Report Card: Rating the Windies Team

As the post-mortems into the W.I v India Test series hit a high gear, the free section of Wisden Online offers a detailed report card on the West Indies players who appeared in the series.

On a scale of 1-10, Wisden rates the players, from the reliability of Shiv Chanderpaul to the mediocrity of Junior Murray, no player is spared. In this article, CaribbeanCricket.com republishes the Wisden report card and offers some comments of its own...

Impeccable. The man of the series and the difference between the sides. Chanderpaul made a mockery of his career figures, scoring more centuries in six weeks than he had previously managed in eight years of Test cricket. His 293-run partnership with Carl Hooper at Guyana set the tone for the series, but it was his shepherding of a notoriously flimsy tail that caught the eye. Combining the patience of Jimmy Adams with the nurdling skills of Michael Bevan, Chanderpaul learned from the Trinidad defeat, and slammed the door shut each time India threatened a breakthrough.

CaribbeanCricket.com's take: We're surprised Wisden didn't take a harder look at Chanderpaul's gaffe during the Queen's Park Oval Test when many believed he never made a hard enough attempt to protect the tail and win the game for the West Indies. Indeed, if one was to test the pulse of the fans, the discussions have pegged Chanderpaul as either the hero or goat. There is no middle ground. That said, Wisden's rating of 9 was spot on. He was the difference in this series.

CARL HOOPER -- 8.5
The series his legions of fans had always hoped for, but never quite believed would happen. Where Chanderpaul was impish, Cool Carl was imperious ? time and again he seized the initiative in a manner that Brian Lara would have approved of. But his captaincy, by contrast, remained auspiciously retroactive, and ?- given his form -? he loses half a mark for failing to guide West Indies home on that tense final morning in Trinidad.

CaribbeanCricket.com's take: Again, we have no quibble with Wisden's 8.5 score for the skipper. And, yes, he most definitely takes criticisms for the dismissal in Trinidad, especially the shot-selection in the second innings. We'd have also knocked Hooper for several decisions he made on winning the toss (especially in Barbados) but, in the end, results are what matters. Hooper must also get credit for improving the mental strength of the team. Where, in the past, the team would have shut shop and gone home, this series will be remembered for the fighting spirit shown throughout. Hooper, as captain, must take a bow for that.

RIDLEY JACOBS -- 8.5
His axing for the first two Tests shook him out of his torpor, and for the final ? crucial ? three matches, Ridley was back to his abrasive best. His five catches in Barbados made amends for a fourth-ball duck, and his century at St John's put paid to hopes of an Indian revival. But it was his counterattacking 59 at Sabina Park, after West Indies had lost four wickets for 46, that effectively sealed the series.

CaribbeanCricket.com's take: Can anyone imagine what would have happened if Junior Murray had gotten runs in Guyana or Trinidad? (Shudder). However, we're not surprised things turned out in Jacobs' favour. As a matter of fact, we never viewed Jacobs' non selection for the first two Tests as an "axing". He was being "rested". And, he came back with a bang, both with bat and gloves. Wisden's 8.5 score is well-deserved.

MERV DILLON -- 7
After the posturing, the pay-out. With 23 wickets at 27.22, Mervyn Dillon at last provided the consistency to match his undoubted ability. His first-ball dismissal of SS Das at Bridgetown was the turning-point of the series, and maybe even his career. Nevertheless, his hideous hoick in the final innings at Kingston was the shot of a man who still harbours delusions of grandeur.

CaribbeanCricket.com's take: Dillon's big mouth got him into trouble in Trinidad when he all but assured the game was won before the West Indies began that fateful final day. Cockiness? Maybe. Confidence? Absolutely. And, we like that in our strike bowler. Dillon's aggressiveness was refreshing and, finally, he had the numbers to show for his hard work. Wisden should have added a half-point. We think Dillon gets a 7.5.

WAVELL HINDS -- 7
Took his opportunity when it came along, but left everyone wanting more. Tall and imposing at the crease, Hinds has the presence to take on the world?s best bowlers, but as yet he lacks the discipline. His second Test century at Sabina Park was a case in point. India?s bowlers were at his mercy until he played a reckless inside-out lofted drive to Harbhajan?s first ball from over the wicket, and an out-of-form Brian Lara was exposed for the final hour of the day.

CaribbeanCricket.com's take: Doesn't a player get credit for batting out of position? Once the selectors realised the folly of their Stuart Williams gamble, Wavell Hinds was suddenly pushed into the fire and he came out smelling of roses. It's not easy to succeed in a specialist position, particularly among openers and Hinds' good form in Antigua and Jamaica breathed some fresh air into the topsy-turvy opening position. Yes, Wisden was right to criticise his shot-selection after the commanding Sabina Park innings but, to hold it against the left-hander wasn't quite fair. Oh, more importantly, didn't Wisden notice his spectacular fielding under the bat? We did. And for that, we give Hinds a 7.5.

CAMERON CUFFY -- 7
West Indian fast bowlers are not renowned for their parsimony, except when the ball is too quick to lay a bat on. But Cameron Cuffy?s spell of 18-15-3-0 in the second innings at Bridgetown typified his wholehearted approach. Colin Croft may scoff, but line-and-length has won matches in the Caribbean before ? Glenn McGrath and Angus Fraser, take a bow. Cuffy was the second-highest wicket-taker in the series, and by far the most economical.

CaribbeanCricket.com's take: What does Colin Croft's loudmouth penchant for scoffing have to do with Cuffy's superb series? Where Dillon was into the staredown game, Cuffy was quiet. But, don't dare believe he is passive. In fact, Cuffy was the best bowler in the series -- on both sides. For a change, he remained healthy enough to play in all five Tests and that in itself gives him an extra half point. Cuffy kept the Indians on a tight leash throughout, allowing Dillon, Sanford and Collins to take the wickets when the visitors tried to score. Cuffy deserves a full 8 points for this breakout performance.

PEDRO COLLINS -- 6.5
Dismissed Sachin Tendulkar twice in three balls in Barbados and Antigua, and again ? vitally ? in the final innings at Sabina Park, an achievement in itself. Yet, Collins recognised his limitations, and stuck within them admirably, to the detriment of his end-of-series figures. This was never more in evidence than in his batting, and his 48-run partnership with Chanderpaul at Kingston was an example to tailenders on both sides.

CaribbeanCricket.com's take: Despite his heroics, particularly in Jamaica, Collins is still a bowler with a Test average hovering around 50 runs per wicket. Yes, he practically 'owned' Tendulkar towards the end of the series but, to be fair, he shouldn't even be in the West Indies site. Putting aside our bias against Collins, there were some positive signs from the Bajan left-armer. For the first time, we saw him changing points of attack, bowling over and around the wicket at intervals and this helped to confuse the batsmen. He held his catches (exhale) and bent his back when things weren't quite perfect. Still, we take away the .5 and give Collins a round score of 6.

RAMNARESH SARWAN -- 6.5
Multiply his rating by ten and you get his top score for the series ? a travesty for a batsman who looked so composed at all times. Accidents singled him out, and he was unfortunate with a decision or two, but it is time he converted those fifties (13 of them now) into hundreds. An unexpected bonus is the emergence of his little-used legspin, which pinched two important wickets at Bridgetown, and topped the series averages.

CaribbeanCricket.com's take: Is Wisden being serious with Sarwan's score? Yes, the expectations are super high for someone with Sarwan's obvious talent, but to give him a 6.5 score (the same as Collins) is a travesty. Yes, he needs to (hurriedly) start converting those 50s into hundreds but, jeez, doesn't a 45.28 average in five Tests count for nothing? Sometimes, we think people get addled by the need for centuries and forget a batsman's value, even if he consistently gets out in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Because he was practically an opening batsman for much of the series, we dismiss Wisden's ranking and give the Guyanese right-hander a 7.5 score.

CHRIS GAYLE -- 6
Looks the part, but lacks the proof. Gayle is worth persevering with, especially in partnership with Wavell Hinds, but his series average of 29.43 was a disappointment. His best innings ? 68 at Sabina Park ? was hampered by cramp, but he is fortunate that the efforts of Sarwan, Hooper and Chanderpaul papered over the cracks he left at the very top of the order.

CaribbeanCricket.com's take: This is another mistake by Wisden.com to give Gayle a score of 6 when his batting seems to have regressed considerably since dominating the Zimbabweans. An average of 29 against India's non-threatening attack should automatically delete a point. The heart ailments and cramps that disturb his innings (career) are very worrying signs. We give Gayle a score of 5 and warn that New Zealand could well be his farewell series if he doesn't shape up.

ADAM SANFORD -- 5
The jury is still out. Fifteen wickets in your debut series is no mean feat, but Sanford is not quite the man-eater his Carib heritage would suggest. He lacks a consistent top speed, and his awkward action can collapse under pressure. Nevertheless, he has an undoubted wicket-taking ability, and each of India?s top six fell to him at some stage of the series.

CaribbeanCricket.com's take: Sanford's inconsistencies in his debut series could be attributed to the way he was used by Hooper. Many times, no one was sure (not even Sanford himself) what his role was on the team. We were told he could be a Walsh-like workhorse who could bowl for long periods, allowing for Hooper to rotate the other pacers in shorter bursts. But, in the five Tests, he bowled less overs than Dillon and Cuffy. Hell, if Collins had played all five Tests, he would have bowled more than Sanford. Still, the debutant should be proud of his 15 wickets and pray he gets another bowl against New Zealand. We increase Sanford's score to 6.

BRIAN LARA -- 5
Never match fit and it showed. It was expecting a lot of Lara to pick up where he had left off prior to his elbow injury in Sri Lanka, but if any attack was asking for the full treatment, it was India's. Yet, from West Indies' point of view, it was encouraging to discover that they are not a one-man batting line-up after all. From the neutrals' point of view, the anticipated Lara v Tendulkar duel was a desperate disappointment.

CaribbeanCricket.com's take: The great man should have been sitting this series out but the financial (and political) realities meant we were treated to a sub-standard performance when Lara was clearly not at his best. The spot-on footwork was missing. The high backlift was missing. The flowing follow-through after savage off-drives were missing. When he continuously removed one hand after playing through the on-side, the elbow-induced discomfort was obvious. We refuse to peg a score to Lara's performance this series because we believe he should have been rehabbing the elbow instead of looking out of sorts.

MAHENDRA NAGAMOOTOO -- 5
His series was ended prematurely by a car crash, though it is unlikely that he would have had much say in the outcome. Tight, but unthreatening, on a flat track in Guyana, he did at least claim the scalp of Sachin Tendulkar.

CaribbeanCricket.com's take: Hard to place a score after one match on Bourda's flatbed. It's a shame the vehicular accident ruined the leg-spinner's tour after his record-breaking Busta Cup run. We don't even think he would have played, even if he was available, especially after Hooper's public vote of no-confidence in the use of spinners. Yes, he gets a 5 ranking for getting Tendulkar's wicket in Guyana.

MARLON BLACK -- 4
Unthreatening on his lone appearance at Trinidad, and changes had to be made after India had secured only their third victory in the Caribbean in 49 years. Two of his three wickets were tailenders, and he was invisible in the second innings.

CaribbeanCricket.com's take: He only played in Trinidad because of Nagamootoo's injury. And, Wisden's reasons for giving him a 4 score can't be questioned. Black is lucky he's going to England with the 'A' team. There are many many more deserving youngsters looking for a break.

STUART WILLIAMS -- 4
In a real flap throughout, Williams was once again found out at the highest level. He scored more boundaries than singles, and never looked likely to settle in for the long haul.

CaribbeanCricket.com's take: If there were any doubts the level of play in the Busta Cup is miles away from the standards of Test cricket, Stuart Williams erased it in two forgettable matches. He so completely dominated Busta Cup with 974 runs that the selectors felt they had no option but to pick him. They were wrong. Very wrong. His footwork hasn't improved since the last time we saw him in a Test match and he looked a candidate for dismissal with every ball. He has been overrated by Wisden in this report card. We give him a 3 and hope never to see him again.

JUNIOR MURRAY -- 3
One run in three innings, and criminally run out during the final stages of the second Test at Trinidad. Murray was a selector's hunch that went wrong. Fortunately for West Indies, Ridley Jacobs returned in time to rectify matters.

CaribbeanCricket.com's take: The Queens Park Oval run-out was perfectly described by Wisden. Yes, it was criminal, bordering on unforgiveable. Like Williams, Murray used the Busta Cup to fool the selectors into believing he could be a legitimate replacement for Jacobs. Thankfully, he himself helped to fix that. Oh, by the way, we take a point away from that 3 given by Wisden.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The original report card was republished from the Wisden Online Web site. The response was prepared by the CaribbeanCricket.com editorial board.

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