I haven’t been doing very well as far as predictions are concerned! I had expected Australia to win the first semifinal, Pakistan the second and England the final. But things didn’t quite work out that way!

I am very happy for the West Indies. Historically, you expect a lot from them, but their performances over the previous decade or so have fallen short of the glorious standards set by their predecessors. They have been under the pump in recent times, so to speak, and this win will do their confidence a world of good. One of the best aspects of the victory is that it will bring a smile to the faces of all those in the Caribbean who have suffered from Hurricane Ivan.

England were caught on the wrong foot on the big day. They batted poorly, and had Trescothick not held things together, they would have been in deep trouble. The middle-order let them down. Collingwood and Jones fell to shots that did them no credit. Ashley Giles’ innings in the final overs proved that runs were relatively easy to come by if one batted sensibly.

Lara led splendidly and his catching was spectacular. England should have got to around 230, which would have been a competitive score, considering how things turned out.

Harmison and Co came out firing on all cylinders, as they have all summer, but Browne and the young Bradshaw did it for the West Indies under tremendous pressure. Their match-winning stand in ‘poor’ light should prompt the authorities to tighten the light rule. Usually, what happens is that the batting side starts complaining about the light when they lose some quick wickets.

They complain about being in ‘physical danger’, but actually, they want to come off to prevent further fall of wickets. More often than not, the umpires accede to their request after checking the ‘light-meter’. I fail to understand how the batsmen of today can be in ‘physical danger’, considering that they all wear helmets and pads all over their bodies. Browne and Bradshaw were up against bowlers like Harmison, Gough and Flintoff, but they came through with aplomb, didn’t they? Just goes to show that a batting side can conquer the most adverse of conditions if it wants to.

In fact, there are certain situations in which it suits the batting side to stay out there despite the fading light, and yesterday was one such.

I remember playing a One-Day International against the West Indies at Perth on a wicket that was shiny, in fact, almost ‘white’. At around 11 a.m., it became really difficult to sight the white ball as it came off that wicket, and mind you, we were facing the West Indian fast bowlers of the 80s. We were in greater ‘physical danger’ in broad daylight, but we didn’t complain!

Talking about the West Indian fast bowlers of my time, it is a little difficult to believe that this was their first win in a major limited-overs tournament after the World Cup win in 1979. Their victory provided a fitting climax to the ICC Champions Trophy.

The success of unfancied sides like the West Indies and England augurs well for world cricket.