Date-stamped : 26 Oct95 - 02:29 Author: Steve Waugh Source: Sports Weekly (May 3, 1995) As I`ve said before, air travel in the Caribbean is about as en- joyable as having a root canal filling performed on one of your wisdom teeth. But a trip to the dentist would have been more re- laxing than the journey from Trinidad to Jamaica via Barbados, Antigua and St Martin that we endured during the week. By the time we had reached the beautiful island of St Martin and dropped off two passengers, we were starting to feel the effects of jet lag, but the pilot saved us with some unintended humor from the cockpit as we eyed the tarmac for take-off. With a shortish runway in fromt of us and some rugged mountains nearby, the pilot`s words were so unsettling you had to laugh, for the other option would have been panic. His words, blurted over the intercom, were: "Today`s take-off in St Martin demands a sharp turnoff to the left once we are in the air to avoid the surround- ing hills." Touchdown in Jamaica was a relief for all on board but we now had to make the bus trip to downtown Kingston in preparation for the biggest game of our lives. The duration of our Caribbean odyssey in the air was 10 and a half hours from hotel to hotel, which is ridiculous because a direct flight would take no longer than three hours all up. Our preparations for this week were so intense and match-like that Tubs Taylor wore a bouncer in his face grille during train- ing, which is exactly how we wanted it to be as it gets everyone in the groove for the battle ahead. The wicket here at Sabina Park is unique in its preparation and appearance, with the head groundsman of 37 years turning out a strip not dissimilar to a large block of Cadbury`s chocolate which was as hard as a cat`s head. The way he achieves this is by soaking the wicket square which is made of clay; which he then trowels as if it is a slab of concrete drying. It is then rolled endlessly by a huge mon- ster roller, with the end product a wicket with a sheen on it you can almost see yourself in. The first morning of a Test match is always special, but the at- mosphere at Sabina Park was electrifying with a huge hi-fi system blasting away on the hill section of the ground and a buzz of ex- citement all around the ground and, surprisingly for all of us, we even received some applause as we entered the arena. "Tubs" lost his fourth toss in a row and Richie Richardson had no hesitation in electing to bat first in the most crucial test match we`ve ever been involved in. "Pistol" got us off to a dream start by removing the unlucky Stuart Williams with a rear- ing delivery that was well held by Greg Blewett. Once we all congregated in the huddle, you could feel how pumped up we were. I had goose bumps all over my body as the intoxicating atmosphere held me almost spellbound. One hour later, Brian Lara and Richie Richardson has us almost on our knees, with some majestic stroke play from the former, igniting the crowd and giving them the value already for their ticket admission. "Warney" managed to get the vital breakthrough shortly before lunch, having Lara well caught by "Heals", ending an honors-even first session. The remainder of the day saw another Lazarus-like comeback from the boys as we held on like a pit bull terrier to the opposition, never giving a centimetr in a courageous show of character. Almost immediately on day two we had a disastrous piece of luck when "Tubs" clipped one off his legs straight into the fearless Jimmy Adams` mitts. Worse was to follow as "Boonie" was given out to a shocker and then "Slats" fell to an attempted hook shot. The next four hours were like a dream come true as Mark and I compiled a 231-run partnership. Our lapses in concentration were few and far between as we prospered on the flat wicket from our aggressive stroke play. Thoughts of another 464 partnership were quashed shortly before stumps when "Junior" got an unplayable ball off Carl Hooper which leapt out of the footmarks and took a piece off his glove before landing in opposition hands. The good thing about this dismissal was the nature of it, for it showed the wicket displayed signs of deterioration as it broke up, mean- ing "Warney" would most definately play a big part when the Win- dies had to bat again. Victory was within our grasp and I knew the Windies weren`t going to slip through the net this time. We want the Sir Frank Worrell trophy in our luggage when we return. Source :: Sports Weekly Contributed by Brad Sparkes (BPSPA1@*.cc.monash.edu.au)