Wagner exposes Windies' short-ball frailties
Fri, Dec 1, '17
"The pitches in the Caribbean are no longer kind to fast bowlers."
A few weeks ago Jamaica played the Leeward Islands at Basseterre in the fourth round of the regional Professional Cricket League (PCL). The Jamaican bowling attack consisted of two fast bowlers and three spinners, besides other part-time spinners.
Jamaica won the game, scoring 342 and 191, as opposed to the 232 and 144 scored by the Leewards. Of the 19 wickets Jamaica captured during the game (one player was absent hurt) only two fell to seam. Sixteen wickets fell to spin bowling. One batsman was run out.
During the Leeward Islands' first innings the seamers used the new ball for eight overs before Jamaican captain Nikita Miller handed it to a spinner. In their second innings, a spinner got it after just five overs.
And this is not really unique to the Jamaican team. For a long time in the Caribbean, spin has been the preferred bowling method for getting wickets. Spinners have dominated the list of top wicket-takers every season, so much so that a few years ago, then director of cricket, Richard Pybus, contemplated initiating special fast bowling camps to augment the bowling stocks.
