What endears the Windies?

The halcyon days are long behind them. The imposters have swapped their place and triumph raises eyebrows these days, just like disaster – like the 1983 World Cup final -- did in their pomp. They had their day in the sun and the prince is now a pathetic pauper. But still, what is it that endears the Windies like no other team?

We belong to a fairly uni-polar cricket world with no end in sight for the Australian hegemony. Of course India humbled them here and there, but still they have been pretty much the USA of cricket. Not surprisingly, coup-seeking souls copied the Australian system and tried to mould their teams accordingly, though with precious little success.

But why is it so that we admire Australia but adore the Windies at the same time?

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it is the spiritual home of the game, just like Brazil is to football, or India to field hockey. Or the fact that a handful of island nations joined hands to overcome their laggard economy and difficult co-existence to find a unique solace in the bat-and-ball game. Or maybe it’s their exotic brand of cricket -- free, fair and flair – which made them subject of such a global romanticism.

Though the islanders grapple with a golden past, turbulent present and an uncertain future, why is it that we are so unabashedly in love with them? Why nationality takes a back seat as every heart harbours the dream of a Windies renaissance?

Cynism grows as the Windies contrive one after another way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory but how come they still maintain perhaps the largest fan following?

As Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Dwayne Bravo wage a grim battle against Australia at Kensington Oval, the outcome is not hard to imagine. The hosts would probably once again find a way to defeat. But ironically, while Australia wins everything but heart, Windies would win hearts again, despite winning hardly anything else.