Shot of the Day Tamim Iqbal batted like a puppy on a leash for the first 35 balls ofhis innings, visibly straining to cut loose but holding himself backat the behest of his master, Dav Whatmore. Finally, in the 12th over -James Franklin’s first – he’d had enough. First up came a clunking cutthat whistled through point for four, then two balls later he was offdown the pitch in a reprise of his India innings. He didn’t quite getto the ball however, and was forced into a late adjustment,under-edging a cut through fine leg. Set a field for that!Hangtime of the Day The problem with West Indian cricket, so we are led to believe, isthat NBA basketball is poaching all the tallest and most athleticyoung men in the region. In their absence, it was left to SaqibulHasan to demonstrate why the shorties just don’t cut the mustard.Though he leapt heroically to intercept a clipped drive from HamishMarshall at mid-on, and held his shape in the air for an age, hemanaged merely to get a fingertip to the chance, and the moment waslost.Déjà vu of the Day It’s hard to pinpoint just what’s so irresistable about Shane Bond.His run-up is hardly the most thrusting ever seen, and his pace – froma distance – seems a notch or two below the Malingas and Taits of thistournament. But time and again he just gets it all spot on, and hisstartled opponents are too slow to adapt as the ball hustles throughtheir defences. Against England in St Lucia, he struck with the thirdand sixth balls of his second spell, en route to figures of 2 for 19;today he struck with his first and sixth of his second spell, forfigures of 2 for 15.Lost leprechauns of the Day They danced and they sang and chased their pots of gold, but there wasno doubt about it. The posse of five puzzling Irishmen at midwicketcould not have been more out of place had they been riverdancing at areggae concert. It was widely assumed they’d misread the itinerary anddecided “D2” matches were the place to be, but in actual fact itturned out they were just passing through en route to Barbados, wheretheir all-conquering “D1” heroes take on Australia next Friday. Not soIrish after all.Indiscreet photo opportunity of the Day No, it wasn’t Percy Sonn with his pants around his ankles (althoughthat would at least have proved he still exists – the only thing lowerthan the attendances at this World Cup has been his profile … whereis he?). Instead it was the sight of the reserve umpire, BillyBowden, who spent several minutes of the New Zealand innings sat bythe sightscreen, tapping the ground with a white stick. The suspicionsof a generation of international batsmen have been confirmed.Dead-horse floggers of the Day Even as they presided over yet another hopelessly over-policed andunder-attended non-event, the ICC’s scandalous obsession with thebottom line shone brazenly through the corporatized gloom. Up on thebig screen, as regularly as they dared to promote it, flashed thedemand:
“Buy the official World Cup song, ‘Game of Love andUnity’, at outlets around the ground”
Love and unity? Just who do they think they are kidding anymore?
Bob Simpson has joined the current coach John Buchanan in supporting Glenn McGrath’s push to play in next summer’s Ashes series. Despite his age – McGrath will be almost 37 when the first Test starts in November – both Australian mentors are confident fitness and a lack of high-quality match-play will not be problems when England arrive. Ricky Ponting has also chipped in by saying McGrath is “vital” to the team and placed him in the same daunting category as Shane Warne and Brett Lee.Simpson, a former national player, captain, coach and selector, told the McGrath’s “Rolls-Royce action and rhythm” would continue to support him. “He doesn’t need the explosive pace to perform,” Simpson said. “I don’t think fitness will be an issue for him, so if his attitude is where it needs to be I have no doubt he will play on. If he wants to play he should be given every opportunity.”McGrath has not bowled since pulling out of the VB Series to be with his family while his wife Jane has cancer treatment. He ruled himself out of the South Africa and Bangladesh tours and aims to come back in October’s Champions Trophy before his Ashes Test return.Buchanan, who often disagrees with his predecessor Simpson, was confident McGrath would add to his 542 Test wickets. “You only have to look at Glenn’s figures to say he’s always a viable option,” Buchanan told the paper. “But obviously from his point of view there are a lot of family issues that need to be sorted out first. I guess we all wait and hope that it works itself out, and if it does then I’m sure you’ll see Glenn McGrath striding in and adding to that tally.”Ponting said it would not be a big ask for McGrath to make the Ashes series. “The big problem that he’s had is coming back to international cricket when he’s had a big break,” he said. “If he wants to be a part of the Ashes tour then I know he’ll work exceptionally hard whenever he gets the chance and he’ll do as much bowling as he can.”We’ll keep our fingers crossed and hope he is around. We all saw how much we missed him in a couple of Tests in England.”Australia are looking for a three-match replacement for McGrath and this weekend will be crucial for the contenders playing in the Pura Cup. Michael Kasprowicz, Jason Gillespie and Shaun Tait have chances to impress before the selectors name the Test squad early next week while Ponting added Victoria’s Shane Harwood to the list.Ponting will speak to the on-duty selector Andrew Hilditch and Phil Jaques, who has faced each bowler in the domestic competitions this year, before the outfit is announced. “Australian cricket has been lucky we’ve had the bowlers of Warne’s and McGrath’s and Gillespie’s calibre over the last almost ten years,” Ponting said. “You know what you are going to get when you throw them the ball. That’s always going to change and what we’re obviously after now is to get guys to step into their shoes and do the job.”The current one-day attack has opportunities at Cape Town tonight and in Port Elizabeth on Sunday. The side should be boosted by the return of Stuart Clark after it struggled to counter the trouble caused by Graeme Smith’s century at Centurion. “I really see it as just a bit of fine-tuning, and that’s what we’ve got to try and work on in the next couple of days,” Buchanan said. “It’s about the key deliveries that each of those bowlers might have.”
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary Photo gallery Bulletin – Butt and Naved script crushing win Verdict – The perfect one-day performance On the Ball – Butt cashes in Commentary – Police hospitality Roving Reporter – A wicketkeeper in the steel city Plays of the day – Sami and the spitting cobra Quotes – Dhoni: ‘The boys are not shattered Quotes – Inzamam: ‘The toss was important’ Preview package Preview – Expect a Pakistan counter-attack Quotes – Dravid and Younis quotes News – Agarkar replaces injured Balaji News – Younis and Kaneria back for third ODI News – Inzamam reprimanded for equipment abuse
With Pakistan’s first home series against India for 14 years fast approaching, Wasim Akram has attracted criticism from Pakistan’s cricket establishment for offering help and advice to India’s bowlers during their tour of Australia.Wasim has been of particular assistance to Irfan Pathan, the 19-year-old left-armer, who has come on in leaps and bounds during the trip Down Under. Pathan, who toured Pakistan with the Under-19s last November, took over as India’s spearhead when Zaheer Khan pulled out through injury. According to one report, he spent over an hour in the nets with Wasim after India’s impressive victory over Australia on Sunday.”He is very earnest,” Wasim was reported as saying. “He is a good bloke, with lot of potential. He runs in fast and that’s the first sign of a good fast bowler.” The report added that Wasim, who is on a commentary assignment, has been India’s unofficial bowling coach since last October.It is a disappointment for Pakistan, who have stated that they intend to take on India’s batsmen with a pace barrage of their own when their series gets underway in March. Javed Miandad, the coach, and his captain Inzamam-ul-Haq both believe that Pakistan’s new-ball pair of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami can unsettle a batting line-up that has been blazing a trail in Australia all winter.”We will rely on our pacers, and with Shoaib and Sami we have two matchwinners,” said Inzamam. “We are ready for the home series against India, which will be really tough. Our young team played well in New Zealand, and with a superior bowling attack we think we can stop the Indian batting which has been performing very well in Australia.”The tour will consist of three Tests and five one-day internationals. Pakistan won their Test series in New Zealand 1-0, but were trounced 4-1 in the subsequent one-dayers.
An enthralling battle is on the cards when Karachi Whites and Peshawar clash in the final of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-I National Cricket Championship at National Stadium from Friday.The five-day encounter, which will be televised live by PTV with Radio Pakistan also making arrangements for ball-by-ball coverage, is a repeat of the 1998-99 final. On that occasion, Peshawar clinched their first major title with an innings victory inside four days under Kabir Khan’s captaincy.Karachi Whites, winners of three of the 16 crowns claimed by the city, finished runners-up five times in the last eight seasons. Their last success in the oldest first-class championship of the country was achieved as long ago as 1992-93.Moin Khan, the former Test skipper, leads a young Karachi Whites squad which faces a test of character against Peshawar who have definite edge in pace bowling department.Fazle Akbar has fond memories of the corresponding final four seasons ago at the same venue when he claimed 10 wickets in the match, including a hat trick in the first innings.Now at the age of 22 and sporting a beard, Fazle has matured into a devastating user of the new ball. His tally of 93 first-class wickets this season, including 52 in the championship, speaks volume of his consistency. But despite being the leading wicket-taker, he is constantly denied a recall to the national side.Fazle’s regular partner, Kabir Khan, another Test reject, is a vastly-experienced pacer and adds variety with his left-arm fast-medium with a haul of 53 scalps. They are complimented by Waqar Ahmed, a diminutive left-arm quickie who was the leading bowler in the Patron’s Trophy last year with 51 wickets. But despite boasting 74 wickets in th season, Waqar is competing with Umer Gul for the third pacer’s spot. Umer, 17, captured 11 wickets in five matches in the recent Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand.The Whites are handicapped by the enforced absence of paceman Mohammad Sami and all-rounder Shahid Afridi. Both are in Lahore where the national camp starts Friday in preparation of next week’s Asian Test Championship final against Sri Lanka.Tanvir Ahmed with 69 wickets, including 50 in Quaid Trophy, is the man on whom Moin will reply heavily with the new ball. The supporting cast includes Mohammad Hasnain, Ovais Athar and all-rounder Imran Javed.For Danish Kaneria, this is an ideal opportunity to make up for his huge disappointment in last year’s final against dethroned champions Lahore Blues. The Test leg-spinner bowled a solitary over for 21 runs in the that game.On the batting front, Karachi Whites look more formidable with Ghulam Ali, Hasan Raza and Saeed bin Nasir all passing 1,000 runs for the season.Saeed, a 22-year-old right-hander, is a player who is capable of progressing through the ranks and stake his claims at the highest level.Left-handed opening batsman Shadab Kabir after a successful Patron’s Trophy season with Customs was abruptly shown the door after being recalled to the Test side for the tour of Bangladesh at the start of the year. He will be itching to prove the selectors wrong once again.Peshawar were facing a dilemma at the time of filing this report with two of their key batsmen stuck up in Lahore for various reasons. Akhtar Sarfraz, the left-hander, is almost certain to miss the game since his wife is expecting their second child.Opener Riffatullah was making a last-minute efforts to catch a flight Thursday night after Wapda finally agreed to release him from their inter-departmental tournament.The toss virtually decided the fate of the previous final, which lasted only three days, on a pitch that assisted the pacers throughout. But in sharp contrast, the current strip, which is bone hard, should encourage the batsmen to play with freedom and later assist the spinners. The outfield looks in immaculate condition, thanks to the tireless efforts of NSK’s chief curator Ahsan Arain and his able team.The team winning the toss in all probability, may opt to field first to take advantage of the moisture at the start of the match.Ideally, a score in the region of 275-325 in the first innings would be enough for either team to put pressure on the other.Teams (from):Karachi Whites: Moin Khan (captain), Ghulam Ali, Shadab Kabir, Saeed bin Nasir, Hasan Raza, Mohammad Masroor, Imran Javed, Arif Mahmood, Tanvir Ahmed, Mohammad Hasnain, Danish Kaneria, Irfanuddin, Ovais Athar, Adnan Malik, Ariz Kamal, Saif Ashraf, Farhan Iqbal.Peshawar: Arshad Khan (captain), Aftab Khan, Riffatullah, Yasir Hameed, Wajahatullah Wasti, Akhtar Sarfraz, Taimur Khan, Zulfiqar Jan, Kabir Khan, Fazle Akbar, Waqar Ahmed, Umer Gul, Javed Iqbal, Nauman Habib, Zeeshan Mohsin, Abrar Ahmed.Umpires: Mohammad Nazir Junior and Iftikhar Malik.TV umpire: Afzaal Ahmed.Match referee: Munawwar Agha.
Canterbury finished the day on 257/5 but honours were shared on day oneafter Northern Districts fought back during an intriguing day of ShellTrophy cricket in Rangiora.With Canterbury 107/0 at lunch and both openers looking untroubled on abenign pitch it looked as if a repeat of last week’s one innings drawagainst Auckland could eventuate.But the defending champion Northern side showed what a hardened,professional outfit it is by strangling the Canterbury run-rate and chippingaway with wickets throughout the second and third sessions.Early on it didn’t appear as if the pace bowlers would prosper on a pitchthat was slow in pace and low in bounce. Edges didn’t look like carrying towicket keeper Robbie Hart, despite him standing close to the wicket.Northern began the match in search of a record eighth consecutive win. Toachieve the milestone the Northern players will have to overcome not only aspirited Canterbury side, but also the disadvantage of losing the toss andbeing forced to bowl first on a well-grassed but hard, dry pitch.Coach Chris Kuggeleijn said the record was not a motivating factor and itsdiscussion had “barely come up” in his team’s pre-match preparations. Hesaid Grant Bradburn’s 100th match was a far more import milestone and itwould be nice to win the match for him.Canterbury captain Gary Stead looked to be in fine touch, scoring his thirdconsecutive half-century in leading his team to a dominant position atlunch. But shortly after the break, with his score on 80, he missed astraight ball form left-arm spinner Bruce Martin when attempting a sweep andwas adjudged LBW by Australian umpire Peter Parker.Opening partner Robbie Frew (53) and Jarred Englefield (13) followed inquick succession as Northern struck back in the middle session.Chris Harris (46) and Michael Papps (35) set about repairing the damage witha partnership of 77 before Simon Doull struck with the second new ball.Although, as Kuggeleijn described it, Doull bowled at a pace “barely hardenough to knock the bails off” he swung the second new ball both ways andpicked up the well set Harris and Papps in a seven over spell that cost only12 runs.Northern’s fightback stemmed from its ability to cut off the flow of runs tothe Canterbury batsmen, with only 62 scored in the final session.The inability of the Canterbury batsmen to go on after getting starts, andthe absence throughout the day of drives down the ground, suggests thatscoring runs on the dull Dudley Park pitch is not easy. But nor, it seems,is taking wickets.Kuggeleijn agreed Northern had fought back well but said he would have beenhappier if Doull had picked up another wicket with the second new ball. Hesaid his side still had a lot of work to do to capture the remaining fiveCanterbury wickets when play resumed tomorrow.A concern to the purist would be the insidious creep of Cricket Max into thefirst-class game. The Northern players took the field in what can only bedescribed as butt-ugly pinstriped shirts. There is, of course, no room inthe game for such flashy nonsense. Next thing you know they’ll be admittingwomen into the Long Room. Quite outrageous.
Newcastle United will be looking to end their run of two straight defeats in the Premier League as they face Tottenham today.
The Magpies lost 1-0 to both Chelsea and Everton away from home in their last two top-flight outings prior to the international break and now face the prospect of a third successive loss.
They were beaten by an Alex Iwobi goal last time out as they struggled at Goodison Park in a game marred by a pitch invader locking himself to a goal post.
How many changes will Howe make to his team from that clash? Here is our predicted XI…
Martin Dubravka; Javier Manquillo, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Matt Targett; Jonjo Shelvey, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton; Ryan Fraser, Chris Wood, Allan Saint-Maximin (4-3-3)
We are predicting that the head coach will make three alterations to the side, with Shelvey, Manquillo and Saint-Maximin all coming back in.
Starting off in the defence, Emil Krafth may find himself on the bench in favour of his Spanish colleague. The Sweden international has been a lightweight throughout the campaign, losing 53% of his duels and 63% of his aerial battles, and could be exposed against the talent of Heung-Min Son.
Whilst Manquillo has not been sensational in the Premier League, he has won a solid 64% of his overall duels in the top-flight – winning 59% of his aerial battles. This suggests that he is the stronger option, defensively, out of the two and that is why he may start at right-back.
In midfield, Joe Willock could be axed in favour of Shelvey. Matt Ritchie previously dubbed the ex-Liverpool man as “unbelievable” and his form in the Premier League this season for the Magpies has justified his praise. The gem has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.91 throughout the campaign, showing that he has consistently delivered on the pitch.
Willock, who Freddie Ljungberg previously dubbed as “passive”, has averaged an underwhelming score of 6.73. As per SofaScore, the dud was dribbled past twice, failed to complete any of his attempted dribbles and completed 68% of his passes in the 1-0 defeat to Everton, which is why he may now find himself on the bench.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Finally, we are predicting that French forward Saint-Maximin will take up Miguel Almiron’s place. FFC published an article explaining why he should start and he should come in for the Paraguay international.
The ex-MLS star has been nowhere near good enough for the Toon this season. In 22 Premier League appearances, he has failed to produce a single goal or assist whilst averaging a dismal SofaScore rating of 6.60, which is why he should be dropped to the bench in favour of the former Nice man.
AND in other news, Howe must finally unleash “breathtaking” £93k-p/w Newcastle gem, he’s what they need…
A second, even glitzier edition of the Stanford 20/20 tournament, to be seen by millions worldwide, gets underway under lights at billionaire organiser Allen Stanford’s cricket ground in Coolidge.The Cayman Islands, coached by former Trinidad and Tobago captain Theo Cuffy, and the fully-professional St Lucia side, prepared by former West Indies coach and player Roger Harper, will bowl off a five-week competition that comes in the midst of the regional first-class season.The Carib Beer Series has been suspended after three rounds to accommodate 20/20, a move which has been lamented by Colin Murray, Carib’s representative, and West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan. They argue that the timing is all wrong with Test series against Sri Lanka and Australia approaching.But the arguments against the timing are not being bought by two Windies legends. Andy Roberts, the former fast bowler and current selectors, says: “It is not a valid argument, it’s a cop-out.” Explaining his position, Roberts asked rhetorically: “Why is it that in the 70s and 80s West Indies dominated all forms of the game? Why is it Australia dominate both one-day and Test matches and nobody is saying the one-day form is having a problem with their Test cricket?”It all has to do with our thinking. And that’s what we need to develop in our players, the ability to think on their feet. It is an advantage that you are constantly playing cricket. You are playing every day, so you must psychologically become better at what you do.”Roberts’ old new ball partner, Michael Holding, also dismissed the opposition to the tournament’s timing. “One thing I will say about that, it’s not the first time, and I don’t think it will be the last time that it will be happening when you see one tournament starting, breaking and then resuming after a period of time, and I don’t want to start intimating why now we are getting complaints. But I will say again, it is not the first time it has happened and, more than likely, it won’t be the last.”Going further, Holding said the mixing of the longer and shorter formats of the game was not necessarily a bad thing. “What has happened in international cricket is what you would hope-they would play all limited overs cricket first and then Test cricket, or all Test cricket first and then limited overs cricket. When in an ideal world you can afford to do that, that is great, but if you cannot you afford to do that, things have to be changed a little bit, to suit one thing or the other. Cricketers should be able to adapt.”
South Africa’s tag as World Cup “chokers” continues to follow the team but Graeme Smith said they had moved on from past disappointments. Smith said there was no hangover from the 1999 dramas that resulted in Australia eliminating South Africa in a tied semi-final.Herschelle Gibbs’ famous dropped catch that allowed Steve Waugh to go on and make a matchwinning century in a Super Sixes game was followed four days later by the tie. The dramatic last-over run-out of Allan Donald, when South Africa needed only one run from three balls, knocked the team out of the World Cup.Smith said the “choker” label given to South Africa by Waugh had become irrelevant. “The chokers tag is something we have always struggled to get rid of, which was given to us by an individual,” Smith told .”It is something this team has found quite amusing at times. A lot of those things are speculation and it [winning] comes down to the day.”The team has performed well under pressure, won from tight situations from where no one gave us any hope. I’d say in our environment that word is quite a laughable word, except when you are eating spare ribs or something like that.”Four years after the 1999 disasters, South Africa rued another missed opportunity when they miscalculated a Duckworth-Lewis requirement and finished with a tie against Sri Lanka. Again, they were eliminated from the tournament.Smith said the current line-up did not worry about their past record. “It is a team that is separated from a lot of other disappointments,” he said. “We have moved away from that and learnt from a lot of those things.”We have got the players, the environment, a great mixture. With that you need a bit of luck along the way.” South Africa’s World Cup campaign begins when they play Netherlands in St Kitts on Friday.
Noises out of India this past week have sent an immediate shiver down the fragile spine of the ICC. If anyone there was listening and, more to the point, if anyone recognised the implications, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) had even more reason to be trembling in its threadbare boots.In the space of a few days, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told the ICC it was butting out of the bi-annual Champions Trophy following the conclusion of the tournament next October (which it hosts), as well as proclaiming that it intended to arrange more frequent series with Australia, England and Pakistan. It has announced that Australia would tour India every year from 2007 and 2009, that they are negotiating to play England every alternate year and that it has cancelled a previously agreed tour to New Zealand early in 2007.In addition, the BCCI revealed that it would produce its own television coverage of all cricket in India, rather than rely on international companies to do it on its behalf. The messages were loud and clear. India, with its gynormous, cricket-crazy population and its voracious television networks, has become the financial centre of the cricket universe and is now flexing its considerable muscle. It was, said BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi redundantly, “all about extracting the most value for the board”.This equates to more contact with strong opponents who attract the crowds and, more especially, lucrative contracts for its new television plan. After that, the Indians have, in effect, said let the devil take the hindmost-and the West Indies’ record of the past decade, reflected in its position, of eighth out of ten in the ICC rankings, reveals just how hindmost we are at present.ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed was quick to point out in a terse letter to BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah, that its proposed, bilateral decisions are “contrary to ICC policy”. The ICC’s executive board, he stressed, had, as recently as March 2004, resolved to adopt its Future Tours Programme and its commercial arm had decided last October that the ICC would stage one major event each year up to 2015.The Future Tours Programme was initiated specifically to ensure that all ten full ICC members, regardless of rankings, play each other, home and away, over a ten-year period. The Champions Trophy, started in 1998 in Bangladesh, was designed mainly to raise funds to support ICC programmes for affiliate members. After itemising the priority for scheduling matches, as agreed by the ICC’s executive board in Sydney last October, Speed wrote: “With the greatest respect to the BCCI, could I urge you to take these decisions into account when you are considering scheduling of matches.”Judging by last week’s reports from Mumbai, Speed’s pleas are likely to go unheeded. And England, Australia and Pakistan seem ready to play ball, marginalising the other Test teams, especially the weakest.Hear BCCI vice-president Modi on the Champions Trophy: “We’re not free in October in 2007, 2008 or 2009. We’ve made our position clear to the ICC many times. If others want to play, they can, but why should be play in October. We’ve not signed any agreement to play in future editions.”Inderjit Singh Bindra, another vice-president, on whether India would avoid playing teams such as Bangladesh, bottom of the ICC list: “They make more money by us going there. If they come to India, they will get only meal allowance. If we go there, they make huge television revenue and title sponsorship.” England’s response to the BCCI’s overtures has been instructive.”We’ve always wanted to develop closer ties with India,” David Morgan, head of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said after talks with Bindra. “This was on our wish list that we gave to the ICC. They have a middle class which is as big as the entire population of the United States. Bindra was pushing an open door.” The West Indies and the others outside India’s chosen elite are likely to be left to pick up the crumbs. The more Australia, England and Pakistan play against India, obviously the less they will play against the rest.Already, under the ICC’s programme, the gap between England tours to the Caribbean was increased from four to six years, as huge a dent on the coffers of the WICB as it is on the region’s tourism. The West Indies have just undertaken a tour of Australia where, for the first time, they did not play a Test in Sydney or Melbourne, the main venues, and, instead, were shunted off-shore to Hobart for one match.For the West Indies, such developments, like those in India, are the inevitable consequence of their dramatic slide in standards. When they were as strong as any team that has ever graced the game and boasted a host of exciting, champion players, the world couldn’t get enough of them.After the impression created by Frank Worrell’s team in 1963, England took the unprecedented step of altering their tours from every eight to every four years so that their public could see the West Indies more regularly. The effect of Clive Lloyd’s conquerors in Packer’s World Series Cricket was the same. Once WSC ended in 1979, the Australians saw to it that the West Indies returned five times in the 1980s. At the height of the West Indies’ power and popularity, they returned to India twice in four years between 1983 and 1987.How dramatically and depressingly times have changed. If we didn’t already appreciate the real distinction between success and failure, the Indians have reminded us. The next thing you know, they’ll be telling us that our West Indies team is only worth meal allowance.It’s as serious as that.