So the Amazon Conquerors went to South Africa to play in the Championship League and conquered no one. The team lost every match by wide margins. And for the record, losing by 15 runs to a team that rested its best bowler does not qualify even as ‘almost conquering’.
Many are disappointed at the team’s performance and for some the mere mention of the name Amazon Conquerors is enough to get a shake head, a ‘suck teeth’ or even a few expletives. But I’m learning to look for positives in not so bright situations. It helps to keep me sane. So I’ve applied this principle to the situation of the Amazon Conquerors.
T20 cricket is meant to be entertaining and watching the Conquerors play was certainly that – entertaining, even bordering occasionally on farcical and embarrassing. The horrendous fielding in the game against the Mumbai Indians prompted me to say that the team needed “angels in the outfield” as was the case in that popular movie of the 1990s. My friend retorted that angels were not enough, they needed “archangels”.
I also felt empathy for the cricketers. Watching the team play brought back memories of my first taste of competitive cricket. It was about 15 years ago, I was 8 or 9. I was selected to play for my house in the inter-house competition. I impressed at trials and was one of the youngest players selected for my house.
I was in the selected in the final 11 and was told I would bat at number six – after the captain and his friends had batted. All this was before the captain realized that the opposition had one of the fastest bowlers in the school. My team lost a few wickets quickly, then all of a sudden I found myself out in the middle to bat. I was given an instant promotion from number 6 to number 4.
I hit my first ball for a single and I breathed a sigh of relief. At least I had not made a duck. But then the umpire called over indicating that I had to take strike for the next over. And there I was facing the fastest bowling I had ever come across. I kept swinging and missing, until I swung once too many and then saw the umpire’s finger go up. My brief period of torture was over. Fifteen years later, I cannot tell you whether I had been bowled or whether I had hit my wicket or whether I had been dismissed by some other means. All I know was that I was happy to be back in the safety of the pavilion.
I didn’t crown myself in glory while in the field either. I dropped two catches, I think. Well to be more accurate I missed them, my fingers didn’t even touch the ball. I realized that I was not quite ready for this level of competition.
I felt the same way watching the Conquerors play. They didn’t seem ready for that kind of competition. Admittedly, the team showed signs of improvement and perhaps was in positions where it “coulda win…if only…” well you how it goes.
But truly the performance of the Amazon Conquerors is simply a reflection of the poor state of regional cricket. Some may argue that Trinidad and Tobago or even Jamaica may have done a better job. We will never know. But I strongly believe that if we could go back in time and send any other regional team, I’m sure it would have been just as soundly thrashed. (thescene@stabroeknews.com)
