SULIEMANN BENN made a pertinent statement after the opening day of the Digicel Series.
“I’m very hungry to take wickets, personally, and for other spinners in the Caribbean,” the beanpole left-arm spinner told the media following his marathon spell of 33 successive overs on the day. “There’s been some talk about the lack of quality spinners in the Caribbean and I want to prove those people wrong.”
He continued to make point yesterday, ending with four wickets for 77 from 44.2 overs. There was scarcely a loose ball among them.
When Kevin Pietersen, one of the contemporary game’s most destructive hitters, went after him on Wednesday with four, four, six off the first three balls of an over that carried him into the 90s, Benn didn’t flinch.
He didn’t fire the next one wide of off-stump or beseech Chris Gayle to post fielders to distant parts. He recognised that Pietersen was on adrenalin high. He might even have recalled how, against South Africa at Edgbaston last year, England’s latest South African tried to blast another left-arm spinner, Paul Harris, for a six to raise his hundred only to be caught at long-on.
So Big Benn tossed it up and challenged Pietersen to try again. Unable to resist, the batsman only got a top-edge onto his slog and Denesh Ramdin stepped forward to gather the skier as Benn beamed.
It was a courageous piece of bowling, encouraged by the quality of his spell, the earlier wicket of Paul Collingwood and by the confidence of his captain.
That was precisely the point of Benn’s end-of-play comment. West Indies spinners can only succeed with the trust of their captains and the support of the selectors.
He is playing his fourth Test, only his second in succession. Even that is more than others have been given.
While fast bowlers with modest records have been repeatedly favoured, there has been little chance for a host of those who deal in flight, turn and guile.
Rajindra Dhanraj had four Tests in four different countries, Dave Mohammed five in four countries. Rawl Lewis made his debut in 1997. He had to wait another 11 years for his second.
Dinanath Ramnarine had the excellent return of 45 wickets in 12 Tests at an average of 30 and couldn’t get a regular game. So he quit when he should have been in his prime and took over the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) instead.
Benn’s performance at Sabina should ensure that doesn’t happen again – or is that being naïve?
