Yorked!!! – By Chetan Narula.

Onto the World Stage: West Indies – The Hosts.

The West Indies go into the cricket World Cup 2007 aware of one fact that unlike any other major sport in the world, in cricket, the hosts have never won the world cup. In the past eight editions, all hosts have tried and only one comes close. Sri Lanka in 1996. But they were the co-hosts and will only be considered if cricket forever remains without the headline, “And the world cup has been claimed by the hosts this time around.”

Sad but true is the fact that this time too, like the previous editions, the hosts will not make the cut. Yes we have all heard the same thing before, that the West Indies are no more that force to reckon with. I mean, come on now. Cant you just judge these 11 players on their on merit. Well that’s what I intend to do. However we need to know who the chosen ones are. Brian Lara (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Ian Bradshaw, Corey Collymore, Jerome Taylor, Denesh Ramdin, Devon Smith, Lendl Simmons, Daren Powell, Kieron Pollard.

A decent team on paper you would say with the right mix of experience and youth. Some very good players and some decent players. The sort of balance you might say is required for winning the cup. But they won’t win the cup. Many reasons for that but as has always been the case, we will take them one by one. First of all the expectations. Cricket in this part of the world is a second religion after only the NBA. But make no mistake the fans are as fanatic as you will find in the sub-continent. All this only makes them the people’s favourite, without proper rhyme or reason as to, are they fit enough to make the semi-finals. Too much hype and hoopla will only add to all the pressure there is already on the players, who know they are the home team.

To win this world cup, all you need is a batting line up which can chase down a target of 350. That essentially means you can actually afford to have half decent bowlers in your squad and get away with murder. And that is exactly what they intend to do. With a batting line up which sees the likes of Chris Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul being supported by the inimitable Brian Lara, you know that they are capable of chasing even the tallest targets. Add to that the guile of Bravo, Samuels and Ramdin on their home grounds and you get reassured about their ability to chase.

It’s their ability to defend that I am worried about. They are only as good as any other average team in the field and their bowling attack, as already mentioned is good enough to be taken for 300+ on a decent batting pitch. Bradshaw, Colleymore, Taylor and Powell do not exactly strike fear into the hearts of the opponents on any given day. No comparisons people, but this is true. The one person who ought to have been considered could have been was Fidel Edwards given his raw pace, but his tendency to break down must have been a deterrent.

So far we have discussed the various capabilities of this squad and I must confess that time and again, I have called them good enough. So is the home team pressure enough to say that they won’t win the cup. For all you might know, it might have an opposite reaction. But still I maintain that they won’t win it. Why? Simply put because other teams have better players in both the categories than them. They have bowlers who do give away runs almost every alternate game but also have the tendency to win you some tight matches or defend low scores, ala England. Or the batsmen, they might be good on paper but they have never actually chased down 320+ in the recent memory. eg. New Zealand.

The point I want to make is very clear. They have the gift but it is not enough to win atleast this time around. But cricket as we know is a very unpredictable game. Every thing is going as you say or plan and then suddenly some one just takes it onto him to disrupt your apple cart. And that man in their squad is the dangerous Chris Gayle. He knows the grounds very well. Bats like an indomitable ice man and bowls shrewdly. He could be the one to turn around their fortunes. For the Windies to fire time and again and especially in the second round, he has to be in the form of his life. It doesn’t get any opportunistic than this for some one like him.

Doesn’t mean that Lara is not important. That is actually not possible. Such is the stature of the man. However the role he has to play this time round is totally different. His current stint as captain has been remarkably different than his earlier ones. However the team still has shown suicidal tendencies under pressure. From many a winning position they have taken the plunge. He is the one who can resurrect that. A bit more leading from the front required from the man, which might mean him batting down at 7 or even 8 in the order. Something he has done in the past season quite a few times.

Peeping onto their form book for 2006-07, we see them reverberating between crests and troughs. From the loss in New Zealand to the home win against the Indians to the finals in Champions trophy to again the bottom against Pakistan and the last few games against India, they have had exactly what you call a mixed season, giving at all times mixed signals as to their chances for the big one. Proving all the above correct.

The match against Pakistan, the tournament opener will be their most crucial one. Winning this one would set the tempo for a great tournament for them. Lose it and they will be watching quite a lot of the tournament from the sidelines.

My verdict – The hosts have never won the cup. This headline will remain the same.