Can you handle pressure? A professional athlete has to answer this question almost every single time he or she walks out to play in sporting arenas. The young Alick Athanaze from Dominica is no different. In his brief career so far, Athanaze has had to navigate through some tricky quagmires. But he handled most of those passages of play with a touch of calm countenance. Whether it is the Under-19 World Cup, first-class cricket or playing for the West Indies, pressure seems to bring the best out of the 24-year-old.
A little more than five years ago, in 2018, we saw glimpses of Athanaze’s ability to search for third winds. In the Under-19 World Cup game versus South Africa, it wasn’t just the pulls or square drive from his willow that caught the eye. Athanaze seemed to be playing according to the situation of the game as he rotated the strike and tried to steer his side to safer waters. Unfortunately, he didn’t receive enough support as the Caribbean side slipped to a defeat. Amid the defeat, it felt as if the West Indies had found a player who was gift-wrapped with skills, supplemented by temperament.
In the same tournament, in the Plate Final versus Sri Lanka, he was at it again. None of the other batters compiled a fifty but Athanaze seemed to be in his own zone as he cracked a hundred. Sri Lanka registered a famous win with just two balls remaining, but Athanaze had found his best self under pressure. No wonder, he picks it as his most memorable knock from that tournament.
“We lost that game but that knock stood out because of the position the team was in, we were in a bit of bother,” he tells RevSportz. “I won’t say I had to go out of my character but I had to slow down a bit, because I normally score quickly. I had to get through a certain period and then kick off again.”
In the current year, we have seen more evidence of Athanaze burning bright with his side in trouble. Around six months ago, he accrued his maiden first-class hundred versus Guyana. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this knock too came with his side precariously placed. Moreover, he put on a fine exhibition of batting against a potent spin attack, comprising Veerasammy Permaul and Kevin Sinclair.
“Got my first, everything against Guyana – First half-century, first wicket and my maiden ton. I am a team-man, getting my first hundred was really special. I would loved to have won the game. Guyana is known for having a very good bowling attack; a very good spin attack. Most people have been saying in the Caribbean that we don’t handle spin very well. My team was in a spot of bother (at) 26 for 3. It was a good test to see where you are at, and what you need to do. (I was) very patient, unlike my style of play. I am proud of it.”
His battles against spinners from Guyana and Bangladesh A perhaps served as a preparatory test for the ultimate challenge of facing R Ashwin and R Jadeja, the famed Indian spin duo. On a day when the rest of West Indies’ batting unit seemed to be in a tailspin while facing the spin pair, the Test debutant judged the length with a fair amount of conviction on a spin-friendly deck.
“It was a special feeling to get my Test cap at home. Test cricket is something that I really wanted to play, I enjoy the format. It was very challenging, on a spinning deck where you are up against the No.1 spin bowler in Ashwin alongside Jadeja. To bat the way I did, negotiate the spin and still attack. Most people who know me (would tell) I do well when I am under pressure. It was a bit unfortunate that I didn’t get to my half-century but I enjoyed every bit of that experience.”
Athanaze also left a mark in his first 50-over game for the West Indies: Scoring the joint-fastest fifty on ODI debut. Although UAE wasn’t exactly a formidable opponent, the fifty once more underpinned Athanaze’s temperament. “It was a really good wicket to bat on. The outfield was very quick. I knew I I had a good partner in Johnson Charles who I was quite familiar with. I played with him for the Windward team. He understands me well, he understands that if I get going in the Powerplay, it helps if he keeps speaking to me. That worked out really well.”
Perhaps Athanaze’s sheer passion for the game is the base point for his unwavering self belief. Playing cricket for the West Indies has been his chosen life. There are stories of how a young Athanaze used to do shadow batting in the streets of Dominica. And there is also a story of how a young Athanaze carried his first bat all the way to the school, leaving behind his school bag.
“I always loved the game of cricket. I started at a very young age, watched TV, listened to my parents, and talked to my uncle about the game. I took up cricket competitively when I was about 13 years old. It was long before I started enjoying the game and playing the game. I remember, when I actually got my first bat, the first day of my pre-school. My brother made that bat for me, (and) I went to the school with that bat instead of my school bag.”
It was probably Athanaze’s devotion to his art that helped him bounce back from the pain of being dropped by Windward Islands Volcanoes. And that again is the crux behind Athanaze asking Brian Lara, his childhood hero, for some insights during West Indies’ tour of South Africa. Here was a young cricketer trying to pick the brains of a legend in order to look for sustained improvement.
“Brian was just trying to explain to me, you have to always think about the game, you have to think ahead of whatever is going on in the game and try to be a step ahead of the bowler. That really helped me learn how to plan for certain shots, to actually have an idea of what is coming based on fields.”
It is true that it is a bit too early to anoint Athanaze as the next big thing from the Caribbean Islands. After all, he has played only six internationals so far and scored a solitary fifty. However, there is an air of confidence about Athanaze’s gait to the crease, and a stamp of class behind his shots. There is a sense of conviction when he speaks, and more importantly the drive to contribute to West Indies’ cause.