Throw Vishal Nagamootoo a Bone

Since the departure of Jeffrey Dujon at the end of 1991, the West Indies selectors have been at their collective wits end to find a dependable wicket-keeper/batsman, and not just a wicket-keeper. So they tried David Williams, Junior Murray and Courtney Browne who all let them down, before settling on Ridley Jacobs who was already on the north side of 30.

Jacobs, with his solid glove work and forthright batting, turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. With him being all of 32 years when he made his Test debut it was imperative that a youngster be groomed to take over when he exits the scene.

However, as the hunt for the number one ?keeper in the region also revealed, there is a paucity of top quality glovemen.

The search for an understudy for Jacobs was/is as similar as the hunt was when they found Jacobs. Quite a few have been tried, found wanting, and discarded.

First there was Dominica's Wayne Phillip, on whom quite a bit was invested. Then, we had Browne and Murray again. Jamaica's Matthew Sinclair was even given a few representative games before his country replaced him with Keith Hibbert who is now the front-runner to replace Jacobs. In fact, with Hibbert and Jacobs being the only wicket-keepers in the provisional 30-man squad named for the World Cup, the former needs only a bit of luck to find himself in South Africa.

Through all the chopping and changing however, no mention has been made of Guyana's Vishal Nagamootoo. A neat, dapper little 'keeper, Nagamootoo has been his country's number one gloveman ever since taking over from Kenneth Wong in 1996. Before that he was the number one in the Guyana Under-19 for four years, even representing the West Indies Youth in two series.

Injuries sustained in an automobile accident earlier this year prevented him from participating in the Busta Series. He was, however, back for the Red Stripe Bowl where he won the best wicket-keeper award in the Final Four after playing one game. It must be noted that Hibbert was also part of the Final Four, even playing two matches.

It could be argued that Nagamootoo has never produce much with the bat and that could count against him. Indeed, he has not fulfilled his early promise as a batsman but has produced some timely innings for his country. Coming readily to mind is the 20-odd which helped Guyana recover from a hopeless position to beat Trinidad and Tobago in the Red Stripe Bowl in St. Lucia.

Note must also be taken that even though Hibbert is considered a superior batsman his average is a mere three points higher than Nagamootoo's (23.63 to 20.00) in all one-day matches.