The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket
In light of the alarming number of injuries that have hit the West Indies team in recent times, there are all kinds of questions surfacing as to the possible causes. Is it sheer bad luck that our team should be plagued by multiple injuries on this present tour? Or does the problem have deeper roots that need to be extracted in order to come up with some plausible explanation for this crisis that has reached epidemic proportions within our team?
It was suggested by the selection of Omari Banks, affirmed when Fidel Edwards was picked, and now confirmed by the elevation of Dwayne Smith that performance is irrelevant as a criteria for section to the West Indies team.
Viv Richards and company have really gone out on a limb with this selection, bypassing such notables as Devon Smith, who must now be wondering which cricket God he has offended, Narsingh Deonarine, Brenton Parchment, and even Kurt Wilkinson.
(Jamaica Observer)
Okay. So West Indies didn't dominate Zimbabwe to the extent we all hoped. But to listen to some people talk you'd think West Indies lost the Test and one-day series.
The fact is that they won both series. And I don't see the point in arguing that Zimbabwe are rated second from bottom in Test cricket ratings and therefore the Caribbean side's "scrape-through" win is of no consequence. Remember, our beloved team is rated third from bottom, in the 10-team Test Match table.
With just three weeks to go until Christmas, I'm in the midst of preparing my Christmas wish list. Cognizant of the fact that as you grow older, your toys only get more expensive, and not being of an age where your parents can buy them for you, I decided to eschew the latest Sony Clie PDA, with the MPEG3 player and the little built in 310k pixel camera handy for taking surreptitious snapshots, for a less ostentatious wish.
With Christmas Parang playing in the background, I hit on it! If I could incorporate my gift with something near and dear to my heart, it would be perfect. So, this year, the best Christmas present ever would be to find answers to the ten greatest mysteries in West Indies cricket. In no particular order of importance, here is the list that I came up with:
Marlon Samuels degenerative left knee has worsened, ruling him out of further participation of the tour of South Africa.
The 22-year old right-hander, who started complaining of knee pain towards the end the Zimbabwe leg, had an MRI on arrival in South Africa and a specialist confirmed the knee condition is "extremely serious," according to a team source.