LONDON, England CMC - In what could be the most obvious sign of the change in their fortunes over the past decade, West Indies are contemplating going into the opening match of the four-Test Series against England at Lord’s with just two specialist fast bowlers.
The series begins today at the most famous venue in the game with the Caribbean side’s selectors deeply concerned about the lack of quality and consistency among their array of young fast bowlers.
West Indies captain Brian Lara hinted broadly at the pre-match news conference on the eve of the Test that they might lean towards using all-rounders to do a considerable amount of bowling.
“It’s most important for us to get the right (bowling) combination,” Lara told reporters.
“We’ve got genuine fast bowlers, but we’ve also got a couple medium-fast bowlers who have been doing very well in the limited-overs series and in the first-class matches. Dwayne Smith and Dwayne Bravo have been doing very well. We have a lot of options, but the team that takes the field has got to be able to do the job.”
Bravo was already tipped to make his Test debut at Lord’s after emerging as the leading wicket-taker in the preceding three-nation limited-overs series and showed what he is capable of with the bat in hammering 118 against Sri Lanka-A at the weekend.
The possible inclusion of the other Dwayne - Smith - betrays a lack of confidence in the ability of some of the fast bowlers who were expected to contribute to a much more potent spearhead.
Fidel Edwards has been the biggest disappointment, picking up just one wicket in the two matches preceding the first Test and generally struggling to establish a reasonable length and line.
Jermaine Lawson claimed five wickets in the 29-run victory over an MCC XI at Arundel in the opening first-class fixture, but in taking one for 63 off 14 overs against the Sri Lankans, showed that he still had a long way to go before he can become an effective force again at the highest level.
With Ravi Rampaul still sidelined by injury, it leaves Pedro Collins and Tino Best as the first options to use the new ball, while Omari Banks’ off-spin could prove a significant factor if the good weather forecast over the next five days presents a surface offering greater assistance to the slow bowlers in the latter stages of the match.
Sylvester Joseph will have every reason to feel bitterly disappointed if he misses out on a Test debut at Lord’s because of Smith’s perceived value as a medium-pacer.
Joseph did all that was asked of him in innings of 114 and 68 against Sri Lanka-A in his only match of the tour so far.
In contrast, Smith has done precious little with the bat since his spectacular debut hundred against South Africa in Cape Town at the start of the year and could only manage 47 runs in the two lead-up matches, 37 of them coming in one innings on the final day against the Sri Lankans on Monday.
In contrast to the bowling headache, the batsmen - Smith excepted - have all been among the runs over the past week with only Chris Gayle of the established top order not getting a hundred.
Yet, Lara is all too aware of the threat posed by an England bowling attack led by Steve Harmison. The tall Durham pacer was his country’s trump card in the Caribbean this year, taking 23 wickets in the four Tests as England romped to a 3-0 triumph, their first in the West Indies for 36 years.
He then returned home to take 21 wickets in the 3-0 whitewash of New Zealand and Lara is hoping that his opposite number, Michael Vaughan, might be getting too reliant on an overworked Harmison.
“England seem to want to turn to him (Harmison) each and every time,” the West Indies captain noted.
“I’m not sure if he going to last the entire summer, and if we do get hold of him, then I don’t know if they have a Plan B. I’m expecting our guys, having faced him in the Caribbean, to be better able to adapt to his style of bowling.”
The hosts’ preparations have been hit by the loss of Mark Butcher, who is suffering the effects of ‘whiplash’ after his car was hit from behind in the heat of the London traffic on Monday.
Robert Key, who failed to impress in the three-nation series and last played a Test against Zimbabwe at Chester-le-Street 14 months ago, takes the experienced left-hander’s place in the middle-order.
With Nasser Hussain having retired after the Lord’s Test against New Zealand two months ago, it means England will be without two key elements of their triumph in the West Indies.
Interestingly, Vaughan has virtually guaranteed the inclusion of left-arm spin bowler Ashley Giles, who was unimpressive on West Indian pitches, leaving the last bowling spot as a toss-up between fast bowlers Simon Jones and James Anderson.
Whatever the combination, the England captain is clear as to his strategy to contain the opposing batsmen.
“We are hoping two out of the three (seamers) will come to the party and get the wickets we require,” he said.
“When you play against the West Indies, you just try to get them under pressure … bowling dot balls and bowling in the right areas. That will be one of our huge game-plans for this game.”
England respect West Indies and certainly fear their potential, but not having lost to the former kings of the game at Lord’s for 16 years and boosted by the recent triumph in the Caribbean, they will be confident they can counteract any challenge presented by the visitors.
Teams:
ENGLAND (probable): Michael Vaughan (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Robert Key, Graham Thorpe, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones, Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones, Steve Harmison.
WEST INDIES (probable): Brian Lara (captain), Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Ridley Jacobs, Omari Banks, Tino Best, Pedro Collins.