COMMENTARY

Higher standards needed in West Indies Cricket

by Philip Hackett

Philip Hackett

Friday, March 26, 2004

The Wisden Trophy has again been secured by England and it will be difficult to grudge them the success they have earned.

Almost everything has fallen into place for England so far. If there has been an area of concern it relates to the fact that the openers Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick have failed to put together a meaningful partnership. Their opening stands have so far produced 28, 20 unbroken, 2 and 8. Their individual efforts have also failed. 

Trescothick made 7 and 6 not out in the first Test and was out for 1 and 4 in the second. Vaughan scored for 15 and 11 not out in the first and 0 and 23 in the second. The two veterans, Nasser Hussain and Mark Butcher, have done most of the batting. Both exhibited immense powers of concentration, an admirable amount of determination and an enviable degree of courage. 

For the West Indies only the youngsters Devon Smith and Ryan Hinds along with the veteran wicket keeper Ridley Jacobs have matched the type of fighting spirit displayed by the English but they have not done so consistently.

There can be little for England to complain about in the bowling or fielding departments. The catch snared by substitute Paul Collingwood to dismiss Dwayne Smith on the penultimate day of the Trinidad Test was as brilliant as any one could hope to see and certainly characteristic of a team currently in top form and highly motivated.

By contrast West Indies has appeared flat. Apart from the effervescent Tino Best, the lively Fidel Edwards before his injury and the rejuvenated left arm medium pacer Pedro Collins, there has been little to excite West Indian fans desperate to see if only just a glimmer of the old time Windies. Chris Gayle displayed some of his breathtaking stroke-play but one meaningful innings out of four falls far short of what the Caribbean boys need to be competitive.

With two Tests remaining there is still time for West Indies to salvage something from this series. The opportunity to regain the Wisden Trophy has already been wasted but if the home side can recover to share honours in this series it could provide the launching pad the team so badly needs to start the process of restoring self confidence and safeguarding the cricketing pride of the Caribbean people. 

The manner in which it is done and the lessons learnt from the experience are as critical as the outcome. A strong message must be sent to the players that performance is the key tool for measuring a player's worth and his right to wear the maroon cap. The mediocrity accepted for too long from cricketers like Phil Simmons and Carl Hooper have done damage and established dubious standards that still seem to be harmful to our cricket. This is the perfect opportunity to start the process of reversing this trend.

Former England opener Geoff Boycott virtually laughed at half of our bowling attack when he suggested Corey Collymore and Adam Sanford could not get his Mum out. They have done little to prove him wrong.

I have little doubt that if maintained in the team, Ramnaresh Sarwan, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul will produce a score or two of worth before the end of the series but we must discourage players from this mentality of doing just enough to 'earn keep' for the next match. 

Whether or not Lara retains the captaincy, he must play. In any event while his leadership has been unusual and his post match comments predictable, no one can complain about his form since regaining the captaincy, until these two recent matches. I back him to rediscover his run scoring ability sooner rather than later.

Sarwan and to a lesser extent Chanderpaul, have not been consistent and should now make way for Ricardo Powell and Ryan Hinds. If the West Indies team goes down in the series they should while still gaining something from the exercise. Any exposure given to these two inexperienced batsmen will serve the West Indies well in the future. 

Sarwan and Chanderpaul should be made to fight for their places back in the team. If Sarwan is retained he may need to bat lower in the order as his limitations against genuine pace and bounce are likely to reduce his effectiveness at number three.

My 11 for the Barbados Test in batting order is as follows:

Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Ryan Hinds, Ridley Jacobs, Brian Lara, Dwayne Smith, Ricardo Powell, Ian Bradshaw, Tino Best, Pedro Collins and Fidel Edwards. 

If Edwards is still unfit it could be the right opportunity for Jermaine Lawson to make his return to the Test team provided his fitness level allows for this. The alternative would be to retain Collymore. 

Bradshaw is a very useful lower order batsman and with his left arm medium pace he is likely to be no less effective than Adam Sanford. Boycott's Mum may even agree.

Philip Hackett is a freelance sports journalist who has covered international cricket matches for the Nation Newspaper in Barbados as well as the CMC (formerly CANA). Hackett is also a well-respected cricket radio commentator who has covered Test matches for the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation as well as numerous regional first class matches. He has also provided print media and electronic media coverage of table tennis throughout the region. Hackett is a physical education teacher and has worked in Bermuda, Barbados and now the Cayman Islands. He is a qualified international table tennis coach, having received his training in Hungary and a Level one cricket coach. Hackett holds a Masters degree in education from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

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