Sri Lanka It's Happening

April 21, 2007

Being a Sri Lankan it wasn't easy to decide which side to support during yesterday's Australia vs New Zealand match. Towards the second half of the match I decided to go with the Aussies, it's always better to support the winning side. No such trouble today. I am cheering for the West Indians.

West Indians have long been my favourite team and like many others, i too have been a fan of Brian Charles Lara. But not anymore. In today's match, Lara's last, I wouldn't mind seeing Lara getting to a hundred. In fact I would quite appreciate that.

I remember while in school, rushing home the moment school finished to watch a series between the West Indies and Pakistan. It was a delayed telecast on MTV and I usually managed to get home to catch the first session. It was a time when Desmond Haynes and Lara held sway. Their playing was magical and bowling of Ambrose and Walsh terrifying.

I have seen many a great stand that revolved around Lara but as time went on it became obvious that he is a flawed genious. Unfortunately it turned out that he has too many faults. My feeling is that in recent years, West Indies have done better when Lara was absent (either through injury or contract disputes) than when he is in the team. Many contract disputes mean he has missed many matches. I recall seeing the West Indians beat India in a one day series in India without Lara. That's something that The Sri Lankan haven't yet achieved.

Posted by raditha at April 21, 2007 1:13 PM