30 May 1999
Jacobs keeps steadily on course
Colin Croft
After crushing Scotland, Brian Lara's smile broadened as he singled
out not only his seemingly ageless pace bowlers Curtly Ambrose and
Courtney Walsh for special praise but also one other crucial team
member, namely wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs.
"The veteran fast bowlers and Ridley especially have done well for
us," said a beaming Lara. "We just have to keep it up. The toughest
times might still be ahead." While the bowlers are supposedly
expected to rule because of the bowler-friendly white ball being
used, Jacobs has made his mark, in his quiet but effective way, both
as batsman and wicketkeeper. The figures speak for themselves.
Jacobs has played in all four of the West Indies' games in the World
Cup so far and he is set to make it five in today's all-important
showdown with Australia at Old Trafford before hopefully moving on to
the Super Six stage.
His value to the side cannot be in doubt for not only does he have
the highest individual score made by a West Indian so far in
tournament, an 80 not out that won him the man-of-the-match award
against New Zealand, but he also has a total of 156 runs from only
three innings. That includes two fifties and is far and away the
highest aggregate for the West Indies team. The next best is
Shivnarine Chanderpaul with 118 in four innings while Lara is
thirdwith 97 from four innings. Add the fact that Jacobs has now
taken 13 catches and one can easily appreciate his tremendous input
to the team. The five catches he took against New Zealand actually
equalled a world record for the most dismissals in a one-day
international innings.
Jacobs, though, is unassuming about his achievements to date. "I know
my role as a wicketkeeper. Simply, I must give confidence to my
bowlers. I am not too worried about where I bat. I am a team man and
would do whatever the captain, manager and coach tell me to help the
team. Opening the batting is no real problem. I have great belief in
myself and God. I can only do my best. So far, it has worked out OK."
It is ironic that Jacobs actually made that majestic 80 against New
Zealander last week for it was against the same country that he made
his one-day debut in 1995-6 in Kingston, Jamaica. He did not feature
much with the bat then, even though he did so regularly for the
Leeward Islands. However, he was already a competent wicketkeeper.
I take pride in being one of the first to suggest that he should have
had a regular Test place back then. But his way was blocked by the
underlying insularity which bedevils West Indies cricket.I will never
forget the abuse most of my relatives received from fans in the
popular Concrete Stand in Trinidad & Tobago because I openly stated
that Jacobs should be playing for the West Indies instead of David
Williams, the then wicketkeeping incumbent. Williams, of course,
comes from Trinidad & Tobago.
The other wicketkeeping sub-lieutenants then were Courtney Browne, of
Barbados, and Junior Murray, of Grenada and the Windward Islands. It
is satisfying now to have the last laugh and see Jacobs' self-belief
pay off.
The fact that he is already 31 years old is not significant. As long
as he remains sufficiently fit for the tortuous requirements of
'keeping and opening the batting, age will not be a problem. Jacobs
was born in the same village - Sweetes in Antigua - as Curtly Ambrose
but he did not actually make his Test debut until that ill-fated tour
to South Africa last year. But he performed so impressively that he
was named Man of the Series, scoring 317 runs in the five Tests,
averaging 45. His patience and composure temporarily kept the
rampaging Alan Donald and Co at bay. It was a pity that the rest of
the team could not take Jacobs' cue.
Consistency is his biggest asset. His overall batting average in his
nine Test matches to date, 32.85 from an aggregate of 460 runs,
compares well with his returns in 27 one-day internationals - 443
runs at an average of 26.05.
In some quarters, Jacobs is being mentioned in the same breath with
Jeffrey Dujon, the best West Indian wicketkeeper-batsman ever. But
such comparisons cannot be made seriously as yet.
Dujon managed 169 one-day appearnces, hitting 1,945 runs at an
average of 23.15 to go with 183 catches and 21 stumpings. With only
34 catches and six stumpings to date, Jacobs has a long way to go.
But it will be one less worry on Lara's mind against Australia,
knowing that the wicketkeeper-batsman role is back in safe hands.
Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)