After eight days of being an abject opponent, the West Indies finally stood up on Day 5 of the second Test in Jamaica. Or, to be more honest, a young 24-year-old named Roston Chase did. Aided by Jermaine Blackwood, Simon Dowrich and Jason Holder, Chase scored a sublime century to deny India, what had seemed, till then, a certain victory and a 2-0 lead.
But more importantly, Chase finally provided a reminder that West Indies cricket, now bruised and battered, could still have a glory day. As Sunil Gavaskar said on TV during the lunch break, the West Indians did what Jamaica's very own Bob Marley had exhorted people to do: "Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights."
Yes, the West Indies did just that, in a manner of speaking. And in the process, they drew attention to just how low the cricket has plummeted there. Can you imagine any of the formidable West Indies teams of yesteryears being lauded for saving a Test? The default mode was decimation of the opposition.
At one point of time, a West Indies tour was a cause for both elation and consternation for any international cricketer. To be considered good enough to play the most formidable cricket team in the world in its backyard was obviously a huge honour. This was matched by the spectre of failure against the fearsome batsmen or bowlers.
A tour of the Caribbean had almost everything – iconic stadiums, passionate cricket-crazy crowds in a laidback, party atmosphere, and crucially, the chance to play against some of the most charismatic cricketers in the world.
You don’t have to go too far back. The heady 1970s saw some of the greatest cricketers ever to play for the West Indian flag, stalwarts such as Clive Lloyd, Lawrence Rowe, Alvin Kallicharran and, of course, the incomparable Viv Richards. And then came the roaring 1980s, with the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Colin Croft, Joel Garner, and Courtney Walsh. After which there was the incomparable Brian Lara.
Why, even recently, a West Indies tour was a significant challenge – remember Lara’s virtuoso performance against Australia in 1999, or even Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s rearguard action against India in 2002?
What is the point really?
Yet for the entirety of the first Test at Antigua and majority of the second at Jamaica, none of these admirable qualities of West Indies was present. No wonder both Tests have been played in front of yawningly empty stands. Cricket fans in the region have preferred to turn their attention elsewhere, mainly to the Caribbean Premier League.
Ironically, some of the West Indies's current biggest box-office superstars were present on Sunday when the St Lucia Zouks played the Jamaica Tallawahs at Lauderhill. Andre Fletcher, Johnson Charles, Darren Sammy, Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Jerome Taylor – all of their best players, playing for two franchises rather than their own national team.
In contrast, at Sabina Park through the past few days, you had a West Indies team seemingly devoid of emotion or joy. If there was a walking-talking example of “going through the motions”, this was it. Jason Holder, a tall pace bowler in his own right, limply watching as his team put in one abject display after another. The fielders dropped catches, the bowlers had no idea of length and line and the batsmen, apart from the last day, either swung wildly at the ball or just meekly strove to defend.
Yes, teams cannot be invincible forever – all legends in sport must ultimately fade and give way to the new. And perhaps it's only about one format. After all, the West Indies have won the World Twenty20, both the men’s and women’s versions, as well as the Under 19 World Cup, just this year.
No more joy
But it is not about just losing, it is about the way West Indies have played in these two Test matches. For a nation which prided itself on its joi-de-vivre, outrageous celebrations, its charismatic players, Jason Holder’s men have been overwhelmingly dull. And that is the most saddening aspect for any purist who has ever loved cricket – a misfiring West Indies can still be accepted, but not a dull one.
Where do things go from here? Nowhere, really. Their admirable performance on the last day in Sabrina Park notwithstanding, it is difficult to expect even competitive aggression in this team.
In the Test format, they have been slipping...and slipping fast. Their last Test series was against Australia in Australia last year, where they were defeated 2-0. And this series against India shows the near-terminal decline that has set in.
Even in 2006 and 2011, the last time India toured these parts, the West Indies were defiant. They held on grimly in the first two Tests in 2006, failed to capture the initiative in the third, and narrowly lost the last match. And in 2011, their bowlers still proved that they were a handful: India crossed 300 only once in the four Tests they played.
Now, in the words of the great cricket journalist Martin Johnson, West Indies “can’t bat, can’t bowl, can’t field”. India have scored runs with impunity, have hardly had to put in much effort to dislodge the opposition batsmen until that last day, and have given the impression that they merely have to turn up to win the session.
Virat Kohli's young team may well ride over that fifth day blip and still go on to win the series 3-0, a no doubt a fantastic achievement for his young team. But for those of us who watched an era when great West Indies cricketers strode into the ground, accompanied by feverish chants and Calypso music, it is a sorrowful sight.