the windies lack an image, they lack names that carry with them already the threat of the devastation the figures they refer to will bring. fidel needs to make a name for himself. garner, holding, ambrose. the names themselves have the opposition reeling. for years 5 letters kept england in a state of utter bewilderment – a e n r w.
ONE MORE SAME PLACE
ONE MORE SAME PLACE
fidel’s dismissmal of hodge was classic fast bowling. he’d been bowling consistently to nightwatchmen johnson and johnson was all at sea. the moment came when the strike turned over. with 2 balls left in a so far threatening over fidel let loose two deliveries short and wide of the off stump. hodge smashed both to the boundary for 4. an over passed from the headley end. first ball of the over, hodge on strike. fidel goes wide on the crease. he lets loose a short delivery wide of off stump. it looks just like those last two. hodge is certain off the result, another 4 cracked to the point boundary. but the angle in has been increased. the ball maybe cuts in slightly further off the pitch and hodge ends up trying to cut the ball off his chest, playing it straight to the keeper.
one of the greatest sights in world cricket at the moment is the temper of andrew symonds batting. the way he builds innings. not really building but definitely development. natural budding. he starts tiny, appears tentative, he barely moves. he restricts himself to a pin prick of a strike zone. risk is foreclosed. he sees clearly the future of his innings and understands how patience will take him there. ball by ball his strike zone expands a little contracts a little, mostly it expands. thresholds are setting themselves. as the expanding stike zone grows beyond these boundaries symonds shots become more expansive until every ball is travelling at speed to or over the rope, at times deep into the stands. it usually starts with some cracking cover drives. from there things speed up. but it is as though the risk involved at no point increases. symonds sense of the innings is superb. he is an example to anyone learning how to occupy a space.