A Case for Dave Mohamed
West Indies cricket selectors are set to name a replacement for the injured Jamaican fast bowler Jerome Taylor anytime soon for the South African leg of their African tour which begins with a warm-up festival game on Wednesday.
Taylor has been sent home after failing to fully recover from a lower back strain that kept him out of much of the just ended series against Zimbabwe. There has been speculation already that Taylor?s compatriot, Darren Powell, who is already in South Africa playing first class cricket, might be named as his replacement.
Powell is another in line of the promising young fast bowlers in the region who may have been a little unlucky not to have been selected in the first place.
A plot of informed watches, including fast bowling great Andy Roberts, think highly of the ability of Powell and has consistently called for his inclusion in the team.
But in deciding who will replace Taylor on the team in South Africa, the selectors may not necessarily want to think of a straight swap of fast bowlers.
They may be well advised, in the interest of better balance in the team, to look at a frontline spinner.
Even without Taylor, skipper Brian Lara will have five other fast bowling options at his disposal.
Fidel Edwards and Corey Collymore are certain to be starters in the tests, and there will be strong cases fro Vasbert Drakes, who has had immense experience in South Africa, and Mervyn Dillon, still the most experienced bowler on tour.
Given that scenario Powell?s playing opportunities might be severely limited, and his own career might be better served by allowing him to continue playing in the South African competition rather than carrying the towels for the West Indies.
It might be useful that the selectors consider including the Trinidadian spinner Dave Mohamed who anyhow might be a better wicket-taking option than Omari Banks, should the West Indies encounter a wicket that may be spinner friendly during any of the test matches. Indeed the South Africans are known to be a little susceptible to Mohamed?s type of bowling, and if given the opportunity he may well turn out to be one of the team?s trump cards.
Mohamed will bring a certain variety to the bowling, which the team obviously lacked in some sessions on the recent tour of Zimbabwe.
His useful lower order batting and excellent fielding will also add to his credentials, and he could even feature in the one-day international matches as well.
There is no doubt that the Trinidadian is the best of the young spinners in the region who four years ago was indeed identified as a future test player, until his legal troubles in Grenada had temporarily put a cloud on his career.
Once that was cleared up, he immediately restated his promise in the latter stages of this year?s Carib Beer competition, and was also one of the leading bowlers in the recent Red Stripe Bowl.
I think a strong case can indeed be made here for Mohamed. His inclusion, more than Powell?s, will give skipper Bran Lara, better options in South Africa.
* Republished from CaribUpdate.com