A COUPLE of wholehearted, but repeatedly rejected, cricketers were at the heart of a stirring performance that not only regained parity for the West Indies on the second day of the first Test yesterday but could have a significant psychological bearing on the eight days remaining in the brief series.
Corey Collymore, consigned by a succession of doubting selectors to intermittent appearances in the shorter game since his only previous Test four years ago, ensured that Sri Lanka’s threatening overnight 250 for four was kept down to a manageable 354 by adding three wickets with his each-way swing to his two of the previous day.
Wavell Hinds, whose three years in international cricket have been repeatedly interrupted by equally unconvinced selectors, claimed two vital wickets of his own with his underrated medium-pace outswing as Sri Lanka laboured to add 104 in four hours off 56.1 overs.
But Hinds’ most devastating impact came after tea with the bat as he led a bold, carefully pre-planned assault on the West Indies’ most dangerous adversary, the double-jointed off-spinner, Muttiah Muralitheran.
The strategy was to sweep hard against his sharp off-breaks whenever the levarage was offered.
It was perfected by Brian Lara during his phenomenal series in Sri Lanka in late 2001 and, now, with Lara by his side, Hinds roused a crowd of around 3,000 scattered around the ample Beausejours Stadium with an exhillarating attack on a bemused bowler.
When fading light ended play three overs prematurely, the pair had put on 95 from 100 balls in the hour and 20 minutes they spent together and the West Indies were 161 for two off 32 overs.
After the mayhem, Muralitheran left the ground with the rare figures of nine overs for 52 and a solitary wicket against his illustrious name.
Hinds had 74 off 87 balls with two swept sixes and three fours off Muralitheran, in addition to two straight sixes from the altogether more straightforward off-spin of Thilan Samaraweera.
Lara, in the same touch that brought him scores of 64 not out and 116 in two of the preceding three one-day internationals, sweetly stroked his first ball, from Muralitheran, to the midwicket boundary, collected a couple more boundaries on the sweep and was 36 off 47 balls.
The consequence of such a blitz on the remainder of the match and the second of the two Tests in Kingston starting next Friday can only be assessed today.
Lara treated Muralitheran with similar contempt in Sri Lanka in 2001 but no else could match him as the West Indies folded 3-0 in the series. Now Hinds has shown the way to others to come.
It followed an uncertain start in which Daren Ganga, promoted to open for the first time for the season, and Chris Gayle were back in the pavilion with 66 scored.
Ganga was lbw to Chaminda Vaas’ late inswinger and Muralitheran had the warning light flashing in his second over with a similar verdict against Gayle, back to a straight ball from round the wicket when he might have been forward.
Hinds and Lara quickly wrested the initiative away from the Sri Lankans with their dazzling display.
With Marvan Atapattu, a specialist in double-centuries, resuming with 108 in the analysts’s lap-top and their solid foundation already laid, Sri Lanka would have counted on a formidable first innings total when play resumed.
Their eventual 354 was challenging enough but it needed their last two partnerships, both involving the left-handed Vaas, to get them there.
Last man out for 37 at the tea interval, Vaas added 38 with Muralitheran and 28 with Parabath Nissanka, the big fast bowler, to frustrate the West Indies for over two and a half hours.
Sri Lamka’s hopes had been initially undermined by Collymore after Hinds had made the breach.
Ella Fitzgerald knew a long time ago that it don’t mean a thing if it don’t have that swing and it applies as much to bowling on a slow pitch as it does to jazz.
Collymore, playing his second Test four years after his first, and Hinds proved it.
Sri Lanka contributed to their own demise with exaggerated, safety-first tactics. Intent on blunting the second new ball, taken after two overs, Atapattu and Samaraweera allowed the bowlers to dictate terms.
Atapattu could not reproduce his flawless batting on the opening day when conversion to a sixth Test double-century seemed likely.
He spent 36 deliveries adding 10, was a clear lbw victim to Collymore but for a no-ball and finally snicked Hinds’ fourth ball with a loose drive into Lara’s lap.
In the next over, Collymore pinned Romesh Kaluwitherana on the backfoot for umpire Billy Bowden’s straightforward lbw decision and Lara swooped low to his right at first slip to pouch his third catch for the innings to remove Kashul Lokaurachchi.
It was the West Indies captain’s 123rd catch in his 95th Test, carrying him past Viv Richards as the most by a West Indian. Only the Australians Mark Waugh, Mark Taylor and Alan Border have taken more.
Sri Lanka’s slide continued when Collymore produced a wicked outswinger that squared up Samaraweera in a defensive stroke before ending in wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs gloves.
Samaraweera left shaking his head at Bowden’s decision that ended his tortured innings. He spent an hour and 25 minutes and 44 balls adding four runs to his overnight seven.
By this time, Collymore was running out of steam and Vaas and Muralitheran encountered no threat from the other bowlers.
It needed Hinds to return to end their partnership with an LBW decision against Muralitheran third ball and Gayle’s recall to terminate the innings with Vaas edged cut to Jacobs.