The West Indies-South Africa in the ongoing World Cup was
another one-sided affair. It was more about poor West Indian batting than
classy South African bowling. The West Indies total of 222
was never going to challenge the best ODI team in the world and AB de Villiers’s
brilliance took the game away from the West Indies .
While it was great to watch the wonderful timing by de
Villiers, it was young Darren Bravo who caught the eye of the connoisseurs.
The romanticists and purists of the game were bored with the
robotic batting of many of the modern day batsmen and were enthralled to see an
artist painting on the mega canvas with flurry of brilliant colours. In Darren
Bravo they witnessed an artist they were waiting for. He showed that he has the
potential to inherit the class of Brian Lara.
After surviving an early lbw decision, he stunned the
gathering with his art and class. In the second over he hit Dale Steyn. The
South African pacer slid one down the leg side and Bravo dexterously guided it
to the fence. Then, off the last ball, Steyn yet again targeted the pads; Bravo
shuffled and flicked behind square-leg for four with exquisite timing.
Steyn continued to be punished by Bravo, stabbing the South
African pacer through the covers for four. That stroke was lyrical murder!
Captain Graeme Smith opted for Jacques Kallis’ experience to
topple get rid of Bravo. But he welcomed Kallis’s first ball by disdainfully
hitting him over mid-on for four. Kallis pitched the third ball on a length but
Bravo dismissed it for four wide of long-off.
Bravo was simply not rating Kallis as a bowler as he
murderously pulled Kallis in the 12th over in front of square that brought back
memories of vintage Lara. It was as if Bravo was telling Kallis, “That’s what
will happen if you bowl short-pitched rubbish!”
Then it was time for Albie Morkel to get the bitter taste of
the Bravo Treatment. The batsman slogged Morkel over mid-on; he did not contact
well, but there was enough power to send it to the fence.
Imran Tahir was bowling in the 16th over and Bravo spotted
mid-on in the circle and swung one powerfully over mid-on – the bottom hand
coming off the handle as he played that length delivery. But it still had the
desired effect – as the ball cleared the ropes!
Bravo then depended on singles and twos. Majority of them
were collected on the off-side, the left-hander’s favourite area. But more
importantly it was a sight for sore eyes to watch the sweetness of the timing
and the flamboyance of his stroke play. He has the gift of timing and his
ability to place through the gaps marks him as to quality batsman.
Bravo doesn’t have the flourishing high backlift of Lara,
but his timing and the mindset to murder quality bowling brings nostalgic
memories of the great West Indian left-hander. Bravo’s romantic batting
promises to woo many cricket fans the world over.
His classy 73, for me, is the finest entertaining knock in
the World Cup thus far. That it has come against the best attack of the
tournament is a feather in his cap.
Are we seeing another Lara on the cricketing horizon? I
would like to think so.
Note: This article has been published in Cricket Country on 28/02/2011 http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/darren-bravos-rise-is-the-cricketing-world-seeing-the-emergence-of-another-lara-796
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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