Shots heard around the world: The wonder that was the Windies

ALL BATS ARE OFF

- Kunal Pradhan

Michael Manley, Jamaica's prime minister from 1989 to 1992, and the son of the country’s first premier Norman Manley, was, like most West Indians, an ardent cricket fan and a student of the game.

His painstaking work, A History of West Indies Cricket — written in 1987 (when the Caribbean islands enjoyed a decade of dominance that world cricket, world sport, or world anything, had rarely seen before); and revised in 1994 (soon after Brian Lara changed batting records forever with his singular hunger for runs) —has been a majestic constituent of my personal library for over two decades.

This month, the meek capitulation of the once-mighty West Indies — they entered India almost unnoticed for a one-sided two-Test series nestled between a deeply political Asia Cup in Dubai and a fiercely marketed one-day series against Australia — prompted me to pick up the volume. For, if you are a cricket follower of my vintage, the West Indies story remains the crescendo in the symphony that is world cricket.

The goosebumps came as early as the dedication page: “To Learie Constantine who opened the door of international cricket.

“To George Headley who entered the building with such style. To Frank Worrell who showed it could be occupied with distinction.

“To Clive Lloyd who very nearly took permanent possession. And, of course, to Garfield Sobers who dazzled all who dwelt therein with the range of his talents.”

The names are important: Constantine was Trinidadian, Headley and Worrell were Jamaicans, Lloyd is Guyanese, and Sir Garry was from Barbados. Together they are a symbol of unity and a common Caribbean identity that could likely never have been established without cricket.