A week ago, Franklyn Rose was at the heart of the Miracle of
Port-of-Spain, helping to scatter Zimbabwe for 63 with his pace and
swing and conjure up the remarkable first Test victory
Tonmy Cozier27-Mar-2000A week ago, Franklyn Rose was at the heart of the Miracle of
Port-of-Spain, helping to scatter Zimbabwe for 63 with his pace and
swing and conjure up the remarkable first Test victory.On the third day of the second Test yesterday, his role as saviour was
in his unusual and little regarded guise of batsman, joining his
single-minded captain, Jimmy Adams, in an unbroken, record
eighth-wicket partnership of 124 that restored the balance that was
distinctly tilting against the West Indies in a wildly fluctuating
match.They finally found the correct accord between the ultracaution that
had handed the initiative to the Zimbabweans and the belligerence that
had been flagrantly missing. And their 14 000 fellow Jamaicans, who
filled Sabina Park to overflowing, celebrated the transformation as if
Bob Marley had been reincarnated and he and the Wailers were doing
their stuff in the middle.Even against an attack sorely missing its injured spearhead, Heath
Streak, the pair scored at a mere 2-1/2 runs an over.Compared to what transpired earlier when the progress was even more
pedestrian and given the significance of the revival, it was worth
every shout, jump and wave. By the time fading light ended play with
an over still scheduled, the ground was a frenzy of typical Caribbean
bacchanal.The West Indies were 295 for seven, just 13 behind, and the desperate
fight for survival that seemed certain over the last two days had been
converted into equity.It is now by no means out of the question that they can pull off yet
another victory against opponents who have again allowed a golden
opportunity to slip from their grasp.The fans had been drawn by the prospect of another Jamaican, the
idolised Courtney Walsh, becoming Test cricket?s highest wicket-taker
on home soil.Walsh?s only appearance was during the tea interval when he was
presented with a cheque for US$30 000 by the West Indies Cricket Board
(WICB), but the Adams-Rose show was adequate compensation.Adams was 87, within a few strokes of his first Test hundred in four
years, a typical marathon that has occupied just over seven hours and
263 balls, included only five boundaries and demanded intense
concentration.Rose, who batted with equal determination and more flair for 152
balls, was 53, the first time he had reached such dizzy heights in his
15 Tests. His nine fours have come from a wide variety of authentic
strokes. How good it was to see a West Indies fast bowler playing like
a batsman.It has been a critical innings for Adams personally.Thrust into the captaincy on Brian Lara?s unexpected retirement, he
has inherited a team short on confidence and, in Lara?s absence, on
batting quality or experience.His own recent form had been so patchy he had averaged just over 20 in
his previous 16 Tests, a statistic not designed to make his job any
easier.Adams arrived late on the second afternoon with things already in
strife at 85 for three, immediately to become 85 for four on
Shivnarine Chanderpaul?s dismissal. He saw out the close at 108 for
four, resumed with nine to his name and kept going at his own
deliberate rate for the next 90 overs and six hours against steady,
but hardly menacing, bowling.His principal purposes were to restore equilibrium and then to deny
Zimbabwe the time they would need to press for the result they need to
make up for their dramatic defeat in the first Test.He was losing the battle until Rose, with a Test batting average of
less than ten, joined him in the eighth over after lunch when Curtly
Ambrose edged a slip catch off the aggressive Neil Johnson.By then, the stationary Wavell Hinds had snicked the first ball he
received from leg-spinner Brian Murphy to slip after taking 50 minutes
and 31 balls to add two to his overnight 14, and Ridley Jacobs had
been well taken down the leg-side by wicket-keeper Andy Flower,
gloving a pull off Henry Olonga?s first ball after lunch, the first
with the second new ball.That the total was 161 when it was taken after 90 overs told much of
the story. The West Indies were going nowhere. They were fortunate to
have even got that far. Jacobs appeared to have pushed his first ball,
from Murphy, to silly point off the glove, but umpire Athar Zaidi did
not have the aid of the television replay for a difficult decision.After that, he put the oomph into the batting for the first time, a
theme picked up by Rose from the moment he came in until he was well
set and the game plan required him to remain with his captain for as
long as he could.Adams was not always in command. There were a couple of close lbw
appeals and he offered a difficult chance to Johnson, diving wide to
his left at second slip, off the left-arm medium-pacer Brian Strang
when he was 35.Characteristically, he could not be distracted from his goal, only
allowing himself the freedom of a few shots once he was confident Rose
had got the hang of things after tea. A square-cut and a pull to the
boundary off Johnson were strokes of a batsman again beginning to
regain his form and self-confidence.
