The journey from Trinidad to Antigua is a flight of fancy,quite literally. Its difficult to not sit sticking your nose to the flight window and gaze down at the geographical wonders that litter the surface below. If the shimmering waters of the Caribbean Sea do not provide a celestial enough feel,then the array of islands part of the Grenadines all of varying shapes and sizes,definitely do. The landing at St Vincent,en route to Antigua,almost feels like a death-drop as the run-way is situated just meters from the Caribbean Sea. On and off,giant cruise ships and fancy yachts also come to view. But unlike in Trinidad,the Antiguan landscape is not made up of too many modern state-of-the-art architecture and provides a more quaint countryside feel. The Antiguans themselves,while being as welcoming as elsewhere in the Caribbean,do not smile as much as the Trinidadians,and also speak with an entirely different tongue. Houses are situated far apart in the land famous for its 365 beaches one per day as the locals love to say and each one of them seems to have a uniquely scenic setting. The roads too wind up and down picturesque hills and mountains,while you can never lose sight of the Caribbean Sea which is constantly lingering not too far. Over the years,Antigua has not produced the same quantity of cricketers that Trinidad & Tobago has managed to,but the ones that have worn the West Indian cap have been among the greatest ever. Andy Roberts,Richie Richardson,Winston Benjamin and Ridley Jacobs all came from here. And the new stadium is not surprisingly named after the most famous son of the soil who goes by the name of Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards. And it is at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound that India and West Indies will resume their ODI series on Saturday. And notwithstanding the drastic change in climes,the cricket and the domination of the Indians so far in the tour is very unlikely to transform. The Indians had it a bit too easy in Trinidad for the T20 and the first two ODIs,and they will be looking forward to seal the series in Antigua and in all likelihood should be in for a shot at sealing a clean-sweep when they leave for Jamaica for the final ODI. One man the entire Caribbean was banking on to return,almost like awaiting the arrival of a messiah,was Chris Gayle. But with both Gayle and the WICB continuing to overcome their egos and reach a compromise the former West Indian captain is said to have opted out of a meeting on Friday citing personal reasons and is set to meet the board only next week before the Test series even that glimmer of hope has been nullified for the local fans. Lack of application Amidst the plethora of problems hurting West Indian cricket,the main issue so far in the series has been the lack of application from their batsmen on both occasions. They never came to the party in the first ODI,and threw away a sizable advantage in the second,leaving the Indians with comfortable targets to chase down. Ramnaresh Sarwan has scored two half-centuries,but the rest have either thrown their wickets away or like Kieron Pollard not been prepared to slug it out for too long. The bowling has been erratic with no bowler really standing out,though Kemar Roachs return should bolster the ranks to some extent. The decision to rest Ravi Rampaul and allowing Dwayne Bravo to opt out seem that much more inexplicable with the series almost gone. The Indians on the other hand have all their bases sorted. The openers have scored a fifty each. And Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have each played a match-winning innings in the middle-order. Suresh Raina hasnt had to make too many drastic decisions on the field thanks to the inept West Indian batting,while all his bowlers have picked up wickets and looked incisive. Add to it the fact that the West Indies have never won a match at North Sound in four attempts. The tranquil Antiguan air might fill anyone with lots of hope and promise,but salvation seems too distant for the beleaguered West Indians. Live on TEN Cricket: 6:30pm
