Out of all the sporting action going on over Christmas and the New Year, one result stands out – West Indies’ 128-run victory over South Africa in the first Test in Port Elizabeth.

If you love West Indies cricket as much as I do, the following statistics make difficult reading. The victory was their first ever in South Africa, and their first for 31 months when they beat Pakistan in Bridgetown. Since then they had played 20 Tests, losing 14 and drawing six, before their latest historic win over the Proteas.

And just to put it in more perspective, June 2000 was the last time West Indies beat opposition (other than Zimbabwe and Bangladesh) overseas.

'The Windies’ demise in world cricket has been telling, given how much they controlled the game in the 70s and 80s'


Since their victory against England at Edgbaston in June 2000, Windies have played 45 Tests overseas with 32 defeats, eight draws and five victories (two each in Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, and this one against South Africa). And here is the biggie - this was Dwayne Bravo’s first Test victory in 23 Tests and also a maiden Test win for Runako Morton, Darren Sammy and Denesh Ramdin, and a second for Jerome Taylor.

The Windies’ demise in world cricket has been telling, given how much they controlled the game in the 70s and 80s. The islands suffer from American cultural imperialism with basketball and, heaven forbid, baseball beamed into homes and so driving talented kids to alien sports.

But with a treble change at the helm for this series, it looks like they could be turning a corner. New coach John Dyson has clearly installed a steel-like discipline in the middle-order batting – Marlon Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s 100-plus stand on the opening day was the ultimate difference between the teams.

And with the bowlers facing an unlikely winning situation, Fidel Edwards and Taylor bowled with a maturity beyond their years. The other two figures in the treble may account for this – Chris Gayle as captain and the great Clive Lloyd as tour manager. Having Lloyd sitting next to you while waiting to come in is like having Ronnie Biggs as a cellmate in the slammer – you hear exactly how to go out and do the job properly.

And Gayle, the most laid-back of cricketers, brings an air of calm to what has been a rather stormy squad. His handling of the bowlers was particularly impressive. Yes, the South Africans will come back strongly in the next Test at Cape Town and the third in Durban. But if the three wise men can get the team to play intelligent cricket as they have done over the past few days, they could pull off a famous series victory.

Cricket needs a resurgent West Indies - and this could be the catalyst for a comeback we have all been hoping for.

Is this the start of something big for the West Indies after their all-too-lengthy lean spell? Post your comments below or submit an article to Sportingo.