Yet Another Batting Debacle

The West Indian top order has done it again. A great start, provided by Chris Gayle?s flashing blade and Devon Smith?s support, has been squandered in the space of a few minutes.

The morning session of the second belonged to Gayle, who scored a rapid 62. Just before lunch, however, after a change of ends by Harmison, Gayle needlessly tried to run one down to third man and edged a catch to the keeper. Gayle played his usual rousing shots, but his weakness outside the off stump continues.

If only he learnt to curb himself in that area, he could give bowlers around the world sleepless nights. As things stand now, Viv and Logie are the ones who are going to miss their sleep.

All through his stay, Devon Smith had looked uncomfortable to the deliveries that were angled into his pads. In the next Harmison over after Gayle?s dismissal, Smith was trapped in front by a delivery that nipped back into him. Smith tried very hard, and could not be faulted for the dismissal.

The prize wicket, that of hometown hero Brian Lara, fell within the space of four deliveries. Much has been spoken about Lara jumping into line, but he has never been orthodox, and his runs have always been a result of his priceless hand-eye coordination and footwork. Today was not to be another instalment in the Brian Lara show, however, as the captain fended at a delivery that reared at him. The replays were not altogether clear about his dismissal, but Billy Bowden thought he was out, and that was that.

Lara would have been better off swaying out of the way with his bat held below the line of the ball, but these things happen even to great batsmen. There will be other days when Lara dazzles with the bat, but the reality is that a batsman of his vintage cannot be expected to carry a team?s batting when much younger batsmen are around.

Sarwan looked thoroughly ill at ease at the beginning of his stay, and was never very comfortable. He did his best to replicate his dismissal in Jamaica by shuffling in front of his stumps, but the umpire did not think the ball was going on to hit his stumps. Another shot with no footwork saw him earn a boundary via a French cut. He also played some strange shots to third man, where the ball hit his bat as he was shaping to leave the ball. Sarwan certainly needs a big innings to get his confidence back. It appears as if this innings will have to come in the tests, since he is likely to hold his place regardless of performance for the duration of the series.

In any event, the next wicket to fall was Chanderpaul, shortly after Lara. Just to break the monotony of Harmison taking wickets, it was Jones who found the edge this time. Chanders played a ?nothing shot? to a nondescript delivery outside the offstump. The delivery was in the corridor outside offstump, but that was it. With this dismissal, Chanders has only three scores above 40 in his last 12 innings, for an average of 30.1. The figures in this case, speak for themselves.

Sarwan and Dwayne Smith set about what might be classified a recovery, considering the collapse and the standards of Sabina Park. Dwayne Smith needs to learn to pick the ball outside offstump to hit if he has any hopes of being taken seriously as a test batsman. His numerous wafts outside offstump would have made a tailender blush. He restored some of his credibility with a pull for six, but blew it completely when he tried to repeat the shot. Nasser Hussain, who had been moved back specifically for the shot, took the simplest of catches to end Smith?s innings.

To retain the now-familiar West Indian pattern of wickets falling often and in bunches, Sarwan then got a delivery that rose from a length, which he edged to Flintoff at slip.

Ridley Jacobs saved the Windies further blushes, inspite of Sanford?s best attempts to the contrary. At close, the West Indies were 189 for eight, with 250 looking a long way away. As with so many matches in recent years, they are on the backfoot at the end of the first day. The best that could happen now would be a great performance by Best or Collins, with the ball.

Either that, or a similar batting performance by England, whose batsmen are not in great form either. The difference however, is that the Englishmen are likely to buckle down and do their best to put the series out of reach.