The Kensington Oval drama and Brian Lara's innings - Part 2 - Opinion
That something that Ambrose and Walsh were baying for, did materialize onto the field as a ferocious spell of bowling from the legendary duo dismissed the Australians for just 146. Walsh’s wickets were picked up by bowling an immaculate line and length outside
of the off stump, where catches, stumps flying in all directions and LBWs were on display. The crowd at the Kensington Oval danced to Calypso Beats once again with the stands rocking to the tunes of having their side gnaw their way back into the game.
The end result was a score of 311 on the board for the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760. Lara’s men knew that factors such as an Australian side aiming for retribution for their second innings collapse along with lack of time remaining in the game acted as a stymie for getting
to their target. Yet, a sedate start by the openers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sherwin-Legay-Campbell-c90005 made sure that the West Indies continued to defy the odds of folding under pressure. Then came the duo of Mcgrath and Gillespie which wreaked havoc as the hosts were reduced
to 5-105. The bereaved crowed banked upon one man to do the job for them.
Brian Lara strode out to the middle amid huge cheers from the crowd. Here was a man who combined mastery with erudite precision since he entered the cricketing world. He was too pragmatic a man to see this as a challenge rather than an opportunity. Lara’s
eyes were leveled on the pitch and with the nod of the head came a whirling whoosh of wrists that sent the ball screaming to the boundary on numerous occasions. Lara was ruthless and destroyed http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shane-Keith-Warne-c89672 to the point of the latter contemplating as to whether
the track really has something for the spinners or not. It didn’t matter for Lara, whose partnership with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Jimmy-Adams-c1696 for the sixth wicket helped the West Indies inch closer to a famous win.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 however, would not bow down and with a heated duel between Lara and Mcgrath intensifying the competition, Mcgrath summed up a beauty to dislodge Adams and end the massive partnership of 133 runs to bring the wallabies back into the game. Wicketkeeper
Ridley Jacob’s fine form in the first innings provided crucial support to Brian Lara as both batsmen sought victory. Lara eventually reached his century, which was received with a roar of the crowd. The West Indies were baying for this close finish to translate
into victory. Then, disaster struck.
Wickets tumbled like a sack of cards with Brian Lara stranded at the other end. Tears were witnessed in the eyes of the supporters as yet another low order batsman went back to the pavilion. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Jacobs-c65213 was already back in the hut, after Mcgrath castled him with
a beauty. Then came the fall of spinner Perry, to give the Australian seamer five wickets in what was turning out to be a match winning effort. Lara was then dropped by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ian-Andrew-Healy-c63758 which was divinely ordained by the Gods. With a minor matter of 20 odd runs needed,
fast bowler http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Courtney-Andrew-Walsh-c51620 the
last man in to join http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Brian-Charles-Lara-c48471.
Walsh’s incompetency with the bat was so deeply entrenched that the West Indian fans frowned over the fact that he embraced the field. Walsh however, did not disappoint as he managed to negate the swinging Yorkers from Mcgrath by putting his heart, bat,
pads, gloves, everything behind it. He eventually survived and Lara had the chance to bathe himself in more glory.
The last over was bowled by Gillespie and was met with a flamboyant, flashy cover drive through backward point which sealed the deal. Lara reached 153 not out and his side crawled to a one wicket win amid scenes of jubilation that all of Barbados had never
witnessed before.
This was by far the best Test Match winning effort ever, by a batsman and it comes to no one’s surprise that it was Brian Lara who had the honors to his name. Wisden definitely knew what it was doing when it was preparing the ranks.
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