What a cricket match spectators in Grenada witnessed during the 4th One Day International on Wednesday February 27, 2019!!! The air was expectant for sure, given the wash out of the 3rd ODI two days prior. But no one could ever have expected the batting fireworks by both England and the West Indies giving fans a 200% return on their investment! (No scientific research was done to come up with that ROI 🙂 Just take my word for it)
According to the CWI release (thanks Media Manager Philip Spooner), ” the match had a combined total of 807 runs; with a whopping 64 fours and 46 sixes.” Past results at this venue would have indicated that the pitch at Grenada’s National Cricket Stadium is friendly to batsmen, but after England were inserted by Jason Holder and amassed 418-6 off their 50 overs, for some, the visiting team’s victory seemed to be in the bag, that the West Indies batsmen would collapse under the weight of chasing a big score.
Those who thought that, were wrong. Very wrong.
Gayle signaled his intent early in his innings. No criticisms could be levied at the left-handed 39 year old batsman for a slow start in this match. My goodness, it was mind blowing!! I normally roam during matches, to try and get the pulse of the ground, spot interesting tit bits for my ‘off the field’ pieces or catch up with people I haven’t seen in a while.
I could not leave my seat!
Next to the press box, the party stand was full and boy were they vociferous, especially in the latter overs when the run rate slowed after Gayle’s departure. They were thoroughly entertained. Everyone was. I visited a few private boxes and the reactions were the same. They were optimistic and thought that West Indies would have brought home the victory. To tell you the truth, even though we lost, it felt like we won.
After the match, Chris Gayle spoke with a small group of journalists on the field. Here is the video recording, supplemented by the audio recording courtesy of Cricket West Indies. (I need to get a mic for the iPad).
Thank you Chris Gayle!