THE battle for Test cricket’s wooden spoon has moved from the Arctic gloom of Dunedin to the warmth and Caribbean sunshine of Napier – and the shift in the balance between the teams prior to the second Test is just as stark.
By mid-afternoon of the fourth day of the first Test last Sunday, the West Indies were 173 for six replying to New Zealand’s 365. The infamously fragile tail was exposed. The situation was as bleak as the weather.
Jerome Taylor’s brazen, counter-attacking 106, his record seventh wicket partnership of 153 with the immovable Shivnarine Chanderpaul and two New Zealand second innings wickets in the final 10 overs of the day, transformed the contest that the team happier at the last day washout was the one in the new, widely condemned black-trimmed sweaters.
The swing in fortunes has continued in the interim and the force is surely with the West Indies.
It was evident in their exuberance, even on the flight into Napier when the vivacious, black Air New Zealand hostess, originally from Zimbabwe, had Sewnarine Chattergoon and Shivnarine Chanderpaul handing out coffee, tea, biscuits and water to the delight of teammates and passengers.
The attitude was the same at their net session yesterday under a welcome blue sky and a temperature in the mid 20 degrees at the expansive Nelson Park, across the road from the Test venue, McClean Park.
While, for once, they carry no injuries and are far away from the inevitable distractions they confront back home, New Zealand, in contrast, are troubled by both.
One of the home team’s premier players, Jacob Oram, an all-rounder with five hundreds, a batting average of 37 and 60 wickets in 31 Tests, has been ruled out for the fifth successive Test by injury, this time a calf strained prior to the Dunedin match.
Another, the dashing middle order batsman Ross Taylor (average 36.22 in 12 Tests), is in doubt with a chipped bone in his right ring finger, legacy of a catch dropped at slip off Brendan Nash in Dunedin. Even if he plays, it will not be with complete confidence.
James Franklin, the left-arm swing bowler and very capable No.8 batsman, is still feeling the effects of a blow to the rib cage inflicted during Fidel Edwards’ fiery third day spell in the first Test.
Chris Martin, their fastest bowler who captain Daniel Vettori openly stated should have been in the first Test eleven, and batsman Peter Fulton are on standby. Both were among those discarded after the humiliating innings loss to Australia in the Adelaide Test last month.
There are also upheavals beyond the boundary, the effects of which the West Indies have had plenty of experience.
The latest involves the status of long-serving manager Lindsay Crocker.
After weeks of speculation, New Zealand Cricket’s chief executive Justin Vaughan said Crocker would remain in the post for the remainder of the current series, adding that the team’s entire support staff was under review. The players seemed so certain that Crocker would be replaced by Craig Ross, the former chief executive of New Zealand, they gave him a farewell on Sunday night.
There has also be side spat between Oram and his former teammate, Craig McMillan, who said on radio what many were saying under their breath – that Oram is “wrapped in cotton wool” by management over the slightest injury.
These roles are usual reversed. It is usually the West Indies who are undermined by unfit players and administrative bungling.
Now that they are in their favour, they provide an excellent opportunity to reverse three successive series losses to New Zealand, without a victory in eight Tests dating back to 1995, and to keep New Zealand below them at No.8 on the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test standings.
It is not to say that captain Chris Gayle is without his concerns.
His latest opening partner, Sewnarine Chattergoon, was out for 13 and lucky to even get there. Wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin once more fell cheaply, a failure diminished by Taylor’s brilliance.
The bowlers, as usual, lacked consistency and were hard pressed to dismiss opponents with a new opening batsman (Tim McIntosh, who scored 38) and an experimental switch in the order (Danuel Flynn up to No.3 where he scored 95 and Jesse Ryder to No.5 where he made 89).
All three are left-handers and the West Indies need to reassess their tactics of a 7-2 offside-legside field bowling to a line wide of off-stump, where all three are strong.
The balance of the attack will also be high on the agenda of convenor of selectors, Clyde Butts, who is in New Zealand for the entire tour in his official capacity, Gayle, vice-captain Ramdin and coach John Dyson.
In the first Test, they opted for Lionel Baker, on debut, as the fourth fast bowler in preference to Sulieman Benn, the tall left-arm spinner.
The decision was influenced by heavy rain preceding the match and the expectation that the pitch would be damp. There was no help for speed, swing or seam and Gayle ended up bowling his off-spin for 20 overs on the first day – and claiming three of the four wickets.
Knowledgeable local information that the pitch at McClean Park is hard and faster and bouncier than at Dunedin’s University Oval, would point to the retention of the all-pace bias.
Yet reference to the previous Test at the ground, won by England by 121 runs last February, would favour Benn.
In England’s second innings 467-7 declared, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori wheeled away for 45 overs with his left-arm spin for a return of four for 158. The figures of England’s equivalent, Monty Panesar, in New Zealand’s second innings were 46-17-126-6.
The presence of the West Indies’ only genuine all-rounder at present, Dwayne Bravo, would solve the problem. He would be No.6 in the order and the fourth quick bowler, allowing for the inclusion of a specialist spinner.
He continues to recuperate from his ankle operation, thus he cannot return fast enough.
In the meantime, the West Indies have every reason to assert themselves. It is not often. As in recent times, that has been the case.
