The Quiet Wall a unsung hero Larry Gomes
Larry GomesCRICKETER OF THE YEAR - 1985 Wisden 1985 Larry GomesJust prior to the West Indians' tour of England in the summer of 1984, Larry Gomes's future as a Test cricketer appeared at an end. At the age of 30, he had been dropped from the West Indies' team in the home series against Australia after fifteen consecutive Test innings without a half-century. The young Antiguan, Richie Richardson, had taken his position in the order at No. 3 and seemingly clinched it with two successive centuries against Australia. Other new challengers for batting places had also emerged in the Shell Shield tournament.
Such pressure was nothing new for the left-handed Gomes, who has been generally underrated by the public and frequently rejected by the selectors. But each time he has seemed down and out, he has had the strength of character to re-establish himself.
Far from depressing him, his omission on this occasion merely strengthened his resolve. "It was probably a blessing in disguise that I was dropped," he said after scoring the second of his two Test centuries in the series in England last summer which brought him firmly back to his familiar role as a steadying influence on the West Indies' batting. "It made me concentrate on what I was doing wrong, on why I wasn't getting big scores any longer. I decided to go into the nets and work on it before the tour."
What Gomes was doing wrong was closing the face of the bat on point of impact when making a shot; in other words, playing across the line of flight. He decided to alter his grip, dropping his hands a little lower on the handle to have full control of the bat. Then he went into the nets, for hour after hour, subjecting himself to the monotony of a bowling machine set to one line which forced him to play straight.
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