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West Indian Rehab

Tuesday, November 18 2003

Well the West Indies have just wrapped yet another substandard overseas effort, albeit a win this time. Now the Caribbean side will move on from the second worst cricket team in the world to the second best - Zimbabwe to South Africa. One would hope that the boys give a better account of themselves this time around and perhaps even win a Test or two. For those of you who are young to the game or who have a short memory (or low pain tolerance), the last time Lara and the West Indies ventured into South Africa for a full tour, they were demolished in losing eleven of twelve international matches.

This time we challenge with a very different pose of combinations. Brian Lara is at the helm once more, but the only others retained from the 1998/99 are Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ridley Jacobs and Daren Ganga. Some would argue that this team is better than the previous one and, until the recent Zimbabwean series such thoughts seemed justified.

What's that you say? The West Indies won that series. Statistically, yes they did, but in reality was it a victory? To continue the trend of rhetorical (perhaps) questions as well as convey my point, I ask you, the reader, the spectator, the cricket enthusiast - which team was the better team in that series? Which team showed more purpose and application with the bat? Which team bowled consistently meaningfully? Consider those questions carefully and then consider my theory. Zimbabwe largely played better cricket throughout the two-Test stand.

However, the end result read 1-0 in the wrong direction. Zimbabwe tried harder, fought harder and wanted victory more. They tried their best, but it seemed that their best wasn't enough. This may be attributed to the West Indian side simply being more talented (argue amongst yourselves) than their first African opponents. In summation, the series was a loss for the West Indies because it was for the most part counterproductive. Rather than emerging from the series having built on the confidence gained against Sri Lanka (earlier this year), the West Indies will leave Zimbabwe (regardless of the ODI exploits) to go to South Africa in worse form than when they start. The warm-up failed.

However, all is certainly not lost. We - the true West Indian supporters - are a rare breed and have been fuelled by far greater disappointments and far lesser showings in the past. Keep the faith because the Windies can rebound to match wits with South Africa, if not gain victory. That said, there must first be some basic changes to the strategy and game plan of the team.

"Success only comes before work in the dictionary". The West Indies and the WICB have a lot of work to do. First approach is to get the squad right.

Up until the second innings of the second Test in Zimbabwe, I was strongly of the opinion that Omari Banks is not and never will be a Test-class specialist spinner (i.e. a fourth bowler). Clearly his 3/35 changed my mind. Now I am more at ease with his presence instead of a front-line seamer, as long as he isn't managed in an 'Ashley Giles fashion'. By this I mean that he should not be played in every Test for the sake of playing a spinner. If these are the intentions of the selectors, Dave Mohammed should be opted for, but that is an entirely different article (stay tuned post-debut).

The second order of business regarding selection is to purchase a ticket back home for young Ravi Rampaul. He is definitely not ready for Test cricket and can certainly afford to spend a couple more seasons in tuning and preparation before he returns. If he goes to South Africa, I can't see him playing any internationals. Dillon, Collymore, Edwards, Taylor and Drakes would have to bowl some serious crap (excuse my word of choice) for him to get a pick. Alternatively, there could be a series of freakish injuries, which would see not only Rampaul bowling in maroon, but also Nixon McLean, Franklyn Rose and the illustrious Rawl Lewis. At the risk of getting carried away, I will allow you to disregard that last comment and instead focus on my firm belief that if Rampaul does play, Smith, Gibbs and various other unforgiving Proteas will slaughter him.

In the batting department we seem to have it as best we can regarding selection. Gayle and Hinds appear to be the best bet at the top with Lara, Sarwan and Chanderpaul being staples in the middle order. The only real consideration is whether Ganga should continue onward on this African expedition. After all, he only managed 121 runs in 4 innings (48 in 3 of them) against a less than mighty Zimbabwean attack. More worrying that the stats is the fact that on three of the four occasions, Ganga manufactured his own demise. Does he have the commitment to do the job at three? Myself I am uncertain on this. Perhaps a cricketer of the Devon Smith variety would better suit the requirement.

Ultimately the decision is the selectors' and many have said that the selectors know best. Personally I have disagreed on many an instance, but my hope is that this time I lose such basis.

So what next? Well you have your XVI and you pick your XI, but you can't win a Test with names on a score-sheet. The batsmen must show application and the desire to bat for long periods. Several shots (most frequently displayed by Hinds) showed an unwillingness to do this in Zimbabwe. Instead of batting for odds of thirty, forty, fifty, the batsmen must push on to hundreds and big ones at that. Against one of the weakest attacks in current cricket; Gayle, Hinds, Ganga, Lara, Sarwan, Chanderpaul and Jacobs combined for just five fifties and one hundred. Any guess would reveal that Lara was the lone century-maker.

This has to improve. If the West Indians continue to throw away their wickets and deny themselves runs against Pollock, Ntini and co., they will lose! In fact, they will not only lose but they will suffer at best the shame of their last South African tour. The West Indians barely got away with their self-destructive habits against Zimbabwe, but South Africa will most certainly make them pay dearly. South Africa won't likely be dismissed for 104 chasing 233 runs.

This leads me to the final must-do major improvement - the quality of the effort in the field. The West Indian bowlers have shown an ability to take early wickets, but all too often they fail to maintain pressure and press home an advantage. Without the ability to deny a team from reaching 250 (let alone 507/9 dec.) from 154/5, we will never achieve Australian success. To maximize on these early inroads we must take our catches. Catches wins matches, and the Windies don't win many abroad. Regarding knocking over the tail-end of a line-up, Joel Garner showed us well that a Yorker will suffice.

All these efforts combined with improved fitness and some Lara brilliance (we all hope) and the West Indies will win in South Africa, no matter what the final score line reads.

Posted by Liam