pulsating finish, an absolute thriller, of the Champions Trophy. The fascinating triumph that the West Indies recorded was courtesy the match-winning 71-run eighth wicket partnership between Browne and Bardshaw, the man of the match.

They turned down an offer of light from the umpires, defied the England attack, and triggered off celebrations in the Caribbean islands, rocked recently by Hurricane Ivan. It was the turn of Browne and Bradshaw to cause havoc of a different kind, breaking many a heart as West Indies rose from a precarious 147 for eight to document one of its finest feats on the cricket field.

Erratic bowling

In bowler-friendly conditions, Marcus Trescothick had produced his best innings to raise hopes of England's first major international cricket title. A win here would have capped a glorious summer for Michael Vaughan and his men amidst fading light and a gloomy horizon but the captain lost control of the game as his bowlers became erratic once the pressure grew. It was indeed surprising Ashley Giles did not get a bowl at all in the scheme of things.

The innings by Trescothick lent a touch of class. His performance was supplemented by the enthusiastic Andrew Flintoff, who chose to make an impression with his bowling. But a collectively compelling work by 11 motivated West Indians gave a new twist to the game. The glory was theirs by right as West Indies played far too organised and superior cricket on an eventful Saturday to fashion a grand revival of cricket in Caribbean.

Flintoff's fine spell

Flintoff's nagging spell was the highlight of the second half of the day after the first had been lit by the attractive strokeplay of Trescothick. In picking the wickets of Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara and Dwayne Bravo, the hardworking Flintoff, ever the keen to stay involved with the game, underlined his growing impact on the game, which can only be enriched by the presence of characters like this burly Englishman.

After the bowlers had done a decent job, the onus fell on the West Indian batsmen but a series of indiscreet shots kept England in the hunt. A top-edge accounted for Wavell Hinds and lethal movement left Sarwan, adjudged the `player of the tournament', in a cramped position and the edge was taken in a spectacular fling to the right by Andrew Strauss at second slip. This was an inspiring act by Strauss.

The English spirits were boosted further by an impetuous Chris Gayle, who, having taken two fours off Steve Harmison, played a pull too early and only presented a return catch off the bottom off his bat. When Lara fell to a languid drive, he only increased the burden on the lower half where Chanderpaul was once again saddled with carrying the innings on his shoulders. With his unusual two-eyed stance, offered resistance but could not win the battle, as his partners played some expansive shots to throw away a glorious chance.

But Browne and Bradshaw gave the performance of a lifetime to carry the contest to an incredible finish. It was tough on Vaughan as he ran out of his best bowlers. Spotting the ball became a challenge for the fielders and the batsmen exploited the situation with brave and sensible batsmanship. Their record partnership was a way of saluting Lara, who emerged a leader of men during the course of this tournament.

Earlier, England encountered a rejuvenated West Indies on a gloomy morning at The Oval and managed to post a target that was competitive enough to put the West Indies under pressure, as the pitch became difficult to bat on. Lara led from the front to motivate the team into raising its game and give England the nightmares in a contest that saw Trescothick enhance his reputation as a quality strokeplayer.

England suffered from a shaky start and was pushed into a corner. From the time Vikram Solanki nicked an innocuous delivery to the well-thought dismissal of Flintoff, the West Indies did nothing wrong. Solanki was tentative during his stay and it was hardly surprising when his static footwork led to his cheap dismissal. For Ian Bardshaw, it was an encouraging wicket, and he made it tougher for England by inducing an indiscreet shot from Vaughan, trying to force and playing on.

A brief recovery was stalled by the athletic Dwayne Bravo, who once again contributed as a fielder. It was quick thinking by Bravo, who sped down the pitch in his follow-through as Trescothick responded to non-striker Strauss. The Englishmen had obviously misjudged Bravo's agility. The West Indies was on the right course when Lara took a sensational catch of Flintoff.

It was a move initiated by Lara. "We have a plan for him (Flintoff)," he had remarked on the eve of the match. It was unfolded this morning when he placed himself for the precise pull-drive that Flintoff loves to play so often. The ball came sharply at Lara but he was prepared and plucked it on his left to mark his 100th catch in one-day internationals.

Collingwood was stifled this day as West Indies bowled to a plan. His wild heave ended in a catch at mid-on. It was a difficult stage for England, which now looked up to Trescothick to guide the team to safe shores.

The Somerset left-hander produced one of his most significant knocks. For the record it was his eighth century in 91 one-day innings but more than mere statistics, it was the manner in which he paced and built his knock that stood out. "We had to grind it out. The wicket was wet," Trescothick said later.

It was never going to be easy for Trescothick as West Indies gained regular wickets at the other end but he did not allow the mishaps to cloud his determination. Like most left-handers, Trescothick revelled in off-side play with stunning shots that left the fielders dazed. There was one raping square-cut off Bravo when he beat the man on the fence, the ball flashing past the fielder.

The ease with which he played shots square of the wicket highlighted Trescothick's excellent form in the tournament as he struck his third successive half century after pleasing efforts of 66 against Sri Lanka and 81 off Australia. Trescothick was unrelenting in his aggressive attitude and it proved the ideal strategy, given the tentative nature of batting by his partners. The only 50-plus stand came at the instance of Trescothick and Ashley Giles, who batted sensibly to give the home team a chance. Giles inspired his partner to maintain the tempo.

The last ten overs fetched England 65 runs as Trescothick and Giles forced the pace and the West Indians wilted. A few fielding errors and erratic bowling left Lara fuming before he ran out the dangerous Trescothick, who, on impulse, backed too far as Giles pushed hard and failed to return in time as Lara, at short mid-son, hurled the ball back to the bowler.

The West Indies wrapped up the last four wickets as England attempted to gather runs by throwing the bat around. To the credit of the West Indian bowlers, they stuck to their plans and were rewarded adequately.

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