Of West Indian and Siberian Tigers, the Amazon and the Nile

For the first time this series, the West Indies ended a day actually ahead of England! Starting dismally on Saturday and then fighting back, the Windies almost threw it away today with some poor shots, but the ever impressive Chanderpaul, ably supported by Collymore, managed to give the score some respectability. Chanderpaul, the West Indian tiger, continued his defiance of the English bowling and has now batted for just over 13 hours without being dismissed. In the process of this innings, he also became the seventh West Indian to pass 7000 test runs, joining an illustrious group comprised of Brian Lara, Viv Richards, Garry Sobers, Gordon Greenidge, Clive Lloyd and Desmond Haynes. Poor bowling at the start of England’s innings was fortunately negated by the quick loss of three England wickets just before close of play. This is the West Indies we are speaking about however, and while they may appear to be on top, I would not be surprised if the tables are turned around by lunch tomorrow. This is after all a team which has not won an overseas test for several years and has no culture of winning.

I came across this article on the BBC website about researchers in Brazil claiming to have scientifically proven that the Amazon River is actually longer than the River Nile. The researchers claim that an expedition has found that the source of the Amazon is in the South of Peru and not in the North of that country as was previously thought.

I also read an article which reported good news for wildlife- the endangered Siberian tiger has seen a population increase with the birth of 84 cubs in captivity in China. It can be read here.

My Sister's Masters Degree, Viv Richard's 189 and Nature's Battle with Man

My sister who is doing her Masters in Ohio defended her thesis today, thereby completing the work for her degree. Graduation is next week. The doctor says I can go but I will have to restrict my walking and I will obviously have to be be given disability assistance at the airport since the walk from check-in to the gate will be too much. Naturally I am very proud of her especially as she has had to overcome some major obstacles to arrive where she is today. My sisters and I are not the boastful kind. We just do what we have to do unlike most of the people in Barbados who share our surname and who sit and boast endlessly- ironically none of them have achieved anything in their lives and are generally failures and losers. Being boastful is a bad habit, but being boastful while not having done anything with your life is just plain old stupid! All this to say that my sister will just go on back home with her husband and kids who had joined her in Ohio and return to teaching etc and the simple but fulfilling life she lives with her family. Hopefully she will have her excellent thesis (Ethnic Minority Dominance in A Small Island Developing State and the Implications for Development: The Case of Barbados) published. The Committee who evaluated it was extremely impressed by her intelligence, analytical skills and the fact that the research and conclusions go much further than what is required at the Masters Level. Unfortunately, the university only gives out two grades- pass and fail- so while the Committee wanted to bestow a distinction on her, they will be unable to do so. Ok enough of that before I begin to sound like the idiotic relatives who I have nothing to do with!

A few days ago I wrote about Saeed Anwar’s record breaking innings of 194, which still remains the highest ever one day international score. The record Anwar broke was Viv Richard’s 189 runs made in 1984 against England at Old Trafford, an innings still regarded by many people as the greatest ever one-day knock. To put the 170 ball innings (21 fours, 5 sixes) into context, the West Indies were 102 for 7 and then 166 for 9 but ended up with a score of 272 for nine and won the match by 104 runs. Michael Holding made just 12 in the final wicket partnership of 106 and only one other batsman in the team reached double figures- Eldine Baptise making 26. Unfortunately I can’t locate a video of the innings on YouTube although there are some short video compilations comprised of clips of various innings. You can find them by doing a simple search for Viv Richards.

I was reading an article yesterday that once again highlights how in the clash between mankind and nature, nature disproportionately ends up on the losing side. This time it is bison that are at man’s mercy; in Montana the authorities have announced a plan to capture and kill 400 bison, including about 100 calves, which have been roaming outside the confines of Yellowstone National Park. Public protests have led to a stay of execution but the Montana Department of Livestock has said that it still plans to go ahead with the cull. The story can be read here.

In something a little lighter, this article about cheating female cheetahs brought a smile to my face.

Saving a Lord's Test and Saeed Anwar's 194

Did the rain save the West Indies from yet another defeat or did it save England from a humiliating ten wicket loss? West Indian fans would wish that the latter was true but the realists among us fans know that based on the past decade, the former is closer to the truth. Who can forget being bowled out for 54 in the second innings in the corresponding Lord’s test in 2000, a turning point as the West Indies has not beaten England in a test match since. I am just happy that the team showed some fight despite the limitations in the bowling department and the fragile batting line up and I hope they remain positive and keep battling on. The catching needs some serious work, the bowling needs to be more consistent and the top order needs to score hundreds. I would be tempted to play Fidel instead of Collymore or Taylor, both of whom looked out of sorts for most of the match. “Collyslow” produced a good spell on the fourth morning but I honestly can not see the value in playing a fast bowler who bowls slower than the part time slow and medium pace bowlers in either team, rarely gets wickets these days and is not exactly as economical as he is made out to be. It would be a better long term strategy to develop Morton’s medium pace and use him as a Collymore type bowler and play an extra pacer!

Ten years ago in Chennai against India, Saeed Anwar smashed 194 runs off of only 146 balls, breaking West Indian legend Viv Richards’ record of 189 runs made in 1984 against England at Old Trafford. Anwar’s 194 still remains the highest ever score in one day international history. On his day Anwar was as good as any bastman in the world and was a joy to watch when he got going with his graceful stroke play. Someone posted the highlights of his 194 on YouTube:

Memories of Past Glory

*Photos from www.cricinfo.com and BBC Website

It snowed on and off yesterday evening/night and also for part of today. I was watching the news a little while ago and as usual the snow seems to have caused its fair share of chaos. I saw a little boy playing in the snow with his father earlier. One of my nephews came to mind. My sister is studying in Ohio and from the time my nephew was told he would be joining her there, he was on about playing in the snow in America. He was about three then. A year and a half later and the poor boy has hardly seen any snow. Last year there was a small amount and this year there has only been heavy snow there once or twice. At least he did get to play in the snow, even though not as much as he would have liked, and can tell his cousins all about it when he goes back home.

I saw an article in today’s Nation about the plans to honour the members of the Clive Lloyd led West Indies teams that won the first two Cricket World Cups in 1975 and 1979. There will be a brief ceremony before the opening match of the tournament on March 13th where the surviving eighteen members will be presented with memorabilia. Families of three deceased players as well as the family of the late Sir Clyde Walcott who was manager of both teams will receive presentations later in the tournament. As far as I am concerned, this is the best news about the World Cup in a long time, especially as we have been having our fill of negative stories about large sums of wasted money, corruption, slow ticket sales and visa disorder. What better way to honour these great players who brought glory to the Caribbean than for the Windies to lift that trophy on April 28th in Barbados. Let me indulge myself a little bit more: a Lara century and a Bradshaw five wicket haul. Ok back to reality now. They probably will not even make it pass the first round!