da doce： Dileep Premachandran on the highlights of West Indies’ World Cup opening win

da pixbet： Short Cuts by Dileep Premachandran14-Mar-2007

Dwayne Bravo: a good day in the field © AFP
Fine leg? Try finer Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Smith may have had themdancing in the aisles, but Brian Lara was still a class apart. When ShoaibMalik pushed one down a little quicker, Lara made the deftest ofadjustments, paddling the ball so fine that the man stationed on the circlefor the stroke didn’t bother to give chase. The flat six offDanish Kaneria was stunning, but this was something way beyond the ambitof mere mortals.King of Comedy No, he doesn’t look like Robert De Niro, but Kaneria’sfielding is well worth a few laughs. The overthrow from mid-on that sailedway over Kamran Akmal’s head was hilarious, but just as funny was theattempted sliding stop while running across from third man. It appearedinfectious as well, with the usually reliable Mohammad Hafeez also doing adying-swan act over a ball that sped on to the fence.Doing an Andy Symonds may still be on the mend, but West Indies showedtoday that they possess some all-round quality of their own. Dwayne Smithfirst slugged 32 from just 15 balls, and then nipped out both MohammadYousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq. The Man-of-the-Match adjudicators could havetaken a nap after that.What a beaut The ball that got Yousuf was a peach that held its line andbounced a little extra. The joyous celebrations in the stands were enoughto tell you that it was a game-turning moment.Fetch that There were some big hits towards the end of the West Indianinnings, but none as eye-catching as the straight wallop that Samuelsproduced off Rao Iftikhar. Rao had bowled three maidens by that stage,with Samuels struggling to work the ball off the square, but with oneelegant swish of the bat, the shackles were shrugged off.”Why did you have to throw a pie?” Presumably, that’s what Inzamam wassaying to Rao after the last ball of the innings. After summoning up asuperb spell of controlled seam bowling, Rao decided to test CoreyCollymore’s ability with a half-tracker. It was a rubbish delivery, andCollymore gave it the contemptuous treatment it deserved. Inzi’s outragedreaction said it all.Made in Jamaica Chris Gayle, of whom so much is expected, may havefailed, but there were other local heroes to cheer. Samuels continued therenaissance that started with a one-day hundred in Pakistan last winter,and there were probing new-ball spells from Daren Powell and JeromeTaylor. And with the stakes as high as this, it bothered no one that Smithand Bravo were from traditional rivals, Barbados and Trinidad.No cable, no wireless Cable & Wireless, who have spent millions on thisWorld Cup, clearly don’t have a good PR department. Just about everyjournalist covering the event has a grouse about the connectivity and therip-off rates. A day’s wireless connection at Sabina Park has been peggedat USD$30, about five times what the grounds in India were charging duringthe recent Champions Trophy. Most stadiums in the UK, Australia and Indiaoffer free access, and Cable & Wireless may need to rethink thisown-goal strategy.Wags’ day out No, we’re not talking about Victoria Beckham and friends,but about the West Indian fan who’s never short of opinion or wisecrack.The days of “Kill ‘im, maan” and “Knock his head off, Mikey” may be longgone, but there’s still no shortage of quips and innuendo. “Pakistan beout for 150 … Taylor and Powell blow dem away” said one of the press-boxvolunteers at the lunch break. Soon after, Jamaica’s finest came out andwalked his talk.Pump up the volume Indian fans may be more noisy, but no one doescelebration quite like the folk of the Caribbean. As the Pakistan wicketsfell, the noise levels built up slowly and by the time Bravo took asensational return catch to send back Umar Gul, the stands were rocking.As Lou Reed sang,