In recent years, with so many lacklustre Caribbean cricket teams frustrating us with their poor play, and particularly with the sad state of the once supreme regional team, you lose some enthusiasm for cricket, and even end up not watching some games at all. The dreary process of half-hearted commitment by our players, along with so many instances of clear ineptitude, has left many of the game’s previous followers disillusioned about it.
And then, along comes the recent India-Australia World Cup quarter-final to remind you why cricket is the greatest team sport in the world. That match had everything. There was the storybook underdog century by the Australian leader Ricky Ponting. Failing with the bat before this game, and amid rumours of his removal as captain, Ponting defied the Indians at every turn, topping the Aussie batsmen with an almost flawless 107. When he walked off he had redeemed himself in movie-script fashion and put his team in a strong position to win.
But the Indians had not been shamed. They had bowled their hearts out, used good cricket tactics and had produced
