Steven Smith's proposed deal to Jason Holder to enliven the last day of the water-logged Test in Sydney was strictly fantasy. The West Indies captain's rejoinder was based on reasonable reality.

Smith's plan was for West Indies to declare at their second-day score of 248 for 7. He would then forego an Australian second innings, "bowl lob ups for seven or eight overs or whatever it was" and offer an equation of 370 off 70 overs to win, at a required rate of 5.28.

It was a flawed idea for a couple of reasons. Ian Chappell, the former Australia captain, cited the suspicion such a contrivance would create at a time when the game is resolute in its crusade against match-fixing.

Above all, it would have transformed even such a disrupted match into a laughable fiasco, a glorified equivalent of a Caribbean Sunday fete match, denigrating the image of Test cricket rather than enhancing it, as Smith believed it would.

In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com

Spinners also.
Our bowlers are in a recession.
Batsmen are on a time out as you young people like to tell your kids.
No good and sound development programs so what do we really expect.
Throwing money at players to play sub par cricket will only have sub par performances and they will only leave with pockets a little heavier but the brains and knowledge tank same or emptier.

Mr.Cozier has been a fine servant of West Indies cricket, but with all due respect, an article like this, which just states the obvious and glaring facts,is really quite ordinary.

In reply to jacksparrow

Maybe he is preaching to a different audience.