A sequence of events these past few weeks have accentuated, on the one hand, the desperate efforts to unearth new tearaway fast bowlers and, on the other, the absence, in that quest, of the host of West Indians from previous generations who made our cricket as strong and as respected as it was.
In an island that has produced more outstanding purveyors of pace per square mile than anywhere else on earth, the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) has found it necessary to initiate a programme specifically aimed at discovering the potential successors of Herman Griffith and Manny Martindale, Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Wayne Daniel, Sylvester Clarke et al.
At the same time, the three quickest young bowlers in the region have been chosen in the revived West Indies ‘A’ team for its forthcoming engagements purely on their potential, not on their unflattering statistics.
And while no programme has been announced for the next step for whoever is unearthed in Barbados or for Brendon Bess, Shannon Gabriel and Nelon Pascal of the ‘A’ team, Craig McDermott, the outstanding Australian pacer of the 198s and 1990s, is conducting fast bowling clinics for some promising West Indians at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) as part of the Australian government’s Sport Outreach Programme (ASOP).
The BCA’s states its objective in a quarter-page newspaper advertisement.
“WANTED: Genuine pacers. The search continues! Show the coaches what real pace is! The Barbados Cricket Association is looking for you (male or female, age 17-25) if you believe that you have genuine pace.”
Players from Division One clubs are excluded, for they are seen every weekend. Others keen to show off to the director of coaching and his staff are doing so at various venues over the coming months.
There have, as yet, been no reports of success but these are early days. Wasn’t Hall picked for the 1957 tour of England after just three first-class matches and a couple of wickets?
The BCA initiative is an unmistakable sign of the changed times. Not too long ago, all that was needed was a visit to a village match or a look at some beach cricket.
The ‘A’ team for the upcoming series against Zimbabwe in Grenada and, subsequently, tours of Bangladesh, Ireland and England, was further evidence of the craving for the revival of the glory days, when batsmen quaked in their boots as giant West Indians threatened their wickets and their well-being.
Bess, Pascal (both 22) and Gabriel (a few days of 22) have been picked purely because of the miles an hour at which they propel the cricket ball and in the hope that such potential can be converted into success.
Bess and Gabriel have the advantage of height; Pascal is a somewhat round-arm slinger. The Grenadian Pascal has been on the scene longest, a graduate of the West Indies Under-19s with 22 first-class matches, a senior tour of England and an ODI to his name.
Bess has had 17 first-class matches for Guyana, Gabriel just three after his first regional season for T&T. Their stats are not flattering (Pascal 61 wickets at an average of 33.95; Bess 29 wickets at 48.38; Gabriel four wickets at 39.25) but all three can rev it up.
The word is that, once their ‘A’ team engagements are done, they are to join the soon-to-be opened West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) academy for concentrated attention. In fact, Bess is among those presently at the McDermott clinics in Trinidad before leaving on Tuesday for the series against Zimbabwe.
McDermott’s stint in Trinidad, although brief, is to be welcomed as was the previous arrangement under the ASPO that brought Australian fielding coach Mike Young to the UTT.
All the same, the consequent question is obvious. Where are all the West Indian McDermotts?
Ian Bishop is occupied as television commentator in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Andy Roberts is having operations on his knees in England. But wouldn’t one or more of Hall, Griffith, Michael Holding, Colin Croft, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh be available for similar, regular clinics throughout the Caribbean – or to help in the Barbados examination.
The WICB might well be considering a fast bowling component to its academy in which case it has plenty of quality contributors on whom to call.
The MRF Pace Foundation in India should be an encouraging example. MRF, one of India’s largest corporations, brought in Dennis Lillee, the legendary Australian fast bowler, to establish it just over a decade ago.
Since then, India’s fast bowling has been transformed into a potent force from the joke it once was (“Here comes Abid Ali, the fastest bowler in all India, and Kanhai is forward, smothering the spin,” went one supposed commentary line).
Clinics, Foundations and want ads for “genuine pacers” won’t end the West Indies’ concern over present limited pace stocks.
Conditions and fitness regimes are two areas that need urgent attention.
Pitches have deteriorated to such an extent that fast bowlers have become the second-class citizens of regional cricket. Spinners are now kings, so favoured by captains on slow, turning surfaces that they are sometimes given the new ball, an annoying disincentive to the macho men who chose pace as their weapon.
This is accentuated by the growing amount of international cricket that placed increased stress on the body.
The careers of the quickest and most encouraging West Indies’ bowlers to emerge in the first decade of the century – Jerome Taylor, Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul – have all been setback by one injury or another. The latest in line, Kemar Roach, is now troubled by an ankle problem.
All fit, Edwards, Taylor and Roach would represent a formidable attack but they have never played a Test together. There must be some doubt that they ever will.
Edwards, now 28, is overcoming a major back operation and Taylor, 26, has been kept out since last November by a hip problem.
Rampaul, who generated 90 miles an hour speed as a teenager, has markedly decelerated since shin splints put him out of action for more than two years.
It is no wonder there is such an imperative campaign to build up fast bowling stocks.
