Dear Editor,
It was a performance for the ages by Mohammed especially, and Nurse, a man of much grit. The combination also reflects something very special in West Indies cricket, like Sobers and Kanhai and Lara and Chanderpaul. It also illustrates the point I tried to make in a letter to the ICC that was eventually published in Stabroek News ‒ namely, the colossal mistake made by cricket people in grading cricket as if five-day were the highest form with one-day and three-hour following. Tell me whether the handful of fans in Providence could have seen anything better in a five-day match? I am yet to learn why a different ball is used in the different formats, or indeed why the dress code is different in the different forms of the game. The main difference in batting in the formats, distinct only in their lengths, is the absolute necessity to score from good deliveries in order to be successful in the shorter forms. I am retired, so I love five-day cricket as much as the shorter variety, but most people are not retired. We should not belittle the shorter forms of the game.
Yours faithfully,
Romain Pitt
