The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket
The West Indies selectors on Tuesday recalled opener Daren Ganga
to take the place of the injured Carl Hooper for the tour of
Bangladesh and named wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs as the stand-in
captain.
The Viv Richards-led panel also dropped Vincentian pacer Cameron
Cuffy and added Darren Powell to replace him. Vasbert Drakes, Corey
Collymore and Ricardo Powell, who are involved in the ODI series
against India, were all included for Bangladesh.
(adapted from Press Trust of
India)
It is nice once again to have your neck ahead in the race after
Indians did remarkably well to close the gap of two matches. There
is no need to be complacent though and we must look to wrap up the
series in the next game. I don't want it to be 3-3 all and leave it
all for the last match. For the Indians though it is a case of
competing in two finals.
Chris Gayle is the man of the moment and he has simply been
unbelievable in this series. He has fired in three hundreds and a
fifty in five games. He can be a demoralizing batsman for bowlers
for not only is he a big hitter, he also has cultivated the habit
of concentrating for long periods.
With Carl Hooper's announcement of temporary abdication comes
the question of who will replace him as captain for the Bangladesh
tour. At first glance, it seems an easy choice to pick Ridley
Jacobs who recently filled in during the doomed 4th ODI in Rajkot.
But wait - there's a golden opportunity here to give some
experience to a young player who could one day assume the mantle of
West Indies captain.
In case no one has noticed, Carl Hooper will be 36 on December 15
and it's high time we figured out who his successor is. There can
be no doubt that the stylish all-rounder will carry the side
through the World Cup, but he is getting long in the tooth and
there is no indication of where we will find the next West Indies
captain when Hoops decides to hang up his boots.
There are times when you are looking from the outside but feel like an insider, and everything is like you know it but different. If you are Indian and reach Berbice in Guyana or Chaguanas in central Trinidad, chances are you will feel it. You will hear Hindi music, smell curry, see Bollywood film posters, and read Indian names - but with a twist (Prasad is Persaud, Gopal is Gopaul). You will meet people who look like you but don't talk like you, and you will find them reaching out to you. They are the East Indians.
Jermaine Lawson will get a chance to further his claims on
permanent place in the senior side. The twenty year old Jamaican
fast bowler who bowled well in his debut will come in for injured
Barbadian allrounder Ryan Hinds.
Hinds tore ligaments in his left knee while fielding as a
substitute in in fourth ODI and is returning to the Caribbean for
treatment. It is not known how extensive the injury is, or whether
it will require surgery, but he is expected to be out of action for
4 to 6 weeks.