West Indies, the cricket team from the Caribbean Islands, is a powerhouse of cricket and has produced numerous legends of the game. Whether it be the pace quartet of Roberts-Holding-Garner-Croft or the big hitters like Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard. It is one of the most feared teams in T20I cricket today. Its cap has many feathers to boast of. Let us have a look at some of those feathers. Here are the Top 10 Moments in the West Indies Cricket-
1. Inaugural World Cup Title
The International Cricket Conference (ICC) organized the first-ever Cricket World Cup in 1975. The tournament was sponsored by Prudential Assurance Company, thus was named as Prudential World Cup. The mighty West Indians defeated Australia in the Final by 14 runs in Lord’s to win the inaugural world cup. Their skipper Clive Lloyd scored 102 and then took a wicket to be rightly chosen as the Man of the Match.
2. Michael Holding’s 14/149
Michael Anthony Holding was rightly nicknamed “The Whispering Death.” He proved it correct when he registered the best bowling figures in a Test match by a West Indian bowler. In a match against England in 1976 at The Oval, Holding registered the bowling of 8/92 and 6/57 to end with the match figure of 14/149. He was ably supported by Vivian Richards who hit 291 in the second innings. West Indies won the match by 231 runs.
3. Second World Title
The West Indians were not satisfied after winning the World Cup 1975 that they won it again in 1979. In this match at Lord’s, England invited West Indies to bat first. Vivian Richards hit a brisk 138* to guide West Indies to 286/9. The pace trio of Michael Holding, Colin Croft, and Joel Garner dismissed the hosts for 194 to win their second successive world cup.
4. Brian Lara Hits Test Cricket’s Only Quadruple Century
Brian Lara engraved his name in the history books in a test match against England in 2004 in St. John’s. In the first innings, Lara batted for almost 13 hours and faced 582 balls to score an unbeaten 400. This stands as the only quadruple century in international test cricket. England had to follow on the third innings, but the match eventually ended in a draw, with England trailing by 44 runs.
5. Maiden Champions Trophy Title
West Indies won its first Champions Trophy in 2004 in a dramatic fashion. In the 34th over of the second innings, Shivnarine Chanderpaul got out, as West Indies reeled at 147/8. They still needed 71 runs to win. They had plenty of deliveries, but the problem was the number of wickets they had in hand. No. 9 Courtney Brown and No. 10 Ian Bradshaw scored the required runs as the Calypso Kings were crowned as the “Champions of the Champions.” Bradshaw scored 34 and took 2 wickets to be adjudged Man of the Match.
6. Chris Gayle Hits Century In 2007 T20 World Cup
This was one of the many centuries to come from Chris Gayle’s bat. Moreover, this century came in the first match of the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. With the help of 7 fours and 10 sixes, Gayle scored a 57-ball-117. Although West Indies lost the match, Gayle’s knock was enough for him to earn the Man of the Match award.
7. First T20 World Cup
In the Final of the 2012 T20 World Cup in Colombo, West Indies rode on Marlon Samuel’s 56-ball-78 and Daren Sammy’s 15-ball-26 to post a modest 137/6. In reply, Sri Lanka folded up for 101 as the boys from the Caribbean lifted their maiden World T20 title.
8. Brathwaite Magic In 2016 T20 World Cup Final
West Indies had qualified for the final of the 2016 T20 World Cup after a spectacular win over India in the semi-final. In the Final against England, they needed 19 from the last over. Carlos Brathwaite hit Ben Stokes for four consecutive sixes to seal the deal. West Indies won their second World T20 title, making them the most successful team in the history of the cup.
9. Kyle Myers Rescues Windies
West Indies’ Kyle Myers was at his batting best when he scored an unbeaten 210-run match-winning knock against Bangladesh in 2021 in Chittagong. With this knock, he became only the second West Indian batter to score a double-century on his test debut. His knock helped West Indies to chase down a 395-run target, which is the 4th-highest target successfully chased in Test history.
10. Pollard Exacts Revenge
West Indies played against Sri Lanka in a T20I in March 2021 in Coolidge. Sri Lanka batted first to score a low 131/9. In the 4th over of the second innings, Lanka’s Akila Dananjaya dismissed Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, and Nicholas Pooran off consecutive deliveries to become the first Sri Lankan spinner to take a T20I hat-trick. In came Kieron Adrian Pollard. In the very next over of Dananjaya, Pollard smashed him for 6 sixes to become only the 2nd batter to hit 6 sixes in an over in a T20I match. West Indies eventually won the match by four wickets.
