Thankful for that small mercy

The young West Indies U-19 team’s first hold of the ICC Youth World Cup last Sunday in Bangladesh must only have been embraced by those die-hard followers of the sport in the region.{{more}}

Most of the younger generation of cricketers and sports people have grown up on a diet of West Indies losing and always embroiled in turmoil, so that any credence to the recent win by the U-19 outfit, will mean much to them.

But for this crop of players to have won a global tournament is indeed a tremendous feat, as the standard of cricket in the region is not something one would be over the moon about.

Also, cricket in the Caribbean has lost a lot of its meaning, its love and appreciation as a unifying tool, which compounds the nonchalance and disinterest.

In all honesty, not many persons in the region gave the 16 youngsters who journeyed to Bangladesh a chance of advancing to the quarter-final stage, much more lift the title.

This was magnified when, during the pre-tournament warm-up, the young West Indians were soundly beaten by Bangladesh in three matches.

Furthermore, the West Indies was on the losing side when they faced England in their first competitive match of the tournament.

A reverse in fortunes against non-cricketing nation Fiji, set up a must win encounter versus Zimbabwe, who also had lost to England.

An unlikely dismissal, that of a run out executed by vice-captain Keeno Paul, with the non-striker backing up, gave the West Indies outfit a narrow two-run win and a place in the quarter-final.

But Paul and the rest of the West Indies team, inclusive of management, were vilified relentlessly for being “unsportsmanlike and not playing in the spirit of the game.”

Unusual as it was, this proved to be the spark which engendered belief in the young men, as they rolled over Pakistan in the quarter-finals, then stunned the host Bangladesh in the semi-finals.

Facing favourites and three-time champions India in the finals, the West Indies trumped again, to ink their names on the trophy.

In the process, the youngsters ousted all three Asian teams on the trot en route to their maiden Youth World Cup trophy.

Coincidentally, the triumph came at a time when the senior players were engaged in back and forth correspondence with the West Indies Cricket Board, again, over pay dispute ahead of the ICC 20/20 World Cup next month.

The Under-19 triumph also came a couple of months after it was recommended that the WICB, in its current configuration, be disbanded.

But beyond the negatives, in the eventual top position attained by the West Indies, there were some pluses on and off the field.

From this distance, it was evident that there was a lot of self-belief in their abilities among the players.

Not being cocky or arrogant, the players appeared to display some of the past flair and confidence which characterized senior teams of the past when the West Indies was on top of the world.

The team relied heavily on an all pace attack to good effect, similar to the heydays of West Indies teams of the 1980s and early 1990s.

The U-19s looked like a team, instead of a group of individuals representing the West Indies.

This type of bonding might have come about as a result of the structures which were laid down prior to the Bangladesh outing.

Under the leadership of Graeme West and his management team, leading up to the team’s entry into the World Cup, in early 2015, an 18-member squad was assembled and a camp was hosted just before the start of the NAGICO Super50 last year.

In addition, there was a camp in Barbados over Easter 2015; then, in July there was the annual regional Under-19 tournament in Jamaica and immediately after that tournament, there was another camp in Jamaica.

A final camp in Grenada last December prepped the players ahead of a two-week camp in Bangladesh in January.

This does not say that what was put in place was perfect, but at least the regional administrators tried.

So, here the region is again at the top of the heap of a global cricket tournament, albeit that one previous winner, Australia, did not compete, as they cited security fears.

But a win is a win, and the entire cricketing fraternity in the Caribbean should savour the moment and see what can be filtered from the talents which reside in the Under-19s.

West Indies cricket can do well with some hope, a bit of saving grace, which can all begin with that small mercy given the young men’s sojourn in Bangladesh.