WEST INDIES interim coach Eldine Baptiste should endeavour to get his hands on a copy of the 1954 Wisden.
As he couldn’t contain his frustration at the five dropped catches, one missed run out and overall fielding repeatedly referred to as “sloppy” by the television commentators as Sri Lanka amassed 484 in the first Test in Galle, his first in charge, Baptiste, the suspended Phil Simmons and coaches at every level in the Caribbean should find the Wisden report on South Africa’s 1952-53 tour of Australia instructive.
It would be simplistic to expect the West Indies to emulate the South African example of more than half-century ago in every detail but there are enough similarities to make it a useful template for those responsible for contemporary West Indies teams.
The gloomy predictions that preceded the South Africans as they set out for Australia resonate with the current West Indies. There are no signs they can yet match the remarkable South African story of confounding the doubters by sharing the series 2-2 with opponents manned by basically the same players who had seen off the West Indies 4-1 a year earlier.
Rangana Herath picked up his fifth 10-wicket match haul in Tests as Sri Lanka wrapped up victory by an innings and six runs inside the second session of day four. West Indies, who began the day two down for 67, lost eight wickets on the fourth day for the addition of 160 runs, and as in the first innings, a number of their batsmen failed to capitalise on starts. Their only consolation came from Jermaine Blackwood, who added a fleet-footed 92 to a string of eye-catching recent performances that have marked him out as a definite investment for the future.
Three of Herath's five ten-fors have now come in Galle. Perhaps no one has understood this surface as well as him. Even Muttiah Muralitharan, who ended his career with a staggering 22 ten-fors, only achieved the feat four times here.
The pitch for this match was slow even by Galle's standards, and none of the other spinners from both sides found a way to remain a wicket-taking threat. By attacking the stumps relentlessly and giving the batsmen no breathing space, Herath made every ball count - every subtle variation of pace and trajectory. Batsmen were in trouble nearly every time they went forward instead of back or back instead of forward, or played for turn when there was none.
Javeria Khan's 131-ball 90 guided Pakistan Women to a comfortable six-wicket win against West Indies Women in the first ODI in St Lucia. Chasing 223, Javeria combined with three top-order batsmen to form substantial partnerships, as Pakistan gained a 1-0 series lead.
West Indies got off to a solid start after being asked to bat first, but lost both their openers - Kycia Knight and Hayley Matthews - in quick succession. A 37-run third-wicket stand between captain Stafanie Taylor (27) and Deandra Dottin (19) stabilised the innings, before the hosts lost another clump of wickets as they were quickly reduced to 96 for 5.
However, wicketkeeper Merissa Aguilleira brought West Indies back into the match with a patient 67, and in the company of Britney Cooper, took the score past 150. The hosts managed to score 66 off the last 75 balls to end with 222 for 9. Four Pakistan bowlers contributed with two wickets apiece.
The International Cricket Council is understood to be considering widening the pathway to the controversial 10-team World Cup in 2019 in a move that will provide greater hope of qualification to teams such as Ireland and Afghanistan.
As it stands, the next edition of the 50-over showpiece will see the top eight of the 12-team ICC rankings – on 30 September 2017 – go through by right, with the final two spots decided by a qualifying tournament the following year. But following criticism of that structure as part of the World Cup’s overall reduction from 14 teams down to 10, the ICC is mulling over whether to cut the number of sides that book their places via the rankings to six, leaving four berths up for grabs.
By plunging the bottom six teams into the ICC World Cup qualifier in Bangladesh in 2018, the tweak would also add increased context to one-day internationals played over the next two years with the top sides more fearful of dropping into the bottom half of the table.
Herath, whose first-innings figures were six for 68, then added another wicket at the start of the second West Indies innings as they reached stumps 166 behind with eight wickets remaining.
Herath's dominant day began in the third over when he bowled Marlon Samuels for 11, leaving West Indies 70 for three.
