Sat, May 11, '02 by <A HREF="MAILTO:VENKY@CARIBBEANCRICKET.COM">VENKY MALY</A>
The day's play resumed with India at 226/3, with both Dravid and
Ganguly looking very solid at close on the first day. West Indies
opened with Dillon and Cuffy, who were operating with a new ball
that was only six overs old. The idea would certainly have been for
them to attack and use any moisture in the track to their
advantage. Dismissing either Ganguly or Dravid would have opened
the Indian middle order up, and would perhaps have given the West
Indies a chance to restrict India to a manageable total.
Both Dillon and Cuffy kept things extremely tight in the morning,
with only seven runs coming off the first eight overs. Ganguly was
then dismissed, with the score on 233. Cuffy bowled him a slightly
slower delivery, inviting the cut and Ganguly hit it in the air,
straight to Wavell Hinds, who held a very smart catch. Cuffy's toil
on the first day had finally resulted in a wicket.
West Indies skipper Carl Hooper defended his decision to put
India in to bat as the tourists looked set for a large first
innings total in the fourth Test in Antigua.
Left-arm fast bowler Pedro Collins (3-65) was the only bowler to
enjoy any success as India reached 226-3 on the opening day at the
Recreation Ground.
Fri, May 10, '02 by <A HREF="MAILTO:VENKY@CARIBBEANCRICKET.COM">VENKY MALY</A>
The test match in Antigua started in ideal conditions. West
Indies, as expected, brought in Wavell Hinds for Stuart Williams.
Ramnarine did not get his chance and Pedro Collins was retained.
India brought back Anil Kumble for Harbhajan Singh. Ajay Ratra,
contrary to speculation did not make way for Deep Dasgupta.
West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl. This was always a
decision that was going to invite some discussion, especially if
wickets did not fall in the first hour. In this case, the pitch did
have some bounce, but was quite slow and perfect for batting.
Fri, May 10, '02 by <A HREF="MAILTO:DHINDS6106@AOL.COM">DR DAVID HINDS</A>
The selectors have done it again. Although their job is not an
easy one, our selectors are perhaps the worst panel in the
cricketing world. Sometimes I wonder whether they really want the
West Indies to win.
Selection of a team has to be part of an overall strategy -- what
are you trying to do in the long run? Let's look at the bowlers. It
seems that the strategy is to exploit the Indians' weakness against
fast bowling. No problem. That means you must go for your best
attack. Although I don't trust our four-pronged attack, I will go
for it if we pick the best combination available.
Thu, May 9, '02 by <A HREF="MAILTO:VENKY@CARIBBEANCRICKET.COM">VENKY MALY</A>
The stage is now set for the next test match of the series, at
the Antigua Recreation Ground in St. John's, Antigua. Both teams
should be looking forward to this encounter, since they would
justifiably feel that the series has been evenly balanced so far.
With batsmen from both sides, especially the West Indies, coming
into their own, the smart money is on a high scoring encounter.
West Indies will be without Stuart Williams, who has had the
misfortune of missing a home Test after forcing his way into the
West Indies team. Williams looked good in one inning, but extremely
shaky in his other three. He would still be in contention for a
place in the one-day squad. His place in the test team will be
taken by Wavell Hinds, who is certain to play. The right-left
combination of Williams and Gayle would have forced the Indian
bowlers to constantly adjust their line. This would have been
especially so if Williams and Gayle had been involved in a long
partnership, which never did happen so far.
