Bt Raj Singh
Masters cricket is growing exponentially
worldwide with World Cups now being
held at 3 different age group levels: O50s
(December 2018, March 2020 & March
2023), O60s to be held in Queensland, Australia-
September 2022 and O40s in Pakistan- October 2023.
The governing bodies have accepted between 12 to 14
countries to participate in these World Cups.
West Indies were belated entrants to the masters’
cricket establishment and have since been trying to
play ‘catch up’ after they entered the 2020 Cape Town
World Cup which had to be halted mid-way through
the 3rd round matches due to COVID. However, WI
did manage to field a competitive squad in South Africa.
They had lost their first 2 matches to powerhouses, NZ
& Australia, but they were closely fought encounters
and had ratted up in excess of 240 runs in the 3rd
match against Canada where they were highly favoured
to win that match.
Most recently the O50s Marlborough Cup in England
where they finished as runners-up to England. This
tournament was contested between 4 very strong
teams -England, Wales, India & the West Indies.
Playing at home, England were always the hot favorites to win this
tournament as they had a plethora of quality players available for selection
and they had established leagues for masters’ cricket across the country for
several years. West Indies had 7 matches planned within an 11-day period.
This tour was divided into 3 separate legs with 4 practice matches and the
3 back-to-back matches for the Marlborough Cup. The tour commenced
in Wales with 2 practice ODIs against Wales in Wales; then another 2
practice matches in East London against England and India; then for the
final leg in Marlborough. To say the least, this experience proved to be
quite rigorous and, perhaps, the organizers may have misunderstood the
rigours of moving from Hotel to Hotel to Hotel and the amount of travel
that this tour entailed. The entire touring party consisted of 16 players, 1
Manager and 17 guests (mainly wives and kids). This aspect of the tour was
very important and very enjoyable since it allowed the players to have their
partners and families with them whilst engaging in their favorite sport.
After the long trip to Heathrow, the players all congregated to travel by
coach bus to Wales, another 4-hour journey, then their first ODI the very
next day against Wales. Our boys acquitted themselves well in this first
match falling short of their target by 19 runs. Several of the guys got starts
but were unable to convert to a large score- Azad Mohammed top scored
with 42, Ishwar Maraj 25, Rajendra Sadeo 21, Sunil Dhaniram 20 and
Anthony Sahadeo 17. Our bowling did well but our batting and fielding let
us down badly. Windies was also without their star player Sudesh Dhaniram
for the Wales leg of the tournament.
Everyone had a day off the next day and were hoping to
be re-energized and ready for battle in the 2nd ODI the
following day, but this was not to be as Wales won this ODI
convincingly beating WI by 81 runs. Only Sunil Dhaniram
with a run a ball 83 laced with 12 boundaries and Rajendra
Sadeo with 26 from 30 balls with 3 boundaries and a
maximum offered any resistance. Wales seamer Malith
Madurasinghe wreaked havoc with the Windies Masters to
finish with 5 for 30 off his 9 overs. Everyone then returned
to the hotel immediately to embark on another 4-hour
journey to Brentwood for the 2nd leg of the tournament.
The Windies 3rd ODI match was against a strong England
XI at Broxbourne and our guys played extraordinarily well
in the circumstances to lose by 16 runs chasing a mammoth
target of 302 for 7. England’s innings was piloted by a
masterful 148 from Richard Trotman ably supported by
James Williams with 70 off 42 balls. West Indies had a great
start from their openers, Rajendra Sadeo 57 and Anthony
Sahadeo 60 putting together 124 for the first wicket. Sudesh
Dhaniram came in and kept the run rate going with another
half century, 58 off 63 balls. The top 3 batters all went via
the LBW route that effectively dented the Windies hopes
of registering their first victory on the tour. Skipper Zamin
Amin made a quick fire 32 off 23 balls with 3 boundaries
and 2 sixes but it just wasn’t good enough. England had
gotten a scare. Prior to the start of the match, the England
management presented a gift to the Windies Manager, Raj
Singh, for his invaluable service to West Indies cricket.
The trend with our guys of having a brilliant performance
followed by a lacklustre one continued when they played
India the following day at Gravesend with 3 of our key
players rested due to injuries- Skipper Zamin Amin, Sunil
Dhaniram and Ishwar Maraj. West Indies batting first and
folded for a meagre 113 with only stand-in captain Kenny
Girdharry with 26* and Anthony Sahadeo 23 offering token
resistance. Obviously, the rigours of our travel, injuries to key
players and having to play back-to-back matches took their toll
on our guys. The Indians knocked off the runs for the loss of
a solitary wicket. Former Indian Test player, Sanjeev Sharma
led the way with 67* from 71 balls.
The next day, supposedly a rest day, entailed travelling for a
few hours to Marlborough for the final and most important
leg of our tour. This segment comprised 3 back-to-back
matches.
Our boys recorded their first victory on English soil
overcoming a spirited Wales team by a narrow margin of 9
runs. West Indies batted first and rattled up an imposing 267
for 8 off their allotted 45 overs led by a brilliant century from
Ishwar Maraj who opened the batting and batted throughout
the innings produced a magnificent century, 113 off 129 deliveries
with 11 boundaries and 3 sixes. Both Dhanirams, Sunil and Sudesh,
supported well with 41 and 25 respectively. Wales then made a
strong reply but lost wickets at regular intervals to eventually fall
short in the end. This thrilling victory enhanced the confidence level
of our guys, but we had 2 other important matches in the next 2
days.
The second fixture in the Marlborough Cup featured West Indies
vs India. India batted first and could only muster 212 off their
allotted 45 overs. West Indies\’ march to victory was piloted by its
star batsman, Sudesh Dhaniram, who chalked up his very first
O50s century. Ishwar Maraj supported well with 45 and Sunil
Dhaniram 29.
Our final fixture against England was a virtual final for the
Marlborough Cup and it proved to be a little too much for our
boys. England won the toss and batted first but our bowlers kept
them in check after the fall of their first wicket at 99 claiming
wickets at key intervals. They enjoyed a few partnerships but
was precariously poised at 143 for 5 when Stephen Foster
was joined by Martin Gidley and they staged a recovery taking
England past the 250 mark until Sudesh Dhaniram claimed a hat
trick to leave England poised at 253/8 in the penultimate over.
They eventually ended with a daunting total of 274/8 in their
allotted overs which proved too much for the Windies Masters
after losing the Dhaniram brothers very early in their response.
WI had given away a mammoth 50 extras in the innings. WI had
left too much to be done in the last 15 overs where they needed
over 9 runs per over.
Our team and its management would have learnt quite a lot from
this tournament. Injuries were a major concern for our team
which was without one of its centurions, Ishwar Maraj, for the
final. Our boys did acquit themselves admirably by finishing as
runners-up in the tournament. There were quite a few positives
in the tour:
Ø We had 2 centurions and several half centuries on tour. Several
of our players got started but did not carry on.
Ø Sudesh Dhaniram had the only hat trick of the tournament.
Ø Players adjusted well to the conditions
Ø Our touring party was a healthy 34 persons including players,
spouses, partners, kids & officials which achieved the objective of
bringing out families back to the game
Ø Our guys proved that we can compete with the top teams from
around the world even when playing them on their home territory
and they are having all their best players available for selection.
Without trying to make any excuses, West Indies is very young
into the whole concept of masters cricket and have a lot of
catching up to do. Our geographical composition does not help
in any way either since players are drawn from all parts of North
America and the Caribbean. Our team does not play together
often, nor do we have established leagues like some of the more
established nations- England, Wales, Australia, New Zealand,
South Africa, Pakistan, etc. Our next O50s tournament will be
tantamount to a mini World Cup slated to be held in Barbados
during November 2022 with 8 teams participating-Canada,
England, India, UAE, USA, Wales, West Indies & West Indies
President XI.