<img title="England's spinning all-rounder Moeen Ali will now have more respect for West Indies cricket after the visitors&rsquo; stunning victory at Leeds on Tuesday. Pic/Getty Images" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/aug/Moeen-Ali.jpg" alt="England's spinning all-rounder Moeen Ali will now have more respect for West Indies cricket after the visitors&rsquo; stunning victory at Leeds on Tuesday. Pic/Getty Images" /> England's spinning all-rounder Moeen Ali will now have more respect for West Indies cricket after the visitors&rsquo; stunning victory at Leeds on Tuesday. Pic/Getty Images
<img style="float: left;" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2015/dec/clayton-murzello-op.jpg" alt="" width="120" height="94" />When the underdog wins, a few people end up looking a bit silly. In my book, England's Moeen Ali certainly did, for what he said at the end of the fourth day of the Leeds Test, which the West Indies won so spectacularly and unexpectedly.
In-form Moeen, who interacted with the media after his 84 put England in a commanding position for skipper Joe Root to declare at 490 for eight, said: "We definitely felt like their heads went down after tea pretty quickly. We just wanted to keep going and keep burying them and make them suffer in terms of keeping them out in the field because their bowlers were getting tired and they were getting down as a side. We wanted to capitalise on that. We pounced on them."
Sure, today's cricket appears more competitive than ever and the spirit of the game cannot always be displayed, but Moeen's comments did not strike a chord with purists. His words bordered on boast, which international teams need not indulge in. So what if West Indies were down on Monday? So what if they came into this battle at Leeds after losing 19 wickets in a day, to be demolished in the previous Test at Edgbaston? Weren't they there to compete?
Moeen may have batted imperiously for his 84 (he was lucky not to be declared out earlier in the innings when umpire S Ravi deemed Devendra Bishoo's delivery a no-ball), but his utterances were ill-timed and should serve as a reminder that you rule out brilliance of the opposition at your own peril. Moeen ought to have complemented his shot selection with his choice of words at the press conference.
Meanwhile, the West Indians showed they have the bottle for the fight and to do that at Leeds, which is not an easy place to beat the hosts, has to be special. In historic terms, the biggest compliment for the West Indies was that their successful run chase at the Yorkshire venue was second best to Don Bradman's 1948 Invincibles' win. Set to score 404 for victory, opener Arthur Morris scored 182 and Bradman carved an unbeaten 173. The previous night, even before the exact target was known, because England captain Norman Yardley hadn't yet declared, The Don wrote in his diary: "We are set 400 to win and I fear we may be defeated." Maybe, Bradman surprised himself.
Lord's is where the England vs West Indies series will be decided and it will have to be seen if the visitors can come up with yet another brilliant show to win the Wisden Trophy.
The biggest motivation for the West Indies is their performance at Leeds. But if manager Joel Garner believes they can do with some historic inspiration, he can recall what happened at the spiritual home of cricket in 1984, when Gordon Greenidge's hard-hitting double century won West Indies a Test that they were unlikely to win. In Clive Lloyd's words, "They (England) were in the ascendancy," and Michael Holding wondered, "Are we going to win this game?"
First, the visitors conceded a 41-run first innings lead, succumbing to an eight-wicket haul by Ian Botham and then allowed Allan Lamb to score 110 which was followed up by Botham's 81. Set 342 to win, Greenidge pummelled the England bowling attack on the final day for an epic 242-ball 214. West Indies won with 11.5 overs and nine wickets to spare. Wisden Cricket Monthly magazine quite aptly headlined it, 'Greenidge's Sunday League Romp'.
In the same publication, England captain David Gower wrote: "Gordon Greenidge had not been in the runs so far this series, and I wish he had waited even longer for 'the big one'. I have never seen him bat better. When I declared, it was at the back of my mind that if West Indies built a platform, with no early wickets and someone playing very well, they might have a dart at the end."
Tuesday's win at Leeds joined Lord's 1984 as one of West Indies' finest Test wins. Like then, there was a batting hero - Shai Hope - whose twin century effort and name provides the West Indies light at the end of their tunnel. But who is to say that the islanders won't have to endure another dark tunnel? There have been sparks of brilliance in the past but they have stayed sparks on the Test match scene. A flame can only be produced if Jason Holder's men go on to win the series in England and then consolidate from there.
The West Indies supporters in London would have preferred the decider to be held at The Oval, which is close to Brixton, an area heavily populated by West Indians, but many of them will make it to Lord's and, hopefully, they can end up revisiting that calypso, Cricket, Lovely Cricket, At Lord's Where I Saw It, which was written by Lord Kitchener after West Indies' victory in the 1950 Lord's Test.
mid-day's group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance. He tweets @ClaytonMurzello. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com

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