Today, on 12th July 1991, three West Indies greats Jeff Dujon, Malcolm Marshall & Viv Richards played their last Test and decided to say goodbye to this wonderful sport and to the cricket world.
West Indies players were known for their swagger, aura, intimidation, and their mystifying performances. Alvin Kalicharan, Rohan Kanhai, Garfield Sobers, Clive Lloyd, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Curtly Ambrose, Ian Bishop and so many still have their influence on us. Just imagine what level of influence would be on people who have witnessed them live on the field.
West Indies were lost by 5 wickets on their farewell
The match was from 8th to 12th August at The Oval against England. Unluckily, West Indies couldn’t give them a proper sendoff they would have hoped for. England won the Test by 5 wickets. But it would not be fair to talk only about the Tests.
Jeff Dujon said goodbye after 10 years of wicketkeeping
Jeff Dujon was the wicketkeeper for 10 years for the West Indies. The acrobatic style of wicket keeping helped the ever hostile fast bowlers of West Indies to bag wickets every time. Well, it was the most painful job on the field. It’s not easy when bowlers keep hurling cannons at 90 mph and you have to stop them, catch them day in day out. He did that job for 10 years and was part of 272 dismissals. The wicket-keeping might have overpowered the batting, but he was a capable batter and very elegant too.
Malcolm Marshall is considered a synonym for intimidation in cricket
Malcolm Marshall, the name is enough to terrorize any batsmen. This extreme fast bowler also had the ability to ball inswingers and outswingers. Rarely anyone had an answer to his venomous bouncers. Just look at his Test and ODI bowling average, 20.94 and 26.96!
The great Vivian Richards has an extreme influence on people today as well
Then comes Vivian Richards. Viv coming towards the pitch from the pavilion, ohh! It was a sight to behold. He used to enter the field like a lion, who doesn’t care about anyone, taking guard, and then bowlers would conspire to bowl him out, but rarely any conspiracy did succeed. Viv is the greatest of all time, many batting legends have grown up watching him and idolizing him.
Read also: Yashpal Sharma birthday special [11th Aug]: Remembering the 1983 world cup’s star player
It’s really hard to put their greatness in a few words, it would take ages to explain who they were and what they have achieved. That is their greatness.
It was the same day, back in 1991, the cricketing world witnessed them playing their last game and passing the baton to the next generation.
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