Ongama Gcwabe
Gqeberha — The new generation of West Indies Test cricketers look to the legendary 80’s generation for inspiration as they face up to South Africa in a two-match Test series.
A lot has been said and written about the drop in standards of the Proteas Test team and the West Indies Test team over the years. Both countries have gone from dominating world cricket to struggling to return to those heights again.
The 80’s generation of West Indies Test cricketers was a once in a lifetime breed of sportsmen. Their 15 years of dominance in Test cricket, where they went unbeaten from 1980 to 1995, is a feat that looks impossible to repeat by any Test nation.
The main reason behind that unprecedented achievement was the fact that they had a greater cause that they were playing for.
Viv Richards in his career was playing for ‘the liberation of Africans and all oppressed people everywhere’. That cause saw Richards and his teammates go into the history books as one of the greatest teams the game has ever had.
“Those guys are our role models. The reason we play right now is because of the inspiration that generation has had on us as a team and the people of the Caribbean,” said Kraigg Brathwaite in an exclusive interview.
In a different world altogether to what the Richards’ played in, Brathwaite looks to lead in a slightly different way. His leadership style focuses more on making everyone in his team feel like an integral part of the team.
“For me it’s all about making the guys feel comfortable in the team. I’ve been lucky to have the senior guys in our team who have made my job as a leader a lot better with their contributions on and off the field. They have taken massive responsibility for us as a side.”
Nonetheless, the West Indies have a steep mountain to climb having not won a Test series against South Africa before. But the men in maroon bring form into the South Africa series having beaten Zimbabwe, in Zimbabwe this month.
In December, Brathwaite and his side showed real fight in Australia but their most recent highlight in Test cricket was beating a full strength England team in the West Indies last year.
“We know that South Africa are a quality side and they have some big fast bowlers in their attack but for us it is about sticking to our plans and staying disciplined. We back ourselves in this series,” he added.
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