Miss Natty's W.I Crystal Ball

Where is West Indies cricket heading in 2004? Okay, your guess is probably as good as mine, but I have a column to write -- and at this time of year that means one thing: Predictions.

Making forecasts about West Indies cricket is dangerous business. There's no rhyme or reason to decision-making at the WICB and even the players seem to take pleasure in defying conventional wisdom. So, without any long-winded preamble, I'm going to walk the tight-rope with some predictions (in no particular order)...

** Uncle Teddy will continue his war-on-waste at WICB HQ in Antigua, seizing company credit cards and banning non-essential overseas travel. WICB will cut spending by up to 15 percent but it will come at a price. The 9-5, clock-watching, pencil-pushers on Factory Road will start a rebellion and Uncle Teddy will be forced to read the riot act. All this will be kept hush-hush under the new "shut-your-trap" policy put in place by Uncle Teddy.

** After the Englishmen leave, a horrible home series with the bat will lead to Ronnie Sarwan getting stripped of the vice captaincy. The selectors will make an excuse about 'rotating' potential leaders and Daren Ganga will assume the job as Lara's deputy. Chanderpaul, again, will feel neglected and the bookie in Guyana will huff and puff and threaten to blow the house down. However, like everything else, the drama won't last for too long.

** Long before that, a debutant will score a breathtaking double century for the West Indies against England in Trinidad. He will follow up with another quickfire century in the Antigua Test and several England county clubs will line up to throw money at him. His Bajan attorney will wisely turn down all offers.

** Vasbert Drakes will be dropped at the end of the South Africa tour and he'll return to finish up his first-class career in South Africa and with a new county in England. He will bid farewell to West Indies cricket on a high note and with a smile on his face.

** Chris Dehring will be forced to come clean about his owership stake in Sportsmax. Another quarrel will erupt over a potential conflict with Dehring (a WICB employee) having a stake in a TV company that owns rights to West Indies games. The ICC will distance itself from the issue and pass the buck to the 'we-don't-want-to-get-involved' WICB. As the public face of the World Cup, Dehring will -- grudgingly -- do the right thing and (temporarily) divest himself of his SportsMax stake.

** Immediately after the holidays, Marlon Samuels will travel to New York to keep an appointment with Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr Answorth Allen. After the meeting, Samuels will (foolishly) disagree on the need for a third surgery and mull offers to play first class cricket overseas (South Africa, anyone?) After three wasted months, he'll finally decide to have the bone graft procedure. It will be two years until we hear from Samuels again.

** For the first time in history, the West Indies selectors will release notes to explain the thinking behind certain picks. The genuine attempt at openness (embraced by Viv Richards) will be welcomed by journalists but scorned by insular and ungrateful fans.

Brian Lara will continue to astonish everyone with his batting genius. He will make a serious run at the record for the most runs in and ODI but will fall short by a whisker. In 2004, he'll add another triple century in Tests but won't come close to reclaiming the world record.

** After intense haggling over the WICB's revenue projections, the board will reach an agreement with WIPA for retainer contracts for 20 players. When the list is announced, there will be at least four significant omissions and a major quarrel will erupt in the Jamaica media.

** After a promising start, the West Indies Under-19 team will crash out of the Youth World Cup in Bangladesh. Ravi Rampaul will have a so-so tournament and the senior selectors (mostly Viv Richards) will be skewered for the decision to take Rampaul on tour to Zimbabwe and South Africa.

** A minor health scare for Uncle Teddy in November will lead to another leadership crisis in West Indies cricket. There will be another round of discussions centred around the need for an executive (paid) WICB president but the idea will be shelved until the AGM in 2005.

** Merv Dillon will be 2004's cricketer of the year. Ramnaresh Sarwan will be 2004's biggest disappointment.

** Chris Dehring will come under fire in the middle of 2004 when World Cup matches are awarded to Caribbean territories. Jamaica will be asked to share the hosting of a group with the U.S. and that decision will be roundly condemned throughout the Caribbean. The WICB and ICC (and Dehring) will refuse to explain how the earnings from the World Cup will be shared among participating countries.

**Jermaine Lawson will return to international competition but back problems will cut short his comeback.

** Everything above will be proven true. Or close to everything. Trust me.