Rashness will not win the World Cup
by Tony Cozier in KINGSTON
Stabroek News
March 22, 2007
- The next seven matches starting with today's group match against Ireland will determine whether the West Indies will move into the semi-finals
Bennett King balanced his quip after Monday's victory over Zimbabwe that the World Cup is not won in March but in April with an admission that the result over the youngest team in the tournament was "scrappy".
On the one hand, he was noting the necessity to build momentum on the way to the tough matches in the Super Eight series. On the other, he was accepting that the performance against the adolescents who provided the opposition would not get them very far later on.
Some previous champions, especially Pakistan in 1992 and Australia in 1999, have spluttered along in the early rounds before suddenly finding the right gear that propelled them along the last mile to the Cup.
Given the way the schedule is constructed this time and as Pakistan have immediately realised, no one can end up champions after losing four of their first six matches, which Imran Khan's "cornered tigers" did in 1992, or even two of their first three, as Steve Waugh's triumphant Aussies did seven years later.
This tournament was already over after two matches for Imran's successors, under Inzamam-ul-Haq, their demise compounded by the death of their venerated coach Bob Woolmer and Inzamam's immediate retirement from the captaincy and from one-day cricket.
The early exit had the further effect of prompting the resignation of Inzamam, the president of the board and the entire selection panel, an occurrence that is foreign to West Indies cricket, in spite of the similarly distressing results of the past decade.
While the Pakistanis head home to an angry reception, the West Indies have guaranteed their advance to the decisive round. Now comes the hard part.
The next seven matches, starting with the last in the group stage against Ireland at Sabina Park today, will determine whether they move along to the semi-finals.
The Irish encounter is important as victory would allow them to carry the two points gained into the Super Eight section.
They can afford no more scrappiness or any of the inconsistency that has again been evident in the previous matches, in which the two wides against Pakistan have been sandwiched between 15 against Kenya (in the warm-up) and 15 against Zimbabwe.
It is a lingering problem - there were 53 in the four ODIs in India in January - but the signs are that King and his colleagues seem to have finally licked the related hindrance of no-balls.
In the series in India, they were reduced to seven from the 198 overs overall. Here, they are down to five off the 165.5 overs bowled in the four matches so far.
So that is one area covered. Given the established record, it might be more difficult to eliminate the inexplicable batting meltdowns that have become habitual.
Perhaps it is whistling in the dark to hope that the all-out 85 against India at Trelawney is the last for this tournament. But, if King's theory about building momentum holds true, the top order batsmen, Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Brian Lara, all have plenty in reserve.
In the 15 innings between them in the warm-ups and the tournament proper, Gayle's 75 in the first against Kenya is the only score over 50. Chanderpaul has managed 0, 6, 19 and 21, Sarwan 27, 13, 49 (dropped first ball) and 12. A lot more are available.
Of more concern is the carelessness that has marked Marlon Samuels' last two dismissals.
The elegant Jamaican has finally found the reliability to match his obvious potential. He averages 50.77 in his last 10 ODIs, dating back to the series in Pakistan in December, with an unbeaten 100 and other scores of 55, 98 and 63.
It was his aggression against Rao Iftikar and Danish Kaneria that first established dominance over Pakistan in the opening group match. His 28 against Zimbabwe in the second was compiled with a degree of comfort that hinted at a sizeable score.
Each time, he wasted his wicket with slapdash strokes, a lofted pull to long-on and a one-handed slice to backward point.
With Denesh Ramdin still unable to find his batting touch of earlier times and a consequently lengthy tail, Samuels - and Dwayne Bravo too - need to set themselves to bat through to the end once they get in. Like inconsistency, rashness will not win the World Cup - not in March, not in April.