West Indies batsman Ricardo Powell forced himself into our awareness in 1999 with a demonstration of what was some unbelievable hitting during the Coca-Cola Challenge final in Singapore. The tri-nation One Day International series included Zimbabwe and India and it was the Indians, who had set the West Indies 255 to win, that were the victims that day of Powell's assault at the Kallang Cricket Ground.
The Jamaican made 124 off just 93 deliveries, striking 9 fours and 8 sixes and brought the West Indies from a perilous 67/4 when he joined the fray in the 17th over, to a four-wicket win. Few batsmen could muster the kind of power and timing Powell displayed, and the stunned Indians could find no answer to his onslaught as blow after blow landed in the crowd and out of the ground.
The cricket community was jolted, and the media latched on to the story of the emergence of a new batting star from the islands. Soon, comparisons were being made to Viv Richards, the great, who had wrought untold suffering upon the game's bowlers by the might and majesty of his stroke-play.
But there were a few who urged caution. Michael Holding, for instance, though he said he never saw the innings, noted that Powell hit almost as many sixes as fours, and, he offered, that was not really how cricket is played. The great fast bowler, I recall, expressed concern over what he saw as a fondness for the aerial route, and parted ways with those who prematurely anointed the then 20-year-old as the Caribbean's next great batsman.
Powell, as it turns out, had his last game for the West Indies in 2005. In 109 ODIs he made eight half-centuries, never added to his lone Singapore century, and scored only 53 runs in the two Tests he played. He had promised much with the stupendous hundred he made as a fresh young talent; that he delivered so little was disappointing to those who were seduced by his seemingly otherworldly talent.
During the West Indies/Australia quarter-final match of the U-19 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, 18-year-old Nicolas Pooran played what is likely to be the innings of the tournament. Batting first, his team was in serious trouble at 7/3 when he walked to the middle. Slipping further to 70/8 they were in danger of folding for under a hundred, and it was left to the Trinidadian to blast them to respectability with a commanding 143, adding 136 with Barbadian Jerome Jones. Pooran made his runs from 160 balls and they included 6 sixes and 14 fours, and though his side still lost, his innings is what will be mostly remembered from the game.
He had given hints of his capabilities before. During the 2013 Caribbean Premier League, playing for the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel against the Guyana Amazon Warriors, he struck 54 off 24 deliveries with one four and six sixes. Not even Sunil Narine, representing the Warriors, was able to avoid punishment.
Suddenly, but not surprisingly, the level of expectation for Pooran has risen steeply. He is now seen as a player who should go forth from here and achieve great things in the game. Many eyes are trained in his direction; should he fall short of the hope invested in him the disappointment will be immense, just like it was with Powell.
Like Holding who advised restraint those years ago when many saw Powell as the next Richards, those who envision Pooran as the next Chris Gayle, or now see him as the Caribbean's next great, would do well not to get ahead of themselves. He could go on to become an outstanding player but there is still a lot for him to learn and many pitfalls for him to avoid.
The power of his stroke-play is apparent, and his game seems suited to the T20 game that is now a huge part of the cricket landscape. And if his ambition is to thrive in that environment then he is well on his way. Nowadays, a cricketer can make a good living plying his trade in any number of the myriad T20 leagues that have sprung up all over the cricket world. Players are now able, if they so choose, to resist hankering after international cricket in general and Test cricket in particular in favour of T20 where the remuneration can be more lucrative and the stress might not be as great.
It is likely, however, that Pooran wants to excel in all variations of the game, and as his countryman and former West Indies captain Darren Ganga suggested, he might have to "unlearn a few things and tighten his game." Since indications are he has a lot to offer, we should hope that is the path he will opt to take.
The last really outstanding batsman to come out of the West Indies is the indestructible Shivnarine Chanderpaul in 1994. It is long past time for another to emerge.
www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/61873/west...-careful-with-pooran
