Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
THE ENGLAND cricketers arrived in the island on Wednesday for a four-match Test series against the West Indies starting at Sabina Park on March 11 and cricket fans are looking forward to a great contest.
They are looking to a parade of skills, if not from the bowlers, from batsmen like Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, Graham Thorpe, Nasser Hussain and company.
Just like when old friends come together, West Indies versus England, together for 76 years while contesting 126 Test matches, brings back memories of days gone by, and this time it is no different.
Both teams, for example, are lacking in quality bowlers and as they prepare for battle, they probably regret they cannot turn back the clock and call on some of those from the past.
The West Indies, without a doubt, would do well with a few fast bowlers with the speed and the skill of Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith, Andy Roberts and Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, and with even one spin bowler with the degree of spin and the guile of Sonny Ramadhin, Alfred Valentine and Lance Gibbs.
England, on the other hand, would do well with two fast bowlers the quality of Fred Trueman and Brian Statham, with one like John Snow, with a medium-pacer like Trevor Bailey, and with a pair of spin bowlers like Jim Laker and Tony Lock.
They were great, all 16 of them, and each one, at one time or another, contributed to the great contests, sometimes to some one-sided contests, between the West Indies and England.
Numbered among the great performances of these great West Indies bowlers were Hall's seven wickets for 67 runs at Sabina Park in 1960, Griffith's six for 36 at Leeds in 1963, Roberts' five and five at Lord's in 1976, Holding's eight and six at The Oval in 1976, Marshall's seven for 53 at Leeds in 1984 while bowling with a fractured left thumb encased in plaster.
Then there was Ambrose's eight for 45 at Kensington Oval in 1990, Ramadhin's seven for 49 at Edgbaston in 1957, Valentine's eight for 104 at Old Trafford in 1950 and Gibbs five and six at Old Trafford in 1963.
For England, Trueman's seven for 44 at Edgbaston in 1963, Snow's seven for 49 at Sabina Park in 1968, Bailey's seven for 34 at Sabina Park in 1954, and Lock's five for 28 and six for 20 at The Oval in 1957 stand out.
When it comes to batsmen, there have also been great ones - including George Headley - two centuries in a Test on two occasions, Frank Worrell - the man who batted undefeated for 191 from the start to finish of the Trent Bridge Test in 1957 and then took seven wickets for 70 runs after opening the bowling in England's only innings in the following Test, Everton Weekes, Clyde Walcott, Gary Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, Clive Lloyd, Lawrence Rowe - 302 at Kensington Oval in 1974, Alvin Kallicharran, Viv Richards and Gordon Greenidge of the West Indies, Len Hutton and Denis Compton, Peter May and Colin Cowdrey the pair that posted 411 for the fourth-wicket at Edgbaston in 1957, Tom Graveney, Ken Barrington and Ted Dexter of England.
With so many great bowlers and batsmen on either side and up against each other over the years, there have also been some great individual performances and some memorable days.
Numbered among the individual performances are Andy Sandham's 326 in the long Test match at Sabina Park in 1930, Ramadhin's record 774 deliveries at Edgbaston in 1957, Peter Loader's hat-trick at Leeds in 1957, Joey Carew's 16 consecutive maiden overs at Queen's Park Oval in 1968, Richards' century off 56 deliveries in Antigua in 1986, Lara's record 375 in Antigua in 1994 and Dominic Cork's hat-trick at Old Trafford in 1995.
MEMORABLE DAYS
When it comes to the memorable days, no one who was there will ever forget the first day of the fifth Test at Sabina Park in 1954 when Bailey nailed the West Indies for 139 to set up a series-tying victory, the day at Lord's in 1963 when Cowdrey went to bat with his left arm in plaster, when, with Hall bowling the last ball of the match to David Allen, any one of four results was possible.
Then there was the last afternoon of the Test match at Kensington Oval in 1990 when Ambrose, in a spell of five for 18 with the second new ball, destroyed England with the match dragging to a draw and the Test match at Queen's Park Oval in 1994 when Ambrose, six for 24, and Walsh, three for 16, routed England for 46.
The one that West Indians will certainly never forget was the afternoon on the last day of the fourth Test at Queen's Park Oval in 1968 when Sobers, after declaring in the first innings, declared again in the second innings and lost with three minutes to go after setting England 215 to win in 165 minutes.
Today, West Indies versus England is not what it used to be - it certainly does not compare with West Indies versus Australia. When it comes to a parade of great players, great moments and great matches, when it comes to the emotions that it arouses, it is still second to none, and despite what certainly appears to be the weak bowling of both teams, despite the prediction of so many that it will end up a nil-nil stalemate, West Indians are hoping that the coming series will add to the treasure house of great memories.
