Boycott espies a glimmer of hope Glimmers of hope were few and far between for the Indians at Bridgetown, but Geoffrey Boycott managed to spot one of them. "India’s new opening pair showed promise in the second innings, especially (Wasim) Jaffer," said the former English opener. "This boy can play well off the back foot, which is necessary for any opener in the international arena. Jaffer executed his back-foot shots perfectly, and I was impressed with his shot selection too." Boycott also admired the "good thinking brain" that Jaffer exhibited, calling him a good prospect for the future. India have been plagued with opening problems almost since the retirement of Sunil Gavaskar, but Boycott felt that, if Jaffer and Shiv Sunder Das could reprise their second-innings performance with regularity, the Indians could hope to win more often, especially abroad. Boycott also commented on the disparity in method, saying that Jaffer’s aggression and Das’ studied steadiness made for a happy marriage of contrasts at the top of the order.

Joy prevails in the West Indian think-tank The winning sensation, of late, has not been to familiar to West Indian coach Roger Harper, so it must be savoured when it does come along. Harper, at the press conference after the hosts’ win at Bridgetown sported a smile wide enough to span the Caribbean. "This team is getting better and better," Harper said. "We're not far from being the sort of quality side we want this team to be." The end of tough times, thought Harper, was not too far ahead. "I think this team has been going for a while,” he said. “Obviously, for the media and West Indies cricket-loving public, not as fast as we would have liked, but the signs are good now." Merv Dillon, in particular, drew effusive praise from Harper. "All credit to the bowlers, especially to Dillon on the first morning," he said of the fast bowler, who captured four wickets in each innings to walk as Man of the Match. "He really tore the heart of the Indian batting early and turned the game for West Indies. Then all the batsmen did well, put up a big first-innings total of 394 on the board to put us in total control." His captain Carl Hooper was just as delighted. "The good thing about this Test match is that the verdict was convincing," Hooper said. "We outplayed India in every department of the game, which was good to see." But Hooper was wary of complacency. "I think we should take the same spirit to Antigua, but the only caution is that it will be a new Test and there've been numerous times in the past when we've come from having a good Test match to playing poorly."

The ramshackle heritage of Frank Worrell A small pink house in Bridgetown being used at night as a den for anti-social elements is not big news – unless it is one that housed Sir Frank Worrell during his childhood. With nobody residing there now, grass is growing out of cracks in the stairs, the electricity brackets are idle, and the window-panes are broken. Charlie Griffith and Everton Weekes, one-time members of the Empire Club along with Worrell, deplore the state of affairs. "Something has to be done. The administrators have to look into the matter seriously. We have his face imprinted on a five-dollar note, but his house in such a state, and nobody is taking any initiative to preserve it," they say. It is indeed sad; except for a small marble plaque proclaiming the house’s antecedents, Sir Frank Worrell’s birthplace goes unrecognised by to the general populace.

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