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ON THE BOUNDARY - The 'baggy greens' are back
published: Friday | May 16, 2008
Tony Becca
IN 1955, the Australians, the mighty Australians, with batsmen like Neil Harvey and Keith Miller, fast bowlers like Ray Lindwall and Miller, and spinners like Richie Benaud, captain Ian Johnson and Bill Johnston, toured the West Indies for the first time and what a tour, what a series it was!
In winning the first Test at Sabina Park by nine wickets, the third at Bourda in then British Guiana by eight wickets, and the fifth at Sabina Park by an innings and 82 runs, the Australians were awesome. And, despite the presence of the feared Lindwall and Miller, none more so than their batsmen.
In the first Test, my late twin brother and I were in a huge crowd which gathered from the crack of dawn to see, for the first time, the men from 'Down Under' - from the other side of the world.
After Australia had won the toss, after Frank King had opened the bowling from the south and, after Arthur Morris, the dangerous left-hander, had hooked the first delivery of the match and was dropped on the fine-leg boundary by Glendon Gibbs, playing in his first and last Test match, the left-handed Harvey - a master batsman with a spanking cover drive, and Miller - a dashing batsman who hooked and cut and drove sweetly, scored 133 and 147, respectively.
Blue murder
After that, it was tantamount to blue murder, and that was despite of the presence of the famous spin twins, Sonny Ramadhin and Alfred Valentine, 'those two little pals of mine'.
In the second Test, Colin McDonald hit 110, Morris 111 and Harvey 133. With all the batsmen going to sleep in the third Test, Miller scored 137 and Lindwall 118. In the fourth Test, after losing Les Favell for zero, after losing Morris for seven, and after starting at seven for two, Australia rattled up 758 for eight declared with McDonald scoring 127, Harvey 204, Miller 109, Ron Archer 128 and Benaud 121 - his century coming in 78 minutes.
That was a series for batsmen as the West Indies, despite the brilliance of the Australians in the field and of Gil Langley behind the stumps, and despite losing the series, gave almost as much as they got.
Clyde Walcott scored 108 in the first Test and Collie Smith, on his debut, scored 104. Walcott scored 126 and 110 and Everton Weekes 139 and 87 not out in the second Test, while Dennis Atkinson scored 219 and Clairmonte Depeiza 122 in the fourth Test while posting a still world record seventh-wicket partnership of 348.
Walcott then scored 155 and 110 in the fifth Test to become the only man in the history of the game to score not only five centuries in a series, but also the only one to score two separate centuries in a Test match twice in the same series.
Aussies were back again
Aussie legend Keith Miller in action in the nets. - File
Ten years after that, the Aussies were back again. This time, however, there were no Harvey, Miller, Lindwall and Benaud. For the West Indies, however, they boasted not only batsmen like Gary Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, Conrad Hunte, Basil Butcher and Seymour Nurse but also a pair of fast bowlers like Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith, a slow bowler like off-spinner Lance Gibbs, and also a pace bowler and a spin bowler, orthodox or back-of-the-hand, like the multi-talented Sobers.
On that occasion, the West Indies, after going into the last Test leading 2-0, won 2-1 to claim the unofficial title as the best in the world.
Since then, in the seven series in the West Indies, it has been three for the West Indies, one draw and three for Australia - including in 1995 when Australia floored the West Indies 2-1 to take the title.
The Australians are back again, and in welcoming them, in opening our doors to batsmen like Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds, and later on Michael Clarke; and to bowlers like Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark and Stuart MacGill, we hope they bring with them the kind of batting, the kind of bowling, the kind of fielding and the kind of spirit that made their predecessors so popular and so loved in the Caribbean.
It will be a long time before they produce another Shane Warne, but with batsmen like Ponting, Hayden, Phil Jaques, Hussey and company; with pace bowlers like Lee and Johnson, and with a fielder like Symonds, the Australians can make West Indians forget, even for a while, batsmen like Harvey, Morris, Bill Lawry, Norman O'Neill, Bob Simpson, Doug Walters and Ian and Greg Chappell. And bowlers like Lindwall, Miller, Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson and Glenn McGrath, a fielder like Harvey in the covers, and one like Simpson in the slips.
Making it a series to remember
It is unlikely that the likes of Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell and Fidel Edwards can match their compatriots of yesterday - that they can match the likes of Walcott and Weekes, Sobers and Kanhai, Brian Lara, Richie Richardson and Gordon Greenidge, Hall and Griffith, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Malcolm Marshall and Gibbs.
If they do, however, if they can rise to the occasion, to the challenge, and match the Australians of 2008, together they can make it a series to remember.
published: Friday | May 16, 2008
Tony Becca
IN 1955, the Australians, the mighty Australians, with batsmen like Neil Harvey and Keith Miller, fast bowlers like Ray Lindwall and Miller, and spinners like Richie Benaud, captain Ian Johnson and Bill Johnston, toured the West Indies for the first time and what a tour, what a series it was!
In winning the first Test at Sabina Park by nine wickets, the third at Bourda in then British Guiana by eight wickets, and the fifth at Sabina Park by an innings and 82 runs, the Australians were awesome. And, despite the presence of the feared Lindwall and Miller, none more so than their batsmen.
In the first Test, my late twin brother and I were in a huge crowd which gathered from the crack of dawn to see, for the first time, the men from 'Down Under' - from the other side of the world.
After Australia had won the toss, after Frank King had opened the bowling from the south and, after Arthur Morris, the dangerous left-hander, had hooked the first delivery of the match and was dropped on the fine-leg boundary by Glendon Gibbs, playing in his first and last Test match, the left-handed Harvey - a master batsman with a spanking cover drive, and Miller - a dashing batsman who hooked and cut and drove sweetly, scored 133 and 147, respectively.
Blue murder
After that, it was tantamount to blue murder, and that was despite of the presence of the famous spin twins, Sonny Ramadhin and Alfred Valentine, 'those two little pals of mine'.
In the second Test, Colin McDonald hit 110, Morris 111 and Harvey 133. With all the batsmen going to sleep in the third Test, Miller scored 137 and Lindwall 118. In the fourth Test, after losing Les Favell for zero, after losing Morris for seven, and after starting at seven for two, Australia rattled up 758 for eight declared with McDonald scoring 127, Harvey 204, Miller 109, Ron Archer 128 and Benaud 121 - his century coming in 78 minutes.
That was a series for batsmen as the West Indies, despite the brilliance of the Australians in the field and of Gil Langley behind the stumps, and despite losing the series, gave almost as much as they got.
Clyde Walcott scored 108 in the first Test and Collie Smith, on his debut, scored 104. Walcott scored 126 and 110 and Everton Weekes 139 and 87 not out in the second Test, while Dennis Atkinson scored 219 and Clairmonte Depeiza 122 in the fourth Test while posting a still world record seventh-wicket partnership of 348.
Walcott then scored 155 and 110 in the fifth Test to become the only man in the history of the game to score not only five centuries in a series, but also the only one to score two separate centuries in a Test match twice in the same series.
Aussies were back again
Aussie legend Keith Miller in action in the nets. - File
Ten years after that, the Aussies were back again. This time, however, there were no Harvey, Miller, Lindwall and Benaud. For the West Indies, however, they boasted not only batsmen like Gary Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, Conrad Hunte, Basil Butcher and Seymour Nurse but also a pair of fast bowlers like Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith, a slow bowler like off-spinner Lance Gibbs, and also a pace bowler and a spin bowler, orthodox or back-of-the-hand, like the multi-talented Sobers.
On that occasion, the West Indies, after going into the last Test leading 2-0, won 2-1 to claim the unofficial title as the best in the world.
Since then, in the seven series in the West Indies, it has been three for the West Indies, one draw and three for Australia - including in 1995 when Australia floored the West Indies 2-1 to take the title.
The Australians are back again, and in welcoming them, in opening our doors to batsmen like Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds, and later on Michael Clarke; and to bowlers like Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark and Stuart MacGill, we hope they bring with them the kind of batting, the kind of bowling, the kind of fielding and the kind of spirit that made their predecessors so popular and so loved in the Caribbean.
It will be a long time before they produce another Shane Warne, but with batsmen like Ponting, Hayden, Phil Jaques, Hussey and company; with pace bowlers like Lee and Johnson, and with a fielder like Symonds, the Australians can make West Indians forget, even for a while, batsmen like Harvey, Morris, Bill Lawry, Norman O'Neill, Bob Simpson, Doug Walters and Ian and Greg Chappell. And bowlers like Lindwall, Miller, Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson and Glenn McGrath, a fielder like Harvey in the covers, and one like Simpson in the slips.
Making it a series to remember
It is unlikely that the likes of Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell and Fidel Edwards can match their compatriots of yesterday - that they can match the likes of Walcott and Weekes, Sobers and Kanhai, Brian Lara, Richie Richardson and Gordon Greenidge, Hall and Griffith, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Malcolm Marshall and Gibbs.
If they do, however, if they can rise to the occasion, to the challenge, and match the Australians of 2008, together they can make it a series to remember.
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