Guyana and West Indies middle-order batsman Ramnaresh `Ronnie’ Sarwan will remember the 2003 World Cup for the headaches he received both literally and figuratively.
Figuratively speaking the young batting star might be getting headaches just thinking about the West Indies’ performance and the games they could have won but lost.
Literally though, Sarwan continues to be plagued by headaches after being hit by a ball from Sri Lankan fast bowler Dilhara Fernando’s second delivery in the penultimate game of the preliminary round. He was forced to leave the field for precautionary X-rays but returned and in a display of raw courage almost snatched victory for his team from the jaws of defeat.
“It is just a little bruise now but every now and again it gives me a headache, I guess it will take another couple of days before it goes away, “ he told Stabroek Sports shortly after touching down at the Dr. Cheddi Jagan International Airport Friday night.
Asked if he was disappointed with the failure of the team to reach the Super Sixes Sarwan said: “Of course I am disappointed. But not only me. I’m sure the rest of players are as well. I just thought we played too well to lose especially after playing the first game and being able to beat the host team. But the way we followed up against New Zealand and Sri Lanka and the rest of teams I thought we could have done a lot better.”
Cricket fans in the region were overjoyed after the West Indies scored a narrow win over South Africa courtesy of a brilliant hundred from Brian Lara and many predicted an easy passage to the Super Sixes.
But the team faltered when it mattered most and their cause was not helped by the weather which forced them to share the points with lowly ranked Bangladesh.
Sarwan said he felt the team did not play to its fullest potential.
“It was just unfortunate that we didn’t play to the best of our capability and we just paid the price,” he declared.
After being hit Sarwan was rushed off to the nearby Claremont Hospital but he informed that the scan and X-ray results were normal.
Sarwan said he was not of the opinion that the delivery was deliberately bowled to injure him.
“I was looking for the bowler to pitch the ball a little fuller so I premeditated the ball and attempted to get forward to the ball too early and it was just a bad error on my part as the ball before was short.”
Sarwan added that he did not think his injury affected the game in any way as there was still Chris Gayle, Shiv Chanderpaul, Carl Hooper and Vasbert Drakes to bat but they just did not bat well throughout the series.
“After returning from the hospital coach Roger Harper sent a message out to the field to let Chanderpaul and Drakes know that I was back to bat but I was not sure if they took the message the right way,” Sarwan said.
In the final over the West Indies needed 14 runs to win but Mervyn Dillon who had the strike faced four of the final six balls with Sarwan being run out off the third and Dillon being bowled with the fourth.
“Fourteen runs from six balls is always difficult knowing that you don’t have much wickets in hand so it was more or less giving it your best shot. But I thought at that point that had I been on strike it would have given the West Indies a better opportunity of winning the game but it didn’t work out that way.”
Asked about his views on the upcoming tour of Australia his response was, “Obviously that is going to be a very tough series.
We know that they are very good at what they are doing, they have been playing very well and we know it is not going to be easy but it is a very good opportunity for young players like myself, Wavell Hinds, and the God-gifted Marlon Samuels, Chris Gayle and Ricardo Powell for all of us who might be in the team.”
All in all Sarwan re-iterated that the 2003 World Cup was a disappointment.
He, however feels that the players, especially the young ones, should use it as a learning experience and do better at the next World Cup in 2007 in the West Indies.