The Days Ahead
The beginning of 2004 has not seen much difference in the fortunes of West Indies cricket. This was evident in the hot and cold performances of the Zimbabwean and South African Tours, the proliferation of injuries and the general ineptitude displayed by some of our senior cricketers. Fans are still longing for the day when WI cricket on the field will once more display consistent success.
In a few days, the first Test begins at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. In looking objectively at the upcoming international season in the Caribbean one is forced to wonder about, rather than pronounce confidently, the ability of our team to consistently display high levels of cricket.
Coming out of our last sojourn overseas, the feelings have been mixed. There were several outstanding individual performances, and one cannot forget the performances of Lara, Sarwan, Chanderpaul, Gayle and new boy Dwayne Smith. As a team, however, The West Indies was woeful and there is no greater indicator than the sub standard level of our ground fielding and our catching. The only thing consistent about it was the constant poor level displayed throughout the entirety of both tours. When one considers this in association with the desperately poor level of our bowling one should not really be surprised at the results.
Our first class competition, supposedly the nursery for unearthing our cricketers, has not shown much to swell our hearts with pride and make us feel any more confident as we go into battle against the Pommies. The batting, except for a few individuals, has not produced anything of substance, and the bowling has been made to look better than it actually is by batsmen who seem to enjoy gifting their wickets. The fielding of all teams continues to be a major embarrassment and one is forced to wonder if any of our regional coaches really bother to take players through fielding drills during training. I am hoping that we can perform well against England but the old adage "catches wins matches" keeps haunting me.
It is not impossible for the current West Indies team to make a fight of the upcoming series as the West Indies have historically always done well at home. However, for them to win or even draw this series they will have to lift their game way above the level they are currently playing. The team lacks the requisite discipline, consistency and temperament to instill the type of confidence in the fans that they would like, going into the first of many battles set for this year.
It cannot be denied that in Brian Lara the West Indies has one batsman of undoubted class and one for the big occasion. Historically, Lara seems to have a penchant to score big against the English having always scored abundantly against them, except for the last West Indies tour of the U.K. I am not one to get carried away by one series or a small sample of matches, but based on observations during the past year and a half it appears that Sarwan and Gayle are prepared to be added to Lara and Chanderpaul as the backbone of our batting. Displaying different styles and a readiness to stand up and be counted, these two have given some hope for our batting successes in the future.
The substandard nature of our first class season makes me a little hesitant to "big up" performances therein, but the manner in which Devon Smith has rebounded after his disappointments in 2003 is encouraging. The fact that he seems to be very consistent and has shown obvious improvement in his cricket also augurs well for him and WI cricket.
The sixth specialist batsman has been the subject of much discussion and rightly so. The leading aspirants at this time -- Dwayne Smith and Ricardo Powell -- are arguably justified. Smith started his Test career in a blaze of glory but has somewhat tapered off. However, to be fair, he needs the opportunity to showcase his abilities, not in one or two tests, but for several, unless he definitely shows that what transpired in South Africa was a torpedo flare.
Ricardo Powell is a different case, long targeted as a one-day player and unfairly discarded after one Test match; he has not done much to advance his cause over the last three years. This year for the first time he appears willing to bat like someone who knows how to. I do not, however, see him replacing Smith at this time. I am also a bit concerned at the position in the order that batsmen of the type that Smith and Powell are should play. Ideally my number six batsman is not the type that wants to hit the leather off the ball but one who stabilizes and innings, a role more suited to players in the ilk of Chanderpaul. If the WI however thinks that this approach is best for their success, then who am I to bring that into question?
Now the real headache of the West Indies team over the last few years and its achilles heel, the bowling. The current team does not have one match-winning bowler. For us to beat any team they will have to be bowled out twice in every match. It is not impossible but it is highly inconceivable that our current bowlers will be able to achieve this.
It appears from the selectors choice that Corey Collymore will carry the tag of number one bowler. I am concerned about the fact that he is not a consistent match winner and does not have the pace, the consistency or killer instinct to be one.
Adam Sanford has not exactly set the cricket world on fire and appears to be nothing more than an ordinary trundler. Of the others, Fidel Edwards after a blazing start has been largely inconsistent and lacks direction and the requisite skills to continue reaping the success that marked the start of his career. He needs a lot of work to be refined an I am fearful that he will continue to struggle until his problems are properly sorted out by a coach who knows about the dynamics of fast bowling.
Tino Best and Dwight Washington are work in-progress and may very well possess the type of firepower for which West Indian pace bowling is renowned. They may surprise in one or two innings, but to expect these fledging bowlers to impress consistently against accomplished batsmen in the cauldron of Test cricket is asking a lot.
The West Indies best bet to corner and beat the English batsmen may very well be Dave Mohammed. The English batsmen are never comfortable against good leg spin bowling and Mohammed has shown that if given the right conditions and support he could be more than a handful for any batsman. When I speak of support I am specifically referring to our fielding. This aspect of WI cricket has sunk to levels that are not even recognizable at schoolboy level. We cannot expect to compete seriously with top-drawer teams if we continue to display the abject levels of ground fielding and catching that seems to be the bane of the region at present. As the old saying goes "we won't even be able to buy a wicket" if our fielders continue to be butter-fingered.
The English team is one that is largely in transition, with a stronger batting base than its very inexperienced bowling attack. In Michael Vaughn, Marcus Trescothick, Nasser Hussain, Graham Thorpe and Andrew Flintoff, to a lesser extent, England possesses some accomplished performers, who given the quality of the WI bowling and the docile nature of wickets in the Caribbean could make lots of runs during this series. Their bowlers on the other hand without the help of the English conditions suited to swing and seam could provide cannon fodder for the West Indies batsmen.
All things being equal the indicators point to series of high scoring matches and many draws. The team whose bowlers are prepared to work hard, bend their backs and exploit the tough Caribbean conditions could tilt the balance in their favour, if and only if they get the support from their fielders.