The West Indies’ sensational innings and 23-run victory over England was a front-page splash for most of the major Caribbean daily newspapers on Sunday.
The Jamaica Observer called it ”Sweet Revenge”, following the home side’s humiliation five years ago, when they were dismissed at the same Sabina Park ground for 47 and Steve Harmison claimed 7-12.
”It may sound mean, but the one regret for West Indians [on Saturday] was that England beat the infamous 47,” Garfield Myers, the Observer‘s editor-at-large and main cricket correspondent, observed.
”But you can’t have it all.”
England were bowled out for just 51, their third lowest total in Tests, with only Andrew Flintoff getting into double figures.
The Jamaica Gleaner called it a ”stunning victory” and highlighted the performance of hometown boy Jerome Taylor, whose five wickets for 11 runs in nine overs gutted England’s batting.
”A number of fans were still filing in through the turnstiles for what was expected to be an enthralling second half of the day’s play,” correspondent Jermaine Lannaman wrote.
In Barbados, where the two sides play the third Test and two of the five subsequent one-day internationals, the Nation newspaper coined Barack Obama’s successful slogan from his United States presidential campaign, Yes ”WI” can!
”Neither Charles Dickens nor Enid Blyton could have written a better fairy-tale,” cricket correspondent Haydn Gill wrote.
”Five years after West Indies’ cricketers were woefully capitulating to England for their lowest total in Test history, the tables turned dramatically here.”
In Trinidad, the venue for the fourth and final Test of the series, and the only Twenty20 International of the tour, the Express newspaper called it, ”Taylor-made”.
”You had to see it to believe it. Some of those who watched it still remained in disbelief, however,” Trinidad and Tobago’s biggest selling daily noted.
”It all happened so quickly. It all happened so spectacularly. It was awesome. It was like magic.
”Jerome Taylor, the most promising West Indian fast bowler of this era, brought back fond memories of yesteryear, with a magnificent post-lunch spell that transformed a match that was set up for a nice second-innings contest into a memorable win for the home team in the first Test against England.
”Sabina Park was like the wild, wild west when the impressive Taylor was sweeping through brittle England for 51, their third lowest score in 880 Test matches dating back to 1887.
”It was a scoreboard of shame for the inventors of the game, but it was West Indies’ finest moment on Caribbean soil for a long, long time and erased memories of the debacle at Sabina Park five years ago when West Indies were rolled away for 47 against the same opponents.” — Sapa-AFP