West Indies Outclass England
By Dr. Aamir A. Salaria
St. Peters, Missouri
Congratulations to the West Indies cricket team on winning the first test against England by an innings and 23 runs with a day to spare. It was ironical that an English team consisting of world class players like Flintoff, Pieterson, Collingwood, Harmison, Broad, Sidebottom etc. crumbled like a pack of cards. Historically speaking, this was England's third lowest score in test cricket.
For the rookie captain Strauss on his debut as skipper, the match proved to be a nightmare that he would not forget in a hurry and may well remember for the rest of his life.
In fact this excellent win of the West Indies could be attributed mainly to England's spineless, irresponsible and inept performance notwithstanding a brave show by the young West Indies team spearheaded by their skipper. Who could forget the pace and swing of Taylor, who ended up getting his best ever test figures of 5-11 in the second innings, and the impressive figures of 8-85 in this history-making match?
History will provide testimony to the fact that the day the star-studded English team was bundled out for 51, some of their superstars were 'auctioned off' in the lucrative IPL league for millions of dollars. Whether somebody agrees or not, the fact of the matter is that IPL proved to be a big distraction not only for the English players but all global cricketers in general, who have been lured by the glamour and glitter of wealth, gold and money.
The worldwide cricket fraternity should not forget that "Nobody," even IPL, is bigger than the noble game of cricket and playing cricket should never be dictated by few wealthy, influential and powerful movers and shakers of the game.
Nevertheless, well done West Indies, who played like a real united team in a collective fashion rather than their opponents, who operated as a "Big Group" of individuals, with no direction, unity, faith and discipline in their ranks, both on and off the field.
In the end, collectivism overcame individualism.
