Ambrose vs Waugh - The over that changed the balance of power in Test Cricket - Opinion
West Indies, West Indies, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760. That was all that was heard about for the most part of the 1980s. The four pace quartet, the dashing batsmen and the incredible all round prowess left the world baffled over what continued to hit them with startling
ease. Who would have ever thought of challenging the incredible barrage of bouncers, toe crushing Yorkers, or extravagant stroke play which was unleashed with brazen frequency? The truth was that like Brazil for the most part of their football legacy The West
Indies were not only world champions, but were also the most attractive side in the world. They knew it and they made sure that others knew it as well.
Then came the over that changed the tide. A barrage of six deliveries deployed with the most voracious appetite for wickets that even the protagonist, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Curtly-Elconn-Lynwall-Ambrose-c51793, could hardly believe it, and came to the fore. The venue was the Queens Park Oval at the
Port of Spain in Trinidad. The batsman was none other, then http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Harold-William-Stephenson-c61707 Rodger Waugh, who considered this over as an opportunity to turn the script in Australia’s favor for once. Turn the script he did, to the point of changing fortunes for what arguably was the
finest legacy in the history of cricket.
This over is also considered to be the best sledging moment in cricket. The West Indian paceman had a habit of not exchanging words, but resorted to glaring at the batsman instead, as if to say ‘this pitch belongs to me and you’re here at your own peril’.
Waugh was a man who combined tenacity with flare and had the audacity to go a step further. These were times when players believed that looking back at the West Indian fast bowlers when the exchanged glances, bordered on the preposterous, Waugh not only exchanged
a few pleasantries, but enraged Ambrose, who had a reputation for being a raging http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bull-c48831 if provoked. It was the epitome of catharsis, where the adrenaline kept on pumping at a fierce level. Ambrose had to be dragged back to his run up by a team mate and if the
latter would not have been prudent, then all bets were off.
The 1981 over was dubbed as the greatest over in Test history, between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Michael-Anthony-Holding-c75756. If that over was the greatest ever then this Ambrose- Waugh duel considered the unthinkable. Australia began to fear the West Indies no more and
began a legacy of scoring at 4 runs per over in Test matches which was a throwback to ODI cricket. Then came the flashy cut shots, the expansive running between the wickets, the immaculate line and lengths and the unbelievable fielding which came with utter
nerve and effrontery. The world was left bamboozled.
As years went by and Ambrose and Waugh recall flashbacks of that over, the decline of the economic conditions in the Caribbean, compounded with a state of ‘ free-fall’ in their cricket, ironically stood in stark contrast with the rise and rise of the Australians.
Sledging came into cricket folklore and the Gospel spelt ominous signs for oppositions who failed to conform to what was divinely ordained by Australia. Under http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Stephen-Rodger-Waugh-c91216, his side had won an astonishing 16 consecutive Test victories in the early 2000’s, where
barring the final frontier of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 believed that they could annihilate any side in any conditions around the world.
The trigger was that tussle between Ambrose and Waugh. It was an over which even Waugh’s teammates described as giving Australian cricket a new flavor altogether. Standing up to the West Indies and dictating terms was exactly what sides all around the world
yearned to do. It took a man who was cold blooded, ruthless and meant business on the field to make that fact a reality for the Australians. The balance of power had shifted and similar to the befallen Soviet Union in 1991, The West Indies dominance had finally
ended.
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