As convenor of selectors, Gordon Greenidge usually gives away as little as he did with his airtight defence as the finest opening batsman of his era.
There is the occasional exception, such as his hint last week that he and his panel are to settle only on a “quality spinner” and a “genuinely quick bowler” before naming their 15 for the World Cup by the ICC deadline tomorrow. The other 13 places, we are to assume, are already settled on.
“Quality” and “genuinely” are both relative terms.
There are any number of spinners scattered across the Caribbean but they are so lightly rated that only two have made it into the West Indies’ team in the last year, briefly and spasmodically. Rawl Lewis, the leg-spinner, appeared in only one of the 10 Tests and four of the 36 ODIs and Dave Mohammed, the left-arm chinaman-googly specialist, in only three Tests and five ODIs.
There are, as well, several bowlers around, varying from genuinely to pseudo quick. Of the seven picked in Tests and ODIs since last February, only the 90 mph Jerome Taylor and the methodical left-armer Ian Bradshaw have been constant.
The evidence is that the most effective bowling has come, not from the specialists but from the all-rounders.
Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels have repeatedly put the brakes on helter-skelter scoring with their accurate version of off-spin, the former adept at ending threatening partnerships.
Dwayne Bravo has been a key wicket-taker with clever variations of pace. Dwayne Smith’s busy medium-pace has yielded under five runs an over on average.
It is a formula that has worked. They can add Darren Sammy to the mix, another all-rounder whose exploits for the ‘A’ team and in domestic cricket qualify him for promotion,
So why would Greenidge and his colleagues be still shopping around for a “quality” spinner and a “genuinely quick” bowler at this late stage?
One reason comes to mind.
Providing they get into the Super Eight, they would have matches on virgin, untested pitches at the new stadiums in Antigua and Guyana and on those relaid in Barbados and Grenada.
Rather than depend on medium-pace all-rounders, Mohammed, assuming he is their spin option, and one of the limited pace posse would allow them to cover for any eventuality, fast and bouncy, slow and turning. They have to make their minds up by tomorrow’s deadline. My inclination would be to rely mainly on the all-rounders in this 15:
Brian Lara (captain), Gayle, Chanderpaul, Devon Smith, Sarwan, Samuels, Pollard, Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Sammy, Ramdin, Bradshaw, Taylor, Powell, Edwards.
