The 16-man squad chosen by the West Indies selectors to travel to Zimbabwe, can be said to be part of a long term vision for the future of West Indies cricket. The choices made were logical and did not come as much of a surprise. However, the composition and content of the squad should be taken seriously and not just simply from a face value perspective.
Six fast bowlers help to make up the 16-man team to Zimbabwe, of which there is a mixture of youth and experience. Three young fast bowlers can gain experience at the highest level of cricket while being nurtured and encouraged by their more experienced seniors.
The current leading West Indian wicket-taker Merv Dillon is among those chosen to make the trip. Dillon has 123 wickets from 34 Tests and though he has been the buck of much criticism, whether deservedly or not, he still has plenty to offer to West Indies cricket.
The other experienced bowlers include Vasbert Drakes, whose experience and knowledge from playing professional cricket in South Africa in recent years will be vital to the West Indies team as they seek to correct the wrong from their last tour of South Africa which was rather embarrassing to our boys.
In addition, there will also be Corey Collymore. Though he has not played in too many Test matches, he has nevertheless been around at the highest level since 1999 and has gained valuable bowling experience.
Collymore has been constantly working on improving his bowling, as was exhibited in his Man of the Series performances in the recent home series against Sri Lanka.
Then there is the youth brigade, the new duo of Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards, who bowled brilliantly in tandem against Sri Lanka. Both these youngsters were surprise selections that paid off for the West Indies and now the West Indies have made another surprise selection in Trinidad’s speedster, Ravi Rampaul.
Omari Banks will be the lone specialist spinner, but uncertainty still surrounds the fact as to whether he is truly an out and out spinner. Banks is not a particularly big turner of the ball, but has compensated for his lack of ability to turn the ball with his usefulness in adding depth to the lower batting order.
Wavell Hinds and Chris Gayle will more than likely open the batting for the West Indies in Zimbabwe.
There are those among the regional cricket fraternity who have questioned the non-inclusion of the Grenadian opener Devon Smith in the squad. While, one could be of the opinion that Smith is a talented prospect, one must also look at the composition of the West Indies batting line up to get a better understanding of the omission of Smith.
What is worthy of mention is that of the five remaining specialist batsmen, Darren Ganga is among them. However, there is still uncertainty as to what position he will bat at in the West Indies line-up.
The two centuries that he had against Australia in the recent home series should bear enough weight to see him in the starting eleven.
Perhaps the selectors may want to revert to the opening batting pair of Ganga and Gayle that opened for the West Indies with success on the last tour of Zimbabwe.
There has always been a view that Wavell Hinds is more suited to bat at the number three position instead of opening. While Ganga has not had that much success as a Test opener, it is felt that this may have been as a result of the pressure that he would have been under to score a Test century.
Now that Ganga has, not one, but two Test centuries to his name, this may be the time for the selectors to try him as a Test opener once again. Ganga’s batting technique and patience all point him in the direction of being a quality Test opener, bearing resemblance to openers such as the West Indies’ Desmond Haynes and England’s Geoffrey Boycott.
Considering the construction of the West Indies middle order batting line-up, there is the view that the West Indies captain Brian Lara should bat at the number four position and allow either Ganga or Hinds to fill the number three spot.
Ramnaresh Sarwan should bat at number five and allow Shivnarine Chanderpaul to come in at six. Both these batsmen are very dependable and have the ability to hold together the lower order.
That leaves the only remaining batsman to be Marlon Samuels. To be fair, given the composition of the batsmen chosen, Samuels should find it difficult to land a place in the top six batting positions for the first Test match.
Moreover, there is an opinion that the ideal batting position for Samuels is at number three. Samuels is known to take a while before he genuinely gets going and as such, batting at number three should give him enough time to properly get into “the flow of things”.
The issue of the selection of two wicket-keepers can be said to be two-fold. For one thing, there is the mystery that surrounds a possible injury to Ridley Jacobs and the fear that it may worsen on tour.
Second is the fact that it is only a matter of time before Ridley Jacobs will call it quits and it would be in the best interest of the West Indies team to look to mould a young keeper.
Given the current crop that exists, Carlton Baugh jr. is currently the best future prospect which the West Indi.es can look to work on.
Barbados’ Courtney Browne has performed great as a wicket-keeper/batsman as of late and it may even be the case that Browne is arguably one of the top two wicket-keepers in the region currently.
However, whether we choose to accept it or not as a legitimate reason for his non-selection, Browne’s age could be a factor for the selectors not paying him any real attention for a spot in the West Indies 16.
Jacobs’ performances as a wicket-keeper or as a batsman have not warranted him being dropped from the squad. Given the selectors’ apparent focus and attention on the youth and on building a West Indies for the future, it does not make much sense to take on the tour to Zimbabwe, two wicket-keepers that are around the same age. So, unfortunately for Browne, he may have to continue to wait by the wayside.
Judging from the actions of the West Indies selectors of late, it seems quite apparent that there is a concentrated effort at shaping a West Indies team for the future. This has been even more apparent since Brian Lara’s reinstatement as West Indies captain and the naming of Ramnaresh Sarwan, the young promising batting prospect, as vice-captain for the recent home series against Australia.
Lara has said that he himself has matured and has learned from his experiences and is eager to mould a team that will return the West Indies to cricket supremacy.
Through his “surprise” selections to the West Indies team, it would seem that Lara has attempted to strengthen the West Indies’ main weakness – the bowling.
Lara’s has drafted three very young fast bowlers and one young spinner into the squad in only his third series back as West Indies captain. It can be said that this was done so that the young bowlers can be moulded into top quality bowlers, with the aim of them being able to serve West Indies cricket for at least the next ten years.
West Indies cricket might not be “prospering” the way many of us in the region would like it to right now, but hopefully within the next few years, the region will be able to see the West Indies once again at the top.
Until this happens, we should continue to rally ’round the West Indies and never give up hope even when things are looking dark and dreary.
The West Indies has an abundance of players with natural talent which only needs to be nurtured, and from there, maybe in time the results will once again be exhibited in our performances.