Story Men in Maroon's dream run| 1st innings

[Fenil]

First Test, Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
Second Test, Windsor Park, Dominica
Third Test, Antigua Recreation Ground, Antigua















Credits: RPHKR for banner, Prithvi for the idea of starting a story about WI cricket, Zaxotes for his wonderful in game logos, Treva for the hawk eye images and every member whose work has been used in A Unit's megapatch.​

 

[Fenil]

Glad to see the likes of Sarwan and Gayle back in the team. Contracts doesn't matter for the fans. We just want to see Gayle and Sarwanesque cricket in the field. Hoping that Jerome, perhaps one of the best bowler in current WI unit, will be back at his peak soon.

Good first chapter. Things moving very fast already in WI cricket. Who wrote the chapter by the way?

----------

- to be dominated

Good confidence shown there.

 

[RPHKR]

Who wrote the chapter by the way?

Don't you know that?

Look at the 1st post at last.

 

[AbhishekS]

Kapil Dev the coach! The team already has my support.

 

[TheNameisNiru]

with Kapil Dev as Coach ,Gayle and Sarwan back i know will support West Indies as well. I can see Gayle Storm In Lanka

 

[Till Valhalla]

Sri Lanka Gayle Storm is coming

 

[westindies2007]

good to see another West Indies, Keep it up. Hope we can bring Home de world cup.

 

[Aditya]

Good title for the story, RPHKR! The writing is good perhaps give a little more time on the graphics once the matches start but that totally depends on you, if you're planning to go with less graphics that should work. Good luck for this!

 

[Fenil]

Chapter - 1​

Man in maroon - The journey begins...

The shoulders of West Indies cricketers are down, their faces reflects diasppointment as they board a flight to back home after yet another series drubbing in Srilanka. This has been the case for quite sometime now. The Windies has struggled to put a succession of wins of late. The good thing though is that they have got a bunch of some very talented players who have shown great resilience at times and has been good in flashes too.

However, the reputation of the head coach Ottis Gibson has taken a beating as the team returned empty handed once again. The critics, some former cricketers and most of the fans are of the opinion that Gibson should reliquish his position for the good of the team.

The two Darrens share some light moments in the nets on the eve of last tour match against Srilanka​

On the other hand, there has been media reports that all is not well between the the head coach of the team Gibson and the captain Sammy. If the reports are to be believed, Sammy is not happy with Gibson's way of coaching and is said to have chosen not to attend the team meeting right after the recent series loss. The reports seem to hold some water in it as Ottis' absence in the nets a day before the last match of the series against Srilanka only added fuel to fire.

Meanwhile, Sammy put cold water on any speculations regarding the rift between himself and the coach. In a press conference organized prior to leaving for the Carribean, the allrounder from St. Lucia said "There is nothing such as a rift between myself and Ottis. In fact, we share a good rapport with each other. Ottis is a wonderful coach and has been trying really hard for the team. He is ever ready and keen to share knowledge and to contribute his bit wherever he can." Talking about the consecutive losses of the team, the 28 year old showed confidence in the team. "We have got some young guys in the team who are slowly gaining experience and they are improving with every match. It is always good to have a mix of youth and experience and we are fortunate to have the right mix in our resources." "If you see at our recent performances, you can clearly make out that we have been playing better cricket than what we used to a couple of years back. Its that we have not been able to stitch a series of wins but we are on the right path and I'm sure we will get our act together and come hard at the opposition in the time to come" he concluded.

Sammy speaks at a press conference in Colombo, Srilanka​

On the other hand, surprisingly, Ottis Gibson's contract as head coach of national team has been ended abruptly by the board and WICB instead chose to draw a fresh contract with former test player from Barbados making him as the coach of the West Indies "A" team. Regarding the matter, WICB President Dr. Julian Hunte said "Ottis has done a wonderful job for the national team. We have some exciting youngsters like Brathwaite, Johnson, Carter and Permaul in the "A" team and feel that Ottis' coaching skills will go a long way in polishing these youngsters." "We have taken this step as per our vision to strengthen our bench strength. We hope that Mr. Ottis Gibson will like this new challenge to work with talented youngsters and the youngsters too will learn a lot from him." added the Hunte explaining the reason behind the bewildering move. When asked about the board's stance over the dispute turned rhubarb with some senior players the 72 years old informed, "A meeting will be conducted in a day or two between the concerned players, some of the staff representing West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) and the top officials of the board." "Soon, another meeting will be held consisting of WICB top officials, selection committee members headed by Clyde Butts to discuss the possible contenders for the now vacant designation of the head coach of national team. In the mean time, assistant coach David Williams will be the interim head coach of the team". said the board President before ending the press meet back home.

 

[6ry4nj]

Excellent captain-speak from Sammy there! Future PM or ambassador for St. Lucia there perhaps?!

Is he that good at it in real life? If he is, it almost explains how he gets in the team on captaincy alone.

 

[Fenil]

Excellent captain-speak from Sammy there! Future PM or ambassador for St. Lucia there perhaps?!

Is he that good at it in real life? If he is, it almost explains how he gets in the team on captaincy alone.

Nah, he is certainly better than Salman Butt for that matter. At least seems so to me.

 

[namituniyalgame]

I am excited about Gayle's performance !

 

[Fenil]

Chapter - 2​

Turn in the tide

As the media personnel anxiously waited outside the venue of much talked about meeting between the senior players and the WICB, Chris Gayle was first one to come out after the cessation of the meeting. Crampy didn't looked a happy man and stormed out of the place without having a word with the media. West Indies Players' Association President Wavell Hinds was the next man to come out of WICB office. The former West Indies opener told the media, much to the relief of fans and cricket cognoscenti, that the dispute between the players and the board has been partially solved. When asked what he meant by "partially", he informed that the board has agreed to include the controversial senior players back in team on certain conditions. "The board has agreed to consider the players in question, eligible for the national team selection but on the condition that they will not offer any contract to these players for at least one full tournament and if all goes well, the said players will be given national contracts as per the performance and if not, then the things might not change but hope that everything will be alright as both the parties have finally decided to take it forward in the right direction."

WIPA President Wavell Hinds has a word with media​

Later in the day, the team manager Richie Richardson came out to face the press reporters questions regarding the other meet held the same day about the selection of the new coach. The bass guitarist of a reggae band, 'Big Bad Dread' said, "We have thought upon many aspects before choosing the new coach including the financial position of the board and available former local greats and their availability and suitability as the head coach of the team. We think it is a very crucial position for anybody to be in and very important as far the team is concerned. We are aware of the fact that if we want our 'Strategic Plan 2011-2016' to succeed, we need to take decisions keeping the their future impacts over the team in mind. For this very purpose, after more than 3 hours of debate we have come up with the name of former allrounder and the only world cup winning captain for Pakistan, Imran Khan! We have already had a word with him and he has expressed his pleasure on being chosen for reputed designation of the head coach of the team. Given that apart from being an excellent batsman and a equally good bowler, he is a brilliant leader and this is all one would expect from a coach. We think that he is the best man for the job and can lead our team to a new horizon and with his skill and knowledge nourish our team into a cricketing giant and hopefully will bring back the good old days of West Indian dominance. Imran will remain with the team for the next two years and his tenure might well be increased till the end of the 2015 World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand." Richie conclued with a twinkle in his eyes.

Imran Khan sharing his thoughts after being appointed as WI coach​

On the other hand, Imran Khan confirmed the news of him being appointed as the new coach of the West Indies cricket team. "Yes, I was contacted by the WICB for the post of the head coach for West Indian cricket team. We had a series of conversations and I finally agreed to give my services to the team." "West Indies are a good team to be honest. They have got some exciting pacers, some good batsmen and the only department that WI has been lagging behind in, spin attack, is also looking well with the likes of Bishoo and Naraine proving their worth at the highest level. What more can you ask for?" he asked. "The Calypsos are a bunch of some immensely talented players and a few very good senior players. Unlike a year or so back, the team now has a lot of variety, both in batting and bowling" he added. When questioned about his take on WICB's decision to include the senior players in the team the former allrounder got a smile on his face and replied, "I'm quite chuffed that the board has finally decided to consider those players for the selection. This was the much needed decision and I'm glad that the way it has come. It will certainly do a world of good for the team and most importantly boost the team's chances in the future tournaments." Asked about his political career, The Lion of Lahore said "Cricket was and is always my first love and I'd any day prefer to be a part of the game and contribute my bit for it in any way I can and at the moment I'm very excited to join the team as soon as possible and hopefully we will give a good fight to the strong Indian team whom we are scheduled next to play against in our backyard.".

 

[badvintage]

Haha this is a good story, Imran Khan as West Indies Coach lets see how this goes

 

[6ry4nj]

Gee, Wavell Hinds isn't much of a talker. "Going forward in the right direction", are we indeed! Maybe he should give up his day job and be one of those "controversial" or "courageous" back-to-the-future selections!