Compared to some of the world-class stadiums strewn across the cricketing universe, Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, just about matches up to modern standards. Floodlights are in place for the Caribbean Premier League matches hosted here. The two big stands enclose the famous Blue Mountains in the distance and allow for 30,000 spectators The groundsmen strive hard to make sure the practice pitches are similar to match wickets. There is even a party stand in place. Well, this is cricket in the Caribbean after all.
At this ground, a little building occupies a position of privilege. Step onto its porch, and you feel its age. The green paint is peeling off at places, the furniture is a throwback to a bygone era, a couple of fans are hanging loose, and the notice boards are jaded having taken a beating from sticking pins over the years. Looking square to the wickets, the vantage is good though. The food is tasty and the locally brewed beer, Red Stripe, is available at the bar.
Relics of a bygone era
This is the Kingston Cricket Club, established 1863 and housed at this historic ground since 1895. Step inside and you can see how this place has seen the years pass by – from the glory days of West Indies cricket to the present. That last word encapsulates the misery of Caribbean fans today – mostly unhappy, a few shrugs, yet general acceptance of the manner in which their team suffered capitulation in the first Test.
Like most clubs, this one too is decorated with plaques displaying important records and markers in history. A few of them – mostly white little square boards – are nailed up in a serpentine line all over. The ones in the bar hold special mentions – of batsmen who have scored hundreds in each innings of a Test match. Obviously you want to look up names, and one catches the eye, for a particular reason.
Lawrence Rowe made his debut here in 1972, against New Zealand, and scored 214 and an unbeaten 100 in his first Test. Forty-four years later, the jubilation at this ground from that time can only be imagined, for he, a Jamaican, achieved this feat on home soil. It makes you want to look up the list of West Indies’ cricketers from this country. The most well known among them, Chris Gayle, is busy playing Twenty20 cricket. Thereafter, Marlon Samuels is on the verge of retirement, with rumours flying everyday that this could be his last Test series, and indeed his last time playing on home soil.
Pace demons
Someone, meanwhile, will get to start his Test career on Saturday, even if he isn’t a Jamaican. It could be Miguel Cummins (Barbados) or 19-year-old Alzarri Joseph (Antigua) who has just been added to the squad so that the West Indies’ team management has more fast bowlers to choose from. The reason, well, a grassy pitch is expected to be laid out for this second Test against India.
It makes for some wonderment. Is a green pitch, coupled with good bounce and carry, the best bet for West Indies against the might of the Indian batting line-up? The likes of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, are all accomplished batsmen.
Yet, no one starts from 200 not out or whatever their last score might have been. When the chance comes to bat, they must mark their guards all over again, start from scratch and build an innings. And it is in the first 10 minutes that a batsman is in a precarious state, trying to get the feet moving while leaving as many deliveries as possible, making sure that off-stump is covered.
Simply put, this Indian batting line-up is fallible and they nearly proved it in Antigua, when they had lost three of their five premier batsmen for a total of 45 runs, and the scorecard read 236/4. If Ravichandran Ashwin’s catch had been taken, who knows what score India would have ended up with? Furthermore, it is easy to say that if the pitch conditions had been a little bit different, edging in the favour of the West Indies’ bowlers, the equation wouldn’t have been so skewered. Perhaps the Indian victory wouldn’t have been as dominant then.
The rub of the green
A low-scoring Test match wherein the balance between bat and ball is tilted in favour of the bowlers might be West Indies’ best chance. Even so, India will have the upper hand in this battle, for the experience of Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami will outweigh the young Caribbean pacers. Will their batsmen be able to fend off this challenge? This is the biggest pitfall for the hosts.
Meanwhile, such a green pitch might force the Indian think-tank to bring in an additional batsman into the side. Rohit Sharma could get a look-in, unless Kohli feels that the pitch will ease out and two spinners might still come into play. Why, it also brings Stuart Binny into the picture as a fifth bowler who can bat a bit.
More importantly though, what is India’s direction going to be after a near-perfect performance in the first Test? The answer is in one word, consistency. For, that has to be their mantra if they are looking to conquer the summit of the No 1 Test ranking in this 17-Test long season.