Francomenz

Woke up too late today to even consider going to the Oval to see the last match of the five ODIs (last night found me at the Dreams concert featuring spectacular performances from Mungal Patasar and Pantar, 12 the Band, Coreysan and up-and-coming rapso artists Surgeon Blade Panel).

But I was glued to the TV this afternoon as the Windies took us to a nail-biting final victory against India. A concerted effort from the West Indian fielders made the difference between the first match (which we lost) and all the others (which we most definitely won).

For a while there, it seemed as if we could possibly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but we held it together to give Captain Brian Lara a fitting send-off for what may very well be his last ODI match at his beloved home ground.

The West Indies has just won the match – and the series – by 6 wickets! A well-played 4 by Duane Bravo sealed the deal. It’s celebration time in T&T: the Oval is a sea of confetti and smiling faces.

Trinidad especially so desperately needed this win – for the team’s confidence, for a sense of national unity in the midst of political wrangling and an upsurge in crime, and of course for Brian Lara, who has been both lauded and blamed over the years, and under whose captaincy (not his first time at the job) the West Indies has now made at least a partial comeback in the world of international cricket.

The icing on the cake is that Duane Bravo, another Trini boy, has been voted Man of the Match.

You know, there was a voice inside my head as I wrote that last post saying, “Don’t jinx it” – a phenomenon known in T&T as “putting goat mouth” on something. Lara just went for another dramatic boundary, the ball went too high in the air, and of course he was caught out for 69. Bravo is in the crease, along with Wavell Hinds. The pressure is on – and not just for the team. Apparently, wreckers are towing illegally parked cars left, right and centre – Trinis mistakenly believed that after 4:00 p.m. none of the relevant authorities would have been paying attention. Bad call. As bad as Lara’s last strike at bat.

Brian Lara has just made a half-century at the Queen’s Park Oval and he’s still in the crease. Windies are currently 162 for 3 and need 56 runs off 78 balls to win the match and the series. Can we do this? Is the slump over…at least temporarily? Too exciting!!! In one over, the King of Cricket has hit two 4s and one 6, the latter of which went at least 20 metres beyond the boundary. Some lucky pedestrian must have just wondered what hit him!

Today, Trinidad and Tobago hosts the fourth One Day International Cricket match (West Indies vs. India) at the Queen’s Park Oval. The Windies actually lead the series 2-1 thus far and will be looking to play well today in order to clinch it.

The T&T Police Force is using this match as an opportunity to practice their security measures forthe upcoming Wolrd Cup Cricket series in 2007, and so cricket fans, who are used to parking their cars in the streets surrounding the Oval and at nearby King George V park, have been forced to park in the Queen’s Park Savannah, only slightly further away from the venue. From all reports, the traffic congestion in and around St. Clair and Woodbrook (areas that surround the Oval) was chaotic this morning. Which only partly explains why I am still at home, writing this post, rather than making use of my tickets and finding myself in the QPO for “first ball”.

The real reason is that I have deadlines to meet and I’ve chosen to do the responsible thing and forego cricket for the sake of getting some work done. But that may quickly change. The radio’s on and my tickets and car keys are within sight…