Sarwan's captaincy was spot on except...
says Clyde Pestano
Stabroek News
April 24, 2004
Guyanese Ramnaresh Sarwan made an unsuccessful debut last Sunday as captain of the West Indies cricket team which went down by two wickets to England at Bourda, a game which many felt was there for the taking.
Although 'Ronnie' did not contribute with the bat, his tactics on the field were spot -on causing respected fast bowler now turned TV commentator Ian Bishop of Trinidad and Tobago to comment in the media box that Sarwan did seem to know what he was doing.
From all accounts, Sarwan did a splendid job of marshalling his troops except for one or two glitches and this bodes well for the future of West Indies cricket.
What was most striking was his tendency to get the bowler and some senior players involved in discussions as he plotted strategy. Under his leadership the players seemed at ease and there were smiles all around even in pressure situations.
Another noticeable aspect of the young man's leadership style can be gleaned from where he fields as captain. While Brian Lara chooses to field in the slips most of the time, Sarwan is found invariably at mid-on or mid off, giving him a strategic location from where he can communicate with the bowler after almost every delivery, if necessary.
This is important since the bowler and captain can put into effect a plan aimed at dismissing batsmen based on the type of delivery to be bowled at a particular batsman and at a tactical point in the over or the game. In addition, the bowler may value words of advice or emotional support at vital times especially coming from his captain.
However, 'Sars' may have erred in his choice of bowling Corey Collymore in the penultimate over, albeit in retrospect. Sarwan could have taken destiny in his own hands and bowled himself or Ricardo Powell as the other option since Chris Gayle had done well in his first five overs and was thus held back to bowl the final over. The rest as they say is now history.
However, it is worth examining the tactics of Collymore in that fateful over. There he was, a supposed senior bowler with no great pace, bowling into the 'legs' of the batsman and telegraphing his intent. Whatever happened to the full-pitched out-swinger?
Generally speaking, balls bowled outside the leg stump are called wide, hence the bowler has a better chance of sending down a legitimate delivery outside off stump. Collymore did not take advantage of this and he was dispatched much to the chagrin of the thousands of local and West Indian supporters - a fact that management and the captain must ensure does not recur.
Some people also questioned the wisdom of sending Sylvester Joseph in ahead of Dwayne Bravo. However, this is subject to much conjecture since both men are newcomers in the side.
Ridley Jacobs lacked innovation in the final over and batted as if the West Indies had enough runs on the tins when, as it turned out, it was not enough.
But even though the West Indies lost, they can take heart. They turned in a good performance with Sarwan at the helm.