Class of 2002 hope to do it in Park

The West Indies, says skipper Carl Hooper, are not likely to make any changes in their squad after the dreary draw at Antigua this week. India, of course, have to replace the injured and departed Anil Kumble. Columnists back home may be urging the inclusion of two spinners, some team members may be mulling over a recent, domestic, game at Sabina Park when the wicket took spin, but an assistant for Harbhajan Singh seems highly unlikely. Javagal Srinath will certainly lead a full pace attack. And with Wasim Jaffer’s and Ajay Ratra’s exploits with the bat in St John’s, the batting line-up should remain unchanged. But don’t rule out last minute, pre-toss adjustments.

It’s 1-1 at the moment. Critics are waiting to pounce upon their respective teams. If the groundsman is indeed presenting a result-oriented track, neither side has the luxury of caution. We need to win this series, said a Barbadan, for West Indies cricket, for cricket itself in these parts. Win, or else fans will lose the faith. Indian cricket yearns for a victory even more. It is not just that a chance of a series win beyond the subcontinent may not materialise anytime soon again. (It may, and may it happen this English summer.) It is not merely a desire to make up for the slim pickings of travellers of yore. It is really a test of character. This is a young side glued together by four-five seniors… the momentum of a series win could set this team careering towards a more healthy winning percentage.

Lions at home, lambs abroad. India abroad have been summarily dismissed, their self-confidence in turn dented over the years. Here’s a chance to reverse it, no matter what the odds, no matter that local hero Michael Holding will be rewinding for himself the scalps he collected with his stingers.

What a charming setting for a decider. Sabina Park, like just the very best sporting arenas around the world, is a picture in one’s mind long before one ventures inside. “An enchanted ground under the shade of green palm and the blue mountain,” is how consumers of cricketing literature refer to it, at a loss to better A.A. Thomson’s summary.

But Saturday will bring whiffs of change, besides the aroma of two of Jamaica’s most celebrated exports — Blue Mountain coffee and quality chocolate. A little pool is being prepared, lithesome models are all set to take a dip, providing distraction for some spectators and the largely male media contingent. They may languish in the sidelines, however, if the bowlers extract enough assistance from the track to keep the batsmen honest and spectators — including the millions back in India who have reset their biological clocks to stay up through the meagre exploits of heir eleven flanneled ones — hooked. May the rain gods oblige.