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Vivian Richards - 5 November 2002
Having said that, one-day cricket is a different ball game, and the visitors have to look ahead at the grueling seven-match series now. It is a crucial series as we will be looking to identify the individuals who will do duty for the West Indians in the World Cup a few months from now. We hope to find the players who along with Brian Lara, who should be fit by then, will form the nucleus of the West Indian team. Most of the players were part of the Test series, and the three new entrants we have are Vasbert Drakes, Corey Collymore and Ricardo Powell. The former is a useful all-rounder who plays is cricket in South Africa while Collymore was seen during India’s one-day series in the West Indies and is a good one-day bowler. Indian fans will remember Powell for the superb knock he played against India in a tournament final in Singapore a few years ago. Sadly, that knock was not followed by too many opportunities for the young man, since he invariably used to come in when there were only a few balls left in the innings. This series will be a crucial one for Powell because he has to prove that he has the talent as well as the mental ability to compete at this level. The Indians will be without their star batsman Sachin Tendulkar for the one-dayers, and while the West Indians could heave a sigh of relief, I don’t think they should feel that the Indians are a lesser side in his absence. A few summers earlier, the absence of the little genius would have had a telling effect on the Indian team. Things are a little different today because while his is still the prized wicket, the Indian team has proved that they can perform even when their star player has had a bad day at the office. One just has to look at the NatWest Trophy final at Lord’s to realise that there are many players in the Indian team who can be match-winners. Before signing off, let me say that as the two sides go into the TVS Cup, I think the nature of one-day cricket will ensure a more even contest than the Test series. More importantly, West Indies has improved in their one-day performances in the recent past and hopefully will continue the trend here. Other Articles by Vivian Richards:
© Gameplan
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As the TVS Cup one-day series starts in Jamshedpur on Wednesday, I can’t help
feeling that the Kolkata Test has really improved the morale of the West Indies
team. They had come to Eden Gardens two down in the series, and they stemmed the rot
by playing some excellent cricket, proving that the team does have character. This
draw comes after six or seven consecutive overseas defeats, so one can imagine how
important it was for them to perform well in that Test.