By Tony Cozier
In KINGSTON
It is hardly coincidental that the West Indies’ decline to the depths of world cricket has been accompanied by an interminable spate of injuries.
The latest utterly undermined their limited strength yesterday in the opening Test against opponents who, inspite of their own problems, remain the powerhouses of the game.
They will continue to do so until fitness levels expected of professional athletes are achieved and maintained so muscles and joints don’t buckle under the first sign of strain.
Because of damage to one part of the body or another, the West Indies had to take the field yesterday without four players who would otherwise have been in the eleven. Two were critical. Chris Gayle, the captain with the mystical touch and established opening batsman, was missing as the groin muscle pulled in the last ODI against Sri Lanka just over a month ago had still not healed.
Jerome Taylor, their rapidly improving and most effective fast bowler, was nursing a “niggle” in the back and, without prior warning, remained beyond the boundary.
Yet again, there was some ailment that eliminated Ryan Hinds. Since it was the residue of the hamstring torn in the first Test against Sri Lanka exactly a month ago, it begged the question as to why he was here in the first place – and, indeed, whether he will ever be able to play two Tests in a row. Sewnarine Chattergoon, the assigned opener, was missing for the second time in the three Tests for which he has been chosen, this time with some shoulder condition. It is an early degree of absenteeism that offsets the promise shown in his few appearances.
Only the very strongest of teams, such as the West Indies and Australia at their mightiest can overcome such instability. Even Australia felt the absence of Matthew Hayden yesterday. West Indies cricket currently lacks the structure that produces worthy reserves.
They need their best players to compete with the best. That has not happened for some time now. Here is a list of how they have been affected in Tests over the past year, if not all through muscular injuries:
England 2007: Ramaresh Sarwan, dislocated shoulder in second Test, out for the remainder of the series; Shivnarine Chanderpaul, injured knee, out of second Test; Daren Sammy, strained groin muscle, out of fourth Test (after eight wickets on debut in third).
South Africa 2007-08: Chris Gayle, pulled hamstring, broken thumb, out of third and last Test; Fidel Edwards, strained hamstring, restricted to 4,5 overs in first Test; Dwayne Bravo, strained hamstring, unable to bowl in third and last Test; Chanderpaul ill, unable to bat in second innings of third and last Test.
Sri Lanka 2008: Ryan Hinds, pulled hamstring, batted with runner in first Test, out of second; Sewnarine Chattergoon ill, out of first Test.
Australia 2008: Gayle, pulled groin muscle, out of first Test; Jerome Taylor, stiff back, out of first Test; Chattergoon, injured shoulder, out of first
Test; Hinds, hamstring strain, out of first Test.
