http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World T20 - Same old story and just another day for the men from the Caribbean (Part 1) - Opinion
The manner, in which the West Indies bowled against Australia in their group fixture at the Premadasa came as no surprise for those observers who have witnessed them play in the T20 format. The rain affected game in the ICC World T20 of 2012 saw http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746
cruise to a comfortable victory after the Windies scored a mammoth 191 for 8 in their innings. The Aussies replied with 100 for the loss of just one wicket in an astonishing 9.1 overs, which thwarted any hopes of a West Indian revival. That score card brought
back vague flashbacks of how the West Indies has failed to defend formidable totals in T20 cricket after their explosive batting line-up had managed to decimate the figures of the thriftiest of bowlers, on more occasions than not.
Much to the delight of the subcontinent fans however, Saturday night’s encounter between the Aussies and the Windies saw http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CH-Gayle-c1221 on song at the Premadasa, as he hammered the bowlers to all parts of the ground. The stroke play was so extravagant that
it brought back vague flashbacks of the West Indian batsmen of the 1980s, where the bowlers were bruised so badly that they were dazed and lost for words at the end of the storm. Gayle’s thunderous hitting was exactly what the tournament needed after quite
a few one-sided affairs had braced the pitches across the Emerald Isle. His gigantic sixes were complimented by fellow batsman, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Marlon-Nathaniel-Samuels-c74804, who managed to bludgeon his way to a formidable score as well. At the end of it, the Australian bowlers simply had
no answer as the West Indians managed to get to 191 for 8, courtesy some late order hitting, which had thorn the Aussies out of the game.
At the half way stage, it looked as if the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 would stroll through and their epic performance against Australia at the Oval in 2009 would be repeated. Yet all the hue and cry over the dynamism that the Windies exhibited with the bat was silenced
after Australia launched an assault which was not only astonishing but frightening to say the least. The hapless bowling from the Caribbean side however, aided Australia’s rampage, where the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Fidel-Henderson-Edwards-c57010 lacked the venom to seriously
defend the total that their batsmen had managed to post. For die hard West Indies fans, horrendous memories of how their bowling was torn apart by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 just recently surfaced once again and pinched them hard. The bowlers continued
to err in line, and failed to put any sort of pressure on the bloodthirsty, Aussie batsmen whatsoever. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Watson-c2558 for example, was brutal in his approach as rank half vollies and half trackers were punished with impunity. Sadly for most fans, Chris Gayle’s
sixes galore became a thing of the past as soon as the heavens opened up, Australia were galloping at a run rate in excess of 10 and would have torn the West Indies if the game was to restart. The game did not restart, and Australia had done enough to cement
a memorable victory as per the Duckworth Lewis method.
The West Indies had conceded the game rather than lose it. They lost the plot so comprehensively that it disappointed everyone who showed up at the Premadasa or was tuning into this telecast anywhere around the world. For those who have followed West Indies
cricket in the past, it was nothing new as whispers over their bowling lacking venom had begun to surface.
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