Fire in Babylon (2010) Synopsis

During much of the late 50s and throughout the 60s, the West Indies Cricket Team put up outstanding displays of both batting and bowling the world over, but were never exactly the undisputed best like England or Australia. All of this changed quickly enough when after clinching the 1975 World Cup under Clive Lloyd, West Indies travelled to Australia and were beaten miserably 5-1, with pace legend Dennis Lillee making a mockery out of the famed Caribbean batting line-up. Lloyd replicated the same formula and having beaten India 2-1 with pacers like Michael Holding and Andy Roberts at his disposal with the same strategy, travelled to England in 1976. However, English skipper Tony Greig still considered the scheme a fluke and stated in an interview that he "intends to make the West Indies GROVEL". Fuelled by what they deemed was racism from a South Africa born Englishman, Lloyd's battery wrecked havoc, winning the series 3-0. From there on, there was no looking back, with the likes Joel Garner, Colin Croft and a refined Malcolm Marshall too joining the squad, West Indies defeated each and every opponent in the path, paving way for future greats like Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, as West Indies from the start of 1980 till 1995 literally ruled world cricket, something no other team in the history of any other sport has ever accomplished till date.

During much of the late 50s and throughout the 60s, the West Indies Cricket Team put up outstanding displays of both batting and bowling the world over, but were never exactly the undisputed best like England or Australia. All of this changed quickly enough when after clinching the 1975 World Cup under Clive Lloyd, West Indies travelled to Australia and were beaten miserably 5-1, with pace legend Dennis Lillee making a mockery out of the famed Caribbean batting line-up. Lloyd replicated the same formula and having beaten India 2-1 with pacers like Michael Holding and Andy Roberts at his disposal with the same strategy, travelled to England in 1976. However, English skipper Tony Greig still considered the scheme a fluke and stated in an interview that he "intends to make the West Indies GROVEL". Fuelled by what they deemed was racism from a South Africa born Englishman, Lloyd's battery wrecked havoc, winning the series 3-0. From there on, there was no looking back, with the likes Joel Garner, Colin Croft and a refined Malcolm Marshall too joining the squad, West Indies defeated each and every opponent in the path, paving way for future greats like Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, as West Indies from the start of 1980 till 1995 literally ruled world cricket, something no other team in the history of any other sport has ever accomplished till date.

Published Time: 2024-01-20 16:33:57