SPECTATOR SPORT
New life of Brian
Michael Henderson
Cape Town THE cricket World Cup, which is being staged in South Africa for the first time, got off to a flying start at Newlands, the handsome ground underneath Table Mountain. Brian Lara. returning to the West Indies team after a winter away from the game through injury and general uncertainty, made a superb century as the South Africans lost by three runs. It was the best possible result, not least because it reduced the one-eyed spectators, who turned up expecting to see a nice little rout, to silence.
How wonderful it was to see Lara bat as he did. In his younger days he was commonly thought to be the world's greatest player, the heir to a distinguished Caribbean tradition of cavalier batsmanship that goes back through Vivian Richards, Rohan Kanhai and Garry Sobers to Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes, Frank Worrell, all the way to George Headley, the man who was dubbed 'the black Bradman'. Lara lost his way in recent years, on and off the field, and people feared they might never see him scale the heights again. In Cape Town last Sunday he did a bit more than that. He set the World Cup alight.
Lara is that rarest of beings. the virtuoso. He holds two records that may never be broken: the highest Test score (375 against England) and the highest score in first-class cricket (501 for Warwickshire against Durham). He achieved both feats within the space of three months in 1994, when he walked around with a crown on his head and cricket-lovers prodded one another and said that they had never seen the like. No wonder he got a big head. Then, as the West Indies went into decline, he lost his touch and, apparently, his appetite for the game.
His innings against South Africa was no one-day slog. He played himself in thoroughly before he took on the bowlers, a change of tack he signalled by driving Allan Donald, the veteran fast bowler, over his head for six. With that long, graceful swing of his bat he announced his return to the game. It was the stroke of an inspired man, and a hungry one. Suddenly, the World Cup has acquired another dimension. The West Indies will probably not win the tournament, but they will adorn it, and they will think, if we can beat the Yarpies on their own patch, we can surprise a few other sides.
Most neutrals acclaimed the result, because the West Indies badly need a lift. Their cricket has fallen into disrepair, and nobody wants to see them bumping along the bottom any longer. Perhaps this victory represents a fresh start. For South Africa, however, defeat was hard. After disappointments in the two previous tournaments, in the Indian subcontinent and in England, when they fancied themselves to win, their players badly want to finish top this time.
Foolishly, yet predictably, some members of the side have proclaimed publicly that they want to win it 'for Hansie'. Yuk. Hansie Cronje, the former captain, who died in a plane crash last year, had been drummed out of the game for manipulating matches and getting other players to assist him. Yet a floral tribute placed with great deliberation outside the main entrance to the Newlands ground before the opening ceremony carried the message, 'We miss you, Hansie.' There are times, and this was one, when you think that these players and spectators deserve each other.
Lara deserves nothing but warm words. On a glorious sunlit afternoon he rolled back the years, stroke by stroke, and helped his team embarrass the cocky hosts. Cricket can finally welcome back one of its favoured sons.
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