Queen's Park Oval Report Card
Despite some pyrotechnics in the first session on the final day when Brian Lara won a high-quality duel with the fiery Brett Lee, the West Indies subsided quietly and Australia retained the Frank Worrell trohpy.
This loss happened before a ball was bowled when the selectors mysteriously chose a team with only three specialist bowlers and an unproven Dave Bernard as an all rounder. That the eventual margin was relatively close did not reflect the dominance that Australia exhibited throughout the game.
The game only went in the final day thanks to a perfect century by Daren Ganga in the first innings and the brilliance of Lara's batting throughout. That the West Indies could only take seven Australian wickets for a total of 814 runs should be a major worry in the West Indies camp. Going into the last two Test, the team selection folly must be straightened out.
If there is blame to be cast for this defeat, the fingers should be pointed in the direction of the selectors for going into this match without any bowling firepower. In this column I will also assess a grade to the selectors, because after all as is often repeated, the players don't pick themselves:
Wavell Hinds
The Jamaican opener did nothing to advance his position as a test opener in this series. He continues to be hampered by poor footwork and horrible shot-selection. In the second innings, he battled manfully to preserve his wicket and stay with Lara after the West Indies had lost two quick wickets. However, he was never assured during his time at the crease. Might not retain his spot in Barbados if the selectors decide to do a double switch at the top of the order. If the selectors only choose to recall Chris Gayle, Hinds may yet retain his spot. He still has to prove he belongs.
Grade: D
Devon Smith
At this point, the Grenadian lefty appears to have lost all confidence in the umpires and his ability to handle the top shelf Australian opening attack. He was on the wrong end of at least a fifty/fifty decision in the second innings, but did not help himself in Ashoka De Silva's eyes by playing across the line of the ball. He, too, seems hampered by the lack of footwork that has afflicted all the West Indies openers of recent vintage. In all likelihood, Smith should make way for the returning Chris Gayle. He needs to go back to the drawing board and work on his game and footwork.
Grade: F
Darren Ganga
Ganga's century in the first innings was one of the more effective innings that I have seen in test cricket. As I stated in my grades for the first Test, one of the problems with this West Indies team is that they are subconsciously trying to bat as fast as their opponents. In this game, Ganga paced the innings perfectly, occupying the crease for a long time, building partnerships with Lara, Sarwan and Samuels, and extending the game so that Australia was forced to make their declaration when they did. If West indies would have managed to pull off this unlikely victory, he would have been my Man of the Match. Even though Ganga failed in the second, he must have been tired, having been in the field for all of the first four days of this test match. He seems to have found a rich vein of form, and with the wonderful technique that he has displayed should continue to do well.
Grade: A
Brian Lara
Lara's wonderful batting in this test match should not distract us from the fact that he shares the responsibility for selecting a ridiculously unbalanced team. Lara achieved two major milestones in this game, becoming the highest run scorer for test matches in the West Indies, and scoring his first Test century at home. As long as Lara was batting, West Indies was in with a chance, and if there was anyone who could have pulled off a miracle it would have been him. Sadly it just did not work out.
Grade: A-
Ramnaresh Sarwan
This was Sarwan's comeback game after a finger injury during the Carib Cup series. He struggled to find his touch in the first innings, but admirably stuck to the task until he was undone by a Brett Lee Yorker. It appears that Sarwan has to do more work on handling Lee's Yorker if he is to prove that he belongs among the greats of the game. In the second, his other bugbear appeared, the hook shot. Undoing all the hard work he had done up to that point. As Jimmy Adams remarked after the game, if Sarwan calls himself a compulsive hooker, then he has to learn to hook properly. His wicket proved to be the domino that started the collapse towards defeat in the second.
Grade: D
Marlon Samuels
Samuels continues to be too casual in the field and at the stumps. Fought well for a well played 68 in the first and then acted as if he thought he had done enough to retain his place and got himself out to a horrid swipe. Maybe some more time on the bench will help refocus Mr. Samuels, so that he realizes that Test Cricket is a very serious undertaking and when you get a start, you have to go on and make the opposition pay. Got out to a nothing shot in the second playing across the line. When Samuels floored a simple catch offered by Ricky Ponting, who went on to get a big one, the match was essentially lost right there.
Grade: D
David Bernard
Simply does not yet belong at this level. In all fairness, he should not have been picked. Bernard looked out of sorts when batting and was bowled with his bat a mile from his pad in the first. At best, he is a gentle medium pacer who won't trouble batsmen at this level. Has to do a lot more work if he is to become a legitimate all-rounder. He's an athletic type who shows flashes of brilliance in the field.
Grade: F
Carlton Baugh
The little man a decent debut match. He was tidy with the gloves but, if he is to the replace the great Ridley Jacobs, Baugh has to be prepared to score runs at the bottom of the order. His ultra aggressive approach when batting will have to be curbed slightly. Should improve once he's given the required reps.
Grade: C
Vasbert Drakes
Ever the consummate pro, ever the consummate trier, Drakes bowled well in spurts on a wicket that did not offer much help. If he is supported with a bowling attack with teeth he would be a very good first change option, but the selectors just cannot seem to get it right as far as the bowling is concerned. Also showed he can hold a straight bat, a nice option to have in the tail.
Grade: C
Mervyn Dillon
Dillon should tip his cap to umpire Ashoka De Silva, who gifted him his only successes in this game. He is still not what one should consider a strike bowler, and just does not put the ball in the right spots consistently, as Drakes does. Many times, he just appears to be going through the motions, an abomination for someone with his experience. Hopefully, with the Frank Worrell trophy already decided, the selectors will see it fit to blood some new fast bowlers and give Dillon the rest he seems to be begging for.
Grade: F
Pedro Collins
This should be the end of the line for Pedro Collins, at least until he could prove that he can put pressure on batsmen consistently at the test level. That Collins commands a regular place ahead of the likes of Tino Best, Corey Collymore, Adam Sanford and Reon King is beyond comprehension. Since the New Zealand tour, Collins has managed to get progressively worse with the bat, and is not showing any improvement in the field. He is one for the scrap heap and should be replaced for the the test in Barbados.
Grade: F
The Selectors
Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Joey Carew along with Brian Lara and Gus logie dropped the ball badly in this game. How can they continue to refuse to select a spinner given the nature of the Caribbean pitches? Which cricket are they watching? They selected Omari Banks in the 12 named the day before the match then proceeded to unceremoniously drop him for Dave Bernard? Why can't bowlers like Suliman Benn or Dave Mohammed, or even Neil McGarrell get near a test team? Surely they can do no worse than Bernard, Collins or Dillon.
Grade: F