Tony BeccaTony Becca
FOR THOSE who believed that the West Indies had turned the corner after winning the ICC Champions Trophy, or that a foreign coach would have waved the magic wand and turned things around quickly, the triangular limited-over VB Series in Australia was a disappointment.
After all the talk about being ready and capable, the West Indies, up against Australia and Pakistan, won one match, shared the points in one when they appeared on the way to victory before rain ruined the match, lost four two to Australia and two to Pakistan, and never even made it to the final.
BATTLE FOR SPOT IN FINAL
In a contest in which Australia were expected to win their three matches against the West Indies and also their three against Pakistan in the preliminary round, it was between the West Indies and Pakistan for a place in the finals, and although it was not a safe bet, it was a good bet that with three to play, the West Indies would win at least two and make it to the final.
That was not to be, however. In another performance that underlines the weakness of West Indies cricket, in a performance that suggests, as early as it is, that nothing has changed, despite the presence of a foreign coach, the West Indies lost twice to Pakistan once, the first match with three overs to spare, after chipping to 274 for four replying to 273 for five, and once, the final, decisive one, by 30 runs, after smashing 307 for eight and limiting the West Indies to 277 in 48.1 overs.
On both occasions, it was the same old story of poor bowling, but more so in the second match, when Pakistan, cornered by some good swing bowling from left-handers Pedro Collins and Ian Bradshaw and struggling at 44 for two in the 14th over, steadied themselves, and then smashed 263 runs off 36.3 overs with 83 coming off the last 7.4.
What really demonstrated that nothing has changed, however, at least not yet, were the selection of the team, the use
of the bowlers, the batting order, the
careless strokes, and the tendency to bat second regardless.
Although a batsman can bat through the innings in a 50-over-a-side match, and a bowler is limited to a maximum of 10 overs, and even though, and according to their own assessment, their batting is strong and their bowling weak, the West Indies, but for the last few matches, continued to play seven specialist batsmen and only three
specialist bowlers.
On top of that, one of the three was Mervyn Dillon, and the West Indies, certainly during the third match against Australia, when the home team recovered to 269 for eight, after Collins, Bradshaw and Reon King had sent them reeling at 38 for four, paid for the mistake of going in not only one bowler short, but also with one who is a
batsman's friend.
With Christopher Gayle and Wavell Hinds bowling together and conceding 95 runs off 10 overs in the final match against Pakistan when there were four specialist bowlers in the team, the use of the bowlers must also be questioned, and so too the selection of Ricardo Powell over Marlon Samuels.
Apart from being a better pick as a batsman, Samuels' presence would have served the team better. With Gayle nursing a shoulder injury, Samuels' offspin would certainly have been handy.
BATTING ORDER
The batting order was also a disappointment. It was strange, not only that the West Indies selected Powell over Samuels, but also and more so, that Powell batted at number two in the last two matches, that Hinds, the opening batsman who scored a century in the third match, batted at number six in those two matches, and although he was fortunate to be in Australia, even though he batted at number five in the first match, that Xavier Marshall, the youngster who won a place in the squad by some fine performances as an opening batsman, was sitting in the pavilion during those two matches.
The other two disappointments were the careless strokes that led to the downfall of so many batsmen and the decision to bat second regardless.
In their final match, for example, the West Indies appeared on the way to defeating Pakistan when the experienced Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul committed suicide with careless, unnecessary strokes; and although the record, certainly in recent times, does not support it, the West Indies decided to bat second every time they won the toss even when it meant batting under floodlights.
BAD PERFORMANCE
For a number of reasons, the West Indies performance in the VB Series is best forgotten everything that is except for the bowling of Collins and Bradshaw, the catching of Dwayne Bravo, the wicketkeeping of Courtney Browne, probably the consistent batting of Chanderpaul, and definitely the
brilliant innings of Brian Lara against Pakistan in Adelaide.
In the best innings of the series, in a truly magnificent performance, Lara, batting at number four, but joining the action early at 23 for one after 6.3 overs, smashed 156 runs off 138 deliveries as the West Indies, batting first, rattled up 339 for four and ticked off their only victory.
