Former Barbadian middle-order batsman Carlisle Best represented the West Indies in eight test matches in the 1980's and early 1990's and scored 342 test runs at an average of 24.85.
The still very fit Best who turns 44 next Wednesday is actively involved with cricket as a radio comments man and co-host for the CBC radio program 'Best and Mason'.
Best, who scored 5,439 first class runs at an average of 38.85 with 13 centuries and 24 fifties from 90 matches, feels it is hard to find positives from the third test that the home side lost by nine wickets at the Kensington Oval.
The stylish right-hander told Stabroek Sports yesterday during an exclusive interview at his home that the third test pitch was the poorest pitch he had ever seen at Kensington.
"The curator, Prof. Edwards, suggested prior to the game that nobody should expect a quick pitch. Lo and behold we saw what I consider to be the poorest pitch I have ever seen at Kensington. One wonders what information was passed on to him as to the type of pitch required given the state of the series.
"To play for a draw would have put us nowhere. Was there consultation between the captain, the chief selector, the WICB and Barbados? Should there not be that type of collaborative effort in the preparation of the pitch, not only here in Barbados, but throughout the West Indies?" Best queried.
Brian Lara won the toss and asked Australia to bat on a brown track that looked ideal for batting. The Aussies responded by making 605-9 declared.
"His decision would have been influenced by several things....the strength of the opposition, the type of pitch and the strength of his bowling."
"I would have put Australia in... he got it wrong. Even if he was looking for assistance from the pitch then he had to take into consideration that we were not playing a specialist spinner. You can't call Banks a specialist spinner...and seeing that there was no grass on the pitch one had to conclude that it would be better for the spinners. One would not want to bat last on that pitch. The game was tossed away when Lara decided to bowl," explained Best, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics,
"It is very hard to find any positives from this game. The keeper, in my view is average but hopefully if the selectors stay with him he will come good. The batting was inconsistent and we can't say that Ganga is sufficiently capable of producing runs. Our off spinner.....this is the first time I have ever seen an off-spinner go for more than 200 runs so I am not impressed that we made the right choice of spinner.
Lara's captaincy for sure was not a positive. Our fielding was not a positive, Our bowling, with the exception of Drakes, was poor. I am being very frank, it's hard to find positives throughout this series and those who say there are positives are only accepting mediocrity," Best pointed out with lots of emotion.
Best feels that an environment has to be created in which the players, given their limitations and present ability, can perform. He also is of the view that we should not be looking to draw the last test to avoid a white wash.
"Avoiding a white wash is not important now, we need to play positive cricket as we look to build and develop our young players. We need to create a positive environment. With young Lawson and Best in the side we need a pitch which will give them encouragement. The big question is whether Lara is committed enough to West Indies cricket to participate positively in this exercise" Best thinks it will be very difficult for Australia to be beaten and feels it is hard to find any weakness in the side.
"I have seen three times in the World Cup when they were in trouble and they came back to win. That suggests an enormous amount of resilience and professionalism. It will be difficult to expect them to be beaten anytime soon. I would be silly if say they can't be beaten but it will be very hard.