DERBY, CMC - Finding themselves once again facing the prospect of a humiliating series whitewash, the West Indies are expected to use their final warm-up match against Derbyshire starting today as an opportunity to examine the credentials of players who have not yet appeared in the Tests against England.
With less than three weeks to go to the end of the tour, team management is faced with the now familiar challenge of keeping players focused at a time when motivation is low and thoughts of going home foremost in the minds of many in the Caribbean side.
More than just technique and ability, it is a test of professionalism and character, and the next three days at the Racecourse Ground will serve as the barometer of whether they can lift themselves to present a more formidable challenge to England at Old Trafford and at The Oval.
Even if most around him are despondent, Sylvester Joseph will be keen to further press his claims for a Test debut next week in Manchester.
The 25-year-old Antiguan did all that was asked of him in his only match on the tour so far, hammering 114 and 68 in the drawn fixture against Sri Lanka ‘A’ at Shenley that preceded the First Test.
But with the middle order virtually settled and Dwayne Bravo impressing as an all-rounder, the aggressive right-hander has been left waiting in the wings.
Bravo proved to be a success with the ball and scored 44 in his debut innings, but seems incapable of modifying an obviously flawed technique to cope with the spin of Ashley Giles on helpful surfaces.
Another good innings from Joseph and it will be very difficult for the selectors to ignore him for the Third Test in a week’s time, even if it means pushing Bravo lower down the order at the expense of Omari Banks or one of the frontline pacers.
The tall Anguillan, whose three wickets in the two Tests so far have come at a cost of 351 runs, will also be under pressure to retain his place if Dave Mohammed makes an immediate impression as Tino Best’s replacement.
Just arrived from Los Angeles, USA, where he was on a pre-season tour with the Trinidad and Tobago team, the left-arm wrist-spinner’s lone Test against South Africa at Cape Town at the start of the year earned him unwanted comical cult status for his outlandish displays in the field and batting pyrotechnics in the lower order.
Yet his bouncy hyperactivity in the midst of disillusionment may serve to spark some life into his team-mates.
Drafted into the Test within days of his arrival after Ravi Rampaul flew home, Corey Collymore can expect lengthy spells against a Derbyshire team that has struggled in the lower reaches of all the competitions in the English domestic season.
The Barbadian seamer’s inability to pick up wickets, even when achieving a measure of containment, continues to blight his development since the series in South Africa, and similar lack of success against a modest batting line-up here will raise questions about persisting with him when the Test series resumes.
His compatriot, Fidel Edwards, can redeem himself after falling out of favour as much for his failure to appreciate his role as a tail-ender as for his wayward, ineffective fast bowling in the First Test.
Yet whether it will be enough to get him back into the Test fold is highly debatable.
Carlton Baugh is another ‘passenger’ through most of the tour who should see the next three days as the chance to prove that he can take over the wicketkeeper-batsman’s role from Ridley Jacobs on a full-time basis.
The 36-year-old remains as determined and committed as ever, but his untidy glovework at Edgbaston and just one run in the last three innings (a ‘pair’ in the Second Test) are the clearest indicators yet that his international career is nearing its end.
Among all the reserves, Dwayne Smith seems to have the hardest task of all to break back into the Test side. His work in the field is unparalleled, but English conditions have exposed his technical deficiencies as a batsman while his medium-pace looks unlikely to contain a rampant England batting order.
Nevertheless, he, like the others, must see this as the chance to make his mark, if only for future reference.
In seventh position among the nine teams in Division Two of both the Frizzell County Championship and 45 overs-per-side Totesport League, Derbyshire are a shadow of the team that once boasted of the services of West Indies fast bowlers Michael Holding and Ian Bishop along with England pacer Devon Malcolm.
They are led by 27-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Sutton this season only because former England all-rounder Dominic Cork has switched to Lancashire while his heir apparent, Australian batsman Michael di Venuto, was forced to stay at home in Tasmania nursing a back injury.
With the exception of all-rounder Jonathan Moss, who has been named in England’s provisional 30-man squad for next month’s ICC Champions’ Trophy, they are an unglamorous team of generally inexperienced players.
But on current form, the West Indies are in no position to take any team lightly.
The thunderstorms that drenched most of England on Tuesday and created traffic chaos in most metropolitan areas, including London, also affected the tourists as a damp outfield restricted them to work in the indoor nets, yesterday.
However a forecast of improved weather into the weekend should give every player on show the chance to prove his worth.
Teams:
Derbyshire (probable) - Luke Sutton (captain), Jonathan Moss, Nick Walker, Steve Selwood, Hassan Adnan, James Bryant, Graeme Welch, Mohammed Sheikh, Nathan Dumelow, Neil Gunter, Mohammad Ali.
West Indies (probable) - Brian Lara (captain), Devon Smith, Dwayne Smith, Sylvester Joseph, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Carlton Baugh, Dwayne Bravo, Omari Banks, Dave Mohammed, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards.