ST JOHN’S, Antigua, (CMC) - Ravi Rampaul was the only surprise when West Indies named an otherwise predictable 16-member squad for the two cricket Tests against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe next month.
The teenaged fast bowler earns his place in the touring party, after creating quite an impression in the 2003 Red Stripe Bowl that concludes today with the final between Barbados and Guyana at Kaiser Oval in Jamaica.
Playing for the Young West Indies (YWI) team preparing for the Youth World Cup (YWC) in Bangladesh next February, he set tongues wagging by bowling with pace and hostility. He only captured eight wickets, but it was enough to convince the selectors that he should travel.
Rampaul, however, had been identified as a possible candidate for Test cricket from as far back as four years ago when he helped bowl West Indies to the Under-15 World Cup title in England.
In the ensuing years, his reputation in his native Trinidad & Tobago and the region has steadily grown, reaching its pinnacle over the last two years when he was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the best bowler in the annual West Indies youth championship.
His selection puts West Indies in a quandary. Should Sir Vivian Richards and the rest of the senior selectors put him in the frame for the South African leg of the team’s African tour, it could rule Rampaul out of the YWC - and deal a painful blow to the YWI’s chances.
The rest of the attack from which captain Brian Lara can pick comprises bowlers that played in the home series against Australia and Sri Lanka earlier this year. They are Corey Collymore, Mervyn Dillon, Vasbert Drakes, Fidel Edwards, Jerome Taylor and off-spin all-rounder Omari Banks.
The obvious omission from the attack is fast bowler Jermaine Lawson, whose suspect action bowling is still being refined and appears likely to keep him out of the selectors’ deliberations for the duration of the ‘African Safari’ that also touches down in South Africa for four Tests and five limited-overs internationals.
The batting too, has a very, very familiar ring to it. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, whose fractured middle finger kept him out of selection for the limited-overs and Test series against Sri Lanka, has returned. He joins Lara, vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Daren Ganga and Marlon Samuels in forming one of the most talented batting line-ups in world cricket.
The glaring omission from the batting is the talented left-hander Devon Smith.
Without being spectacular, he gave a good account of himself when he made his Test and limited-overs international debuts in the home series earlier this year, but the return of Chanderpaul and the beefing up of the bowling seem to have cost him.
Ridley Jacobs and Carlton Baugh, two wicketkeepers, complete the squad.
While many pundits debate Jacobs’ place in the team, the old soldier will be very glad to have Baugh to help with the duties behind the stumps.