An incredulous Rob Bailey turns to head off after being given out at Kensington Oval. Viv Richards' charge has by this time taken him off towards midwicket © Wisden Cricket Monthly
There was few who would doubt Viv Richards’ contribution to the sport. Despite his outrageous dominance with the bat and regal strides on the field as captain, there were days when even the great man pulled off a condemnable act or two. Kensington Oval witnessed one such day on April 8, 1990. Abhishek Mukherjeelooks back at Viv Richards’ fall from grace.
If there was a thing called luck, Rob Bailey did certainly not his fair share of it at the highest level. He played four Tests over a period lasting close to two years, all of them against West Indies at their prime. Given a career spanning two decades and amounting to almost 22,000 First-Class runs, he probably deserved a chance against some of the weaker countries.
Bailey made his debut at The Oval in 1988 with England 0-3 down. He scored a commendable 43, but was left out till England’s tour of West Indies two years later. England won the first Test on the fifth day amidst gloom at Sabina Park, putting West Indies on the backfoot for once. It was England’s first victory over West Indies, home or away, in 16 years.
The second Test at Bourda was washed out. A potential humdinger at Queen’s Park Oval ended in dark following incessant rain when England, chasing 151, were on 120 for 5 after Graham Gooch’s hand was fractured by a vicious delivery from Ezra Moseley.
England had every reason to be upbeat going into the fourth Test at Kensington Oval. Gooch had not recovered, and Wayne Larkins and Alec Stewart were left to open batting, while Allan Lamb led England for the first time in his Test career. Bailey was pushed up to three as young Nasser Hussain was drafted in.
The English bowling attack had a distinctive Caribbean flavour to it, what with the Jamaican Devon Malcolm, the Bajan Gladstone Small, and the Dominican Phil DeFreitas expected to the burden. As for West Indies, Malcolm Marshall was fit, which meant that one of Curtly Ambrose, Ian Bishop, Courtney Walsh, and Ezra Moseley had to be dropped. They eventually axed Walsh.
The Best performance
Lamb put West Indies in, and Small struck immediately, removing Desmond Haynes for a duck. Gordon Greenidge played with usual panache and Richie Richardson cut and pulled hard, but it was Viv Richards who really took the attack to the opposition.
Carlisle Best was reduced to a spectator, but it cannot be denied that he was the spectator with the best view. He slammed 70 from 110 balls in a stand of 119, including 18 off a single over from Malcolm. Gus Logie perished just before stumps, Best was paid for his perseverance, reaching his hundred just before stumps.
Best continued the next morning, and found company in Jeff Dujon. The pair added 104. Best was eighth out after a 245-ball 104, and West Indies eventually finished on 446.
Emulating MacLaren
Larkins fell first ball, and Bailey did not click either. Stewart lived and perished by the sword, and England were 75 for 3 when Robin Smith joined Lamb. The pair added 193 in 5 hours; in the process Lamb became the second Englishman to score a hundred on Test captaincy debut after Archie MacLaren back in 1897-98.
Lamb eventually fell for 119, while Smith scored 62. DeFreitas chipped in with a few lusty blows, but England, once 268 for 3, were bowled out for 358. They trailed by 88.
Haynes lights up drab proceedings
This time Greenidge failed, but the English bowlers failed to go past Haynes. Richardson played a few attractive shots, but with Richardson and Richards falling in quick succession and Best injured, it seemed for a while that England may gnaw back into the Test.
Haynes and Logie then added 114. It was by this time that Lamb went on to the defensive and resorted to time-wasting: it was his first Test as captain, and obviously he did not want to squander the 1-0 advantage — but 11 overs an hour was perhaps taking things a bit too far.
Haynes eventually scored 109 from 177 balls, and even after Logie fell Richards mysteriously delayed the declaration. He eventually set the tourists 356 from a full day and 50 minutes.
Viv Richards was a champion, but on certain days his actions were condemnable, no less © Getty Images
“At worst, it was calculated gamesmanship”
Bishop struck early again as Larkins followed his golden duck with a two-ball duck. Bailey joined Stewart, and the score reached 10 without further damage. Then Ambrose steamed in. Bailey was on 6.
Years later, Bailey wrote of the dismissal in Beefy’s Cricket Tales: “He sent one fizzing into the body; I managed to miss the ball, but it brushed my hip and went through to Jeff Dujon. It was the last ball of the over and the umpire, a Mr Lloyd Barker, appeared to be walking off to square-leg. Out of nowhere Viv Richards appealed like a screaming banshee and did a little dance to go with it…I cannot say and will not say that Mr Barker changed his mind on the back of that appeal, but I will say I was very surprised to see the finger go up soon after.”
Barker defended himself, as was expected: “Viv appeals that way all the time and no one coerces me”. Richards, of course, had his own viewpoint: “When I do my little jig, it is ceremonial, just a celebration.”
Wisden reported: “Bailey was given out in controversial circumstances by umpire Barker after a charging finger-flapping appeal by Richards which was at best undignified and unsightly. At worst, it was calculated gamesmanship.” Wisden Cricket Monthly called the appeal “orgasmic gesticulations”.
Reporting for Times, Simon Barnes had a less polite take, mentioning that Viv’s “yelling, finger-flicking charge up the wicket looked almost like a physical threat. Certainly it conned a totally incorrect decision from poor Lloyd Barker.” Mike Selvey called it a “demented and intimidating charge” on The Guardian.
However, it was Christopher Martin-Jenkins whose lines on BBC that broke the camel’s back: “A very good umpire cracked under pressure. It wasn’t his mistake that was so sad. It was the fact that [Barker] was pressurised into changing his original decision. If that is gamesmanship or professionalism, I am not quite sure what cheating is.”
The West Indian media lashed back on the rest day. Accusations of racism came into forefront. Protesters queued outside Kensington Oval, demanding Martin-Jenkins be sent to prison! To make things worse, Barker filed lawsuits against both BBC and CMJ.
Writing for ESPNCricinfo, Martin Williamson mentioned Martin-Jenkins’ poignant statement: “I can’t believe that I have not got by far the strongest case. If it goes against me it will set a bad precedent for the future of honest reporting.”
Wrapping up
Lamb promoted Small as night-watchman, but he lasted two balls. England finished the day on 15 for 3, and lost Stewart and Lamb in just over an hour on Day Five. It was then left to Russell (the second night-watchman of Day Four?) and Smith to battle it out. The pair batted out till lunch, then tea, then an hour after tea… when Richards had one final throw of the dice. He claimed the new ball, and tossed it to Ambrose.
Ambrose ended Russell’s five-hour vigil of 55 before effecting four LBWs: Hussain fell for an 11-ball duck; David Capel scored 6, but hung around for 18 minutes, and DeFreitas lasted one ball. Malcolm hung around grimly as the light started fading, but minutes before stumps were called he was trapped by Ambrose as well.
Ambrose finished with 8 for 45 (they would remain his career-best) and match figures of 10 for 127. Ambrose’s 8 for 45 are also the second-best by any West Indian fast bowler (after Colin Croft’s 8 for 29) and the fourth-best by any West Indian. More importantly, West Indies levelled the series with one Test to play.
What followed?
– Bailey was not amused. He was fuming when he returned to the dressing-room. He kicked the refrigerator with his right boot and broke his toe. He still played in the fifth Test at St John’s, Richards’ hometown, where Greenidge (149) and Haynes (167) added 298 for the opening stand. Bishop (8 for 120) then bowled West Indies to an innings victory. West Indies claimed the series 2-1.
– Martin-Jenkins lost the case two years later and had to compensate Barker. The amount remains unknown.
– Despite his celebrations, Ambrose knew what had gone wrong. The next time they met, the giant put an arm around Bailey’s shoulder: “Rob, maan, you win some, you lose some. That’s cricket.”
– Bailey did not play for England again. Ironically, he went on to become a First-Class umpire, and has stood in ODIs and T20Is since 2011.
Brief scores:
West Indies 446 (Gordon Greenidge 41, Richie Richardson 45, Carlisle Best 164, Viv Richards 70; Gladstone Small 4 for 109, David Capel 3 for 88) and 267 for 8 decl. (Desmond Haynes 109, Gus Logie 48; Gladstone Small 4 for 74, Phil DeFreitas 3 for 69) beat England 358 (Alec Stewart 45, Allan Lamb 117, Robin Smith 62; Ian Bishop 4 for 70) and 191 (Jack Russell 55, Robin Smith 40*; Curtly Ambrose 8 for 45) by 164 runs.
Man of the Match: Curtly Ambrose.