Shimron Hetmyer and the Caribbean nonchalance

There is this nonchalant swagger that we associate with batsmen from the Caribbean. When the likes of Gordon Greenidge, Sir Vivian Richards and Brian Lara used to walk out and smash the bowlers all around the park, they used to do so with an air of disdain that only the Windies’ batsmen are capable of.

One batsman who reminds us of the nonchalance of the West Indian batsmen is Shimron Hetmyer. The young lad is just 22 years old, but has been the main reason why the West Indies have challenged India in their own den in the T20 and ODI series. Hetmyer is blessed with supreme hand eye co-ordination and to match that, he is blessed with supreme self-belief as well.

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In the first ODI against India at Chennai, Hetmeyer was again at his flamboyant best. He scored a career best 139 off just 106 balls against the Men in Blue and turned the match into a no-contest. But more than anything else, it was his approach that typifies the West Indian spirit. Hetmyer did not hold himself back, and hit the ball as clean as a whistle. He hit as many as 7 sixes in his 139, with one of them landing on the roof off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja.

In fact, the Guyanese says that he grew up watching Brian Lara and he has also had a chat about the game with a few West Indian legends.

"I did look up to Brian Lara when I used to watch cricket, but most of it (shots) comes naturally to me. I am a natural stroke-player and try to play each ball on merit. I have spoken to a few legends in the past, they are quite fun actually, easy going - Lance Gibbs, Sir Viv Richards and Brian Lara, some of the other stars, too. Knowing that they are backing you makes me feel good.”

It might still be early days in the young man’s career, but he has announced to the world that he is a batsman to watch out for. While he still has a long way to go before his name is taken in the same breath of the likes of Richards or Lara, the disdain with which he has ripped apart the Indian bowling marks him out as someone special. And, it is this nonchalance that adds the typical West Indian flavour to his batting, something that made his illustrious predecessors extremely special.