Oh yeah, I know the IPL is alive and kicking in its fifth edition, and the slam-bang version has expectedly been hogging pretty much all the headlines as far as cricketing news is concerned.
But, somewhere far away, a yesteryear cricketing giant and a recently-usurped Goliath locked horns on the former's home soil, in that ultimate test of cricket - Test Cricket.
What has made me write about this match in particular, is the way it transformed, thanks to a very aggressive, and an extremely positive approach adopted by the eventually winning Aussie skipper, Michael Clarke.
One look at the scorecard, and you can see how the tables were turned for West Indies, who dominated for the better part of three days in the match.
Apart from reasserting the reason why Test cricket is regarded as the true test of both perseverance and performance, it also showcased the captaincy of Michael Clarke at its best.
This really deserves to be applauded in today's world of T20-dominated cricket and reactive/insipid captaincy seen on most occasions.
Consider this:
Responding to WI's First Innings total of 449, the Australians were in all sorts of bother at 285/8. That was at end of Day 3.
After staging a remarkable fightback, the team managed to cross 400 and were 406/9 just before Tea on Day 4. 101 out of 100 captains would carry on batting and ensure that the till-now dominant West Indies (who were still not trailing, as per the scoreboard), did not go on to win the match.
Most captains would prefer to bat out till that last wicket, and hope to come as close as possible to (if not in excess of) 449.
Which is where, Clarke showed a lot of gumption and despite trailing by 43 runs, still declared the innings at 406/9, with about 5 overs to go before Tea on Day 4.
Such positive captaincy infused life in the match and a hitherto missing cricketing mojo in the Aussie bowlers, who managed to prise out the Caribbean batsmen very cheaply in their second essay.
Bundling out West Indies for 148, and led by the pugnacious Watson and the ever-reliable Michael Hussey, the Aussies won a very memorable match indeed.
Thanks to the antics and belligerent attitude, coupled with the sledge-fest they naturally display in every outing, I don't say this very often for an Australian: but since they rightly deserve to be lauded for this one, credit must go where it is due: Well done Australia, well done Michael Clarke - that, is indeed what I call, a performance!
But, somewhere far away, a yesteryear cricketing giant and a recently-usurped Goliath locked horns on the former's home soil, in that ultimate test of cricket - Test Cricket.
What has made me write about this match in particular, is the way it transformed, thanks to a very aggressive, and an extremely positive approach adopted by the eventually winning Aussie skipper, Michael Clarke.
One look at the scorecard, and you can see how the tables were turned for West Indies, who dominated for the better part of three days in the match.
Apart from reasserting the reason why Test cricket is regarded as the true test of both perseverance and performance, it also showcased the captaincy of Michael Clarke at its best.
This really deserves to be applauded in today's world of T20-dominated cricket and reactive/insipid captaincy seen on most occasions.
Consider this:
Responding to WI's First Innings total of 449, the Australians were in all sorts of bother at 285/8. That was at end of Day 3.
After staging a remarkable fightback, the team managed to cross 400 and were 406/9 just before Tea on Day 4. 101 out of 100 captains would carry on batting and ensure that the till-now dominant West Indies (who were still not trailing, as per the scoreboard), did not go on to win the match.
Most captains would prefer to bat out till that last wicket, and hope to come as close as possible to (if not in excess of) 449.
Which is where, Clarke showed a lot of gumption and despite trailing by 43 runs, still declared the innings at 406/9, with about 5 overs to go before Tea on Day 4.
Such positive captaincy infused life in the match and a hitherto missing cricketing mojo in the Aussie bowlers, who managed to prise out the Caribbean batsmen very cheaply in their second essay.
Bundling out West Indies for 148, and led by the pugnacious Watson and the ever-reliable Michael Hussey, the Aussies won a very memorable match indeed.
Thanks to the antics and belligerent attitude, coupled with the sledge-fest they naturally display in every outing, I don't say this very often for an Australian: but since they rightly deserve to be lauded for this one, credit must go where it is due: Well done Australia, well done Michael Clarke - that, is indeed what I call, a performance!
