A sleeping giant stirs

The West Indies were beaten by England in the first Test at Lords. The margin of defeat was not a large one but the better side won in the end. That is the point – the better side won. So often when playing the West Indies the opposition hasn’t really had to try very hard. Over the past decade the West Indies have shown a general lack of commitment bordering on the amateur at times. They have been, no doubt, an embarrassment to their supporters. A push over. Not so at Lords, or from what I understand in the recent home series against Australia. The West Indies have fought. They have tried and it shows. They might not be winning games but they are starting to win hearts and that is the first step. Whatever Darren Sammy is saying to them is working. Long may it continue.

Sammy's 'catch'

Darren Sammy is a cheat. He grassed a difficult catch in the last ODI but came up from it and claimed Kevin Pietersen’s wicket. Pretty poor really. Happily the West Indies lost and quite rightly so after such a display of cheating. What I cannot figure is:

• Why there was no referral system for the ODIs
• How Sammy thought he was going to get away without anyone knowing
• Why there hasn’t been that much fuss made

Had Ricky Ponting or Rahul Dravid grassed the catch there would have been howls of people calling for their banning. Sammy however seems to have largely gotten away with it.