Lara cannot do it all Orin Davidson's Eye On Sport Stabroek News December 17, 2000 The play went according to the script. West Indies had to rely once again on Brian Lara to lead a batting revival for a respectable score. Everyone from the youngest West Indian child fan expected the "Prince" to produce the goods and he obliged, hamstring injury, and all. It was a splendid 182 from the Trinidadian who proved that apart from his two world record credits, he is also one of the few batsmen who can execute all the shots in the coaching manual. To his advantage though, Lara enjoyed a good Adelaide batting pitch, not as quick as the others Down Under, after coming off another huge score on another batting friendly strip in Tasmania. The former WI captain is also known to produce some of his greatest batting feats on pitches which require bowlers to give more than a 100 percent effort. His 375-run world record was posted at the Antigua Recreation ground where a `ton' of runs were scored while in Sydney in 1992 his memorable 277 was in a match where batsmen dominated. Nevertheless, his brilliance has re-ignited hope for better team results for West Indians, but beneath that facade, this West Indies batting lineup remains threadbare thin. It must be pointed out that the next best score after Lara's 182 was 49 by Jimmy Adams and the former's knock was almost half of the 391 total. The other frightening factor is the collapse of the last five wickets for a mere 37 runs. In such ideal conditions, it was shocking that Sherwin Campbell could have only contributed 18 especially since his scores from the first two Tests read 10,0, 3 and 4. Darren Ganga also should have made more than 23 as was Wavell Hinds who ought to have done better than 27. The Australian openers, both nowhere near Lara's class proved how easy it was score at Adelaide. They were helped by sloppy bowling at times , but no one can deny it was not a devilish pitch for the first two days. But from indications the track could well turn out to be a batsman's nightmare and a spinners delight later on. Miller derived some help in disposing of the last five West Indians, exploiting disintegrating scars from the bowlers runup. Nineteen-year-old Marlon Samuels, in only his first Test and eighth first class match overall, and not a specialist bowler, added fuel to the feeling that spinners could dominate, by taking the only two wickets to go the bowlers way, in Australia's innings. It leaves one to wonder what the West Indies selectors were thinking of when naming their final 11 for the match. Pre- game television footage showed West Indies coaches Roger Harper and Jeffrey Dujon expressing some concern about the scars on the surface even before a ball was bowled. Thus it does not require a soil technician to make out it would breakup and favour the slow bowlers in the latter stages. Yet the team's lone specialist spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo was once again left on the reserve bench. The Australians thought differently and included two spinners, even though the other pacemen in the 13, Andy Bichel, performed reasonably well in the first Test, before making way for Jason Gillespie at Perth. Apart from the batting failures, one of the many West Indies disappointments on this tour has been team selectoral policy. Nagamootoo has showed his capability with the bat in the few matches he has been allowed on tour. He has a first class century and one top score in Australia and his selection could have gone a long way towards strengthening the fragile lineup were he selected ahead of one of the fast bowlers, as the fourth specialist. Colin Stuart, who won his place in the touring party based mainly on impressive performances against South Africa `A' recently, has continued his impressive form in the state matches so far, yet he is still on the sidelines. Stuart is a wicket-taker, a type sorely needed in light of Courtney Walsh's inability to reproduce his form of earlier this year and the inconsistency of Merv Dillon and Nixon McLean. Developments within the last five weeks have hinted at the West Indies tour selectors being too stereotyped in their thinking. They must not be afraid to make unconventional decisions. Not because Sydney is considered the best Test pitch for spinners, they must wait until the fifth Test to think of Nagamootoo. Also Ridley Jacobs who has proven himself the second best batsman on tour, should no longer be batting at number seven. He should be higher to be given the scope to score more freely. Success in this Test series for West Indies will in the long term be determined by performances on the field, but decisions off it are the biggest influence. Follow the goings-on in Guyana in Guyana Today