As a kid, when I grew up hearing the name of Sabina Park, it had to do with the famous blood-bath in 1976. Those were the days when one got to hear of results in West Indies through the good old short wave freuqency on the radio station. And for those not allowed to stay up that late, it was through the newspapers the next day.
With Gundappa Vishwanath, Anshuman Gaekwad and Brijesh Patel back in the pavilion after Clive Lloyd unleashed the ferocious quartet of Michael Holding, Wayne Daniel, Bernard Julien and Vanburn Holder, this Test was funny where Bedi declared the second innings at 97 for five. Perhaps, parfuum ball got into vogue from here.
As Sabina Park gets ready to host the 2007 World Cup semi-final between Sri Lanka and New Zealand on Tuesday, it is hard not to think of how important the venue is. Times have changed. Most of the wickets in West Indies are not that quick any more and if Sabina Park happens to be quick and bouncy, we are in for a veritable feast.
Shane Bond will be back and ready to let fly the missiles and thunderbolts, just that the man standing in the line of fire – Sanath Jayasuirya has seen it all. I know I am making this blog appear almost like a preview, but when you are into the semi-final stage, it is hard not to get caught in these kind of nitty gritties. That reminds me, I must make a mention of Jaya’s grit as well. For a man who has come back from retirement, this Cup has been simply amazing.
And the kind of support he has got from skipper Jayawardene and Sangakkara is proof this Lankan side, not given much of a chance when the Cup commenced, has blossomed. Bond’s pace is fearful but if you go through bowling stats, it is not as if he has torn the rival line-up.
Talk of the Lankan bowling, the variety is simply mind-boggling. The pace of Vaas and Lasith Malinga, two bowlers with very different styles and not to forget Dilhara Fernando, can make any batting line-up squirm. And there is the wily trump card: Muralitharan.
Sorry, if I am already sounding like a Lankan fan, but for a team which now carries the hopes of the sub-continent, they are a dynamic side. Jaya can be cunning with his slow spin as well, so if the Black Caps have to bounce back, they better do it quick and fast .
In Stephen Fleming, the Kiwis have a captain whose leadership skills are matchless. But the point is, for a side which got blown away by the Aussies in their last Super8 match, they need to come out firing early.
How much Sabina Park aids fast bowlers is something which could well chart the course of this contest. I have never taken odds seriously, whether it has been offered by Ladbrokes or William Hill. Yes, I would stick my neck out and say the Lankans have the edge.
Do you agree?
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I agree Sir!, And man, I must say you have a strong memory, well I can’t recall that Test for obvious reasons — I was not even a toddler then…
That reminds me of my school days, when I and my brother used to stay awake till late in the night (10 pm used to bne late for us those days) to listen to the Aalmi Sports Round-up, a five-minute programme aired by the Pakistan Radio which would include the day’s summary of sports news.
That was then….coming back to the point I would say I like the comparison you draw between the Sri Lankan team and the Windies…
Why are we supporting the Sri Lankans so much?
A question, which has been running in every Indian fan’s mind, probably coz India departed early or is there something more to it…
Maybe they remind us of that legendary West Indies team which had players like Clive Lloyd, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts and of course Viv Richards.
Earlier, too they had the all-conquering ‘Three Ws’ (Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell) – all legendary figures.
Those were the illustrious days of West Indies cricket. The present bunch is a far cry from ‘those days’ and without ‘King’ Brian Lara, they have nothing to boast of.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand have a lot of talent in both departments of the game and of course the diversity in their bowling which has had its share of controversy with Murali and Malinga hogging the limelight for their much-discussed actions speaks volumes.
Cricketing reasons apart, their culture is very similar to the Windies and then their fans like to enjoy cricket the way Caribbean fans do with a can of beer….
Speaking about the pitch I would say, some of the pitches in the West Indies have been relayed and both teams (SL and NZ) have good set of bowlers so I suppose the toss will matter here…
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