debut: 11/30/17
11,991 runs
In reply to allan
only two in the current lineup were consistently ipl picks(i mean part of the starting xi): markram, who averages 35 in tests and rickleton, who just got an ipl contract this season for the first time. i didn't mention the bowlers(kg, jansen etc).i don't see what this has to do with anything though because all of our batsmen now average under 35. and of those debuting after 1990, only five have finished with averages over 40(lara, tiger, gayle, adams, sarwan). And that number only increases by two if we lower the boundary to averages over 35(hooper and darren bravo) WEST INDIAN BATSMANSHIP IS DAMN POOR. running and blaming the ipl, india, de trini cabal, jamaican mercenaries will not change that. Our players cannot succeed on a consistent basis even on benign pitches(de ja test at sabina versus Bangladesh CCC is proof). the two batsmen who had the most impact on this test never played county cricket or have not played in over half a decade(aiden and bavuma).
Bangladesh has the excuse that they are a relatively new nation, oscillating between politically oppression and instability and that they were not ready for full member status. the west indies had an uninterrupted 80 year run when coming to great batsmen and great batsmanship, starting with headley in the 30s and finishing with lara and chanderpaul in the 2000s. That that has ended first gradually and then a precipitous decline is symptomatic of deep, deep structural issues. Have you ever noticed poorly performing economies struggle for a while before they collapse? Sri Lanka is a good example of that. Similarly the west indian ability to produce great batsmen slowed in the mid 80s, we still had very good batsmen coming in,(lara adams, chanderpaul) but other than them and hooper, few could consistently hold down a spot. ditto in the 200s.....sarwan and gayle were the only dudes to consistently hold on to their places. And that it was only two of them indicates that the amount of quality batsmen we produced was diminishing even more. when those two along with bravo(who was an allrounder) were forced out, the only quality replacement was darren bravo, and he was exiled eventually as well. the west indian methodology(there is none but im being kind) for producing quality players is badly, badly flawed. the minute they have the stones to fix that, the minute we start making consistent progress instead of flashes in the pan like brisbane 2024
