By Orin Davidson
West Indies has given short shrift to spin bowling over the years, but Sulieman Benn proved it is the way to go for this Test and the remainder of the series Down Under.
Benn produced an admirable spell to claim his first “fiver’ in Test cricket to give West Indies hope and a psychological victory by leading the Aussies at Adelaide, and showed that the selectors erred by naming a mere one specialist spinner for this tour.
Australia has forever been vulnerable to spin, yet if Clyde Butts and the rest of the Windies selection panel had been doing their homework, the inclusion of either Nikita Miller and or Dave Mohamed would have been a slam dunk decision.
Both bowlers have better regional statistics than Benn whose accuracy and variations limited Australia and gave West Indies an advantage which seemed improbable after the former team’s domination in the Brisbane first Test.
Spin has been the Aussies’ Achilles heel for too long, for the WI selectors to have overlooked that deficiency.
No one should be reminded that from the time Lance Gibbs hat tricked Australia at the said Adelaide ground more than four decades ago, Australia has had problems with spin until now.
England won the Ashes this past summer due to an excellent team display, but Graeme Swann’s off spin was pivotal in the two Tests England won in the second and fifth games.
Swann, a relative newcomer to Test cricket bowled England to victory with two four wicket hauls in that series clincher at The Oval that sealed the 2-1 series victory.
Earlier in the series Swann snapped up another crucial four-wicket haul in the victory at Lords.
If such evidence was not enlightening enough for the West Indies selectors to take note, India proved that spin was the key to their 2008 home series win over Australia.
Harbhajan Singh’s off spin was the key to that success as he grabbed seven wickets at Nagpur to follow up a vital support role to leg spinner Amit Mishra earlier at Mohali as India secured a well earned 2-0 triumph.
And South Africa, which considers spin in Tests an afterthought, saw its unheralded left armer Paul Harris bag five wickets to help them win the first Test at Perth that setup 2-1 series triumph last year.
And in the home series before that India used Anil Kumble and Virender Sehwag to good effect in winning at the said Perth ground.
Now Benn is continuing the pattern which should’ve been anticipated given Miller’s good showing against the said Australia in the Champions Trophy limited overs series a few months back in South Africa.
Following the breakdown of bowling spearhead, Jerome Taylor, this West Indies squad would’ve made more sense had Narsingh Deonarine been used ahead of Darren Sammy.
This would seem a typical second guessing case, after Sammy failed to impact in Australia’s first innings.
But it is the work of the technical team on the spot to properly assess the players they see everyday and use the intelligence of the past to make the correct decisions.
Deonarine is a good off spinner and surely he would’ve been a better choice to exploit Australia’s weakness to the slower stuff. And given his specialty as a batsman, it should’ve been a more compelling choice.
Sammy might have scored 44 in the first innings at Adelaide and captured two five wicket hauls against lowly Bangladesh in the two tests at home in the West Indies in May/June, but he is not the quality seamer he promised to be after a sensational Test debut seven wicket haul against England a few years ago.
Horses for courses is a strategy that still works, which means that West Indies has to capitalize on the resources they have in this current second Test squad.
Captain Chris Gayle has to play a more prominent role with the ball for that crucial Australia second innings.
Gayle has made himself a reluctant bowler in his role as captain, but he is a much better off spinner than he gives himself credit for, and has no choice but to push himself to compliment Benn.
Gayle does not turn the ball square, but has the ability to deceive batsmen with subtle variation and it is imperative he gives himself more than the nine overs he had on Sunday, in what is sure to be an exciting finish to the test.
It does not mean that Kemar Roach must be marginalized, as the youngster has shown his class in both Tests so far which means that he should be an automatic choice for future West Indies teams.
His pace and stamina augers well for his apparent dedication to the hard work and fitness that are prerequisites for fast bowlers, for which the majority of his predecessors are not renowned for.
Ravi Rampaul should take note as he already seems spent after only two innings of bowling.
Yet even if he was in the best of form, West Indies has no better chance of pulling off an improbable win, than by spearheading the attack with spin, which has to be their primary weapon for the rest of Adelaide and the final game at Perth.
