Dear Editor,
Our cricket team’s victory over Pakistan is cause for much celebration, but more importantly the mode of victory calls for kudos to be given to the captain, coach and management of this team. The coach and captain of this team are probably the two most maligned individuals in the Caribbean at present, but they both had a major input into this victory.
Special mention must be made of the captain Darren Sammy who responded to his critics with a performance worthy of folklore. To be able to come and give that sort of performance in the face of almost universal criticism speaks volumes of the character of the individual, and vindicated the coach and selectors’ decision to name him as captain. His selection will continue to raise serious doubts, but if he continues to perform as he did in this Test match then he will grudgingly be accepted by W/Indies fans.
The coach, Otis Gibson, is not far behind the captain in terms of criticism, mainly because of his continued faith in Sammy as captain and his supposed decision to axe some senior players. However, Gibson has a bigger picture for W/Indies cricket and this is to think long term. His selection of Sammy was a forced hand simply because there was no other alternative. His other choice of axing senior players also had its merits in that he simply wanted a fresh deck upon which to imprint his vision for the future.
He wanted to introduce his mantra of hard work and discipline and the response of those senior players again vindicated his decision, since they gave the impression that they were bigger than the structure. That some of our senior players took to politicking was extremely shocking and degraded the stature of the player in the eyes of his supporters.
So how did this team fare? The most glaring deficiency was our lack of ability against quality spin, but the same can also be said of Pakistan (and they were also weak against pace) – a team that has been developed on spin.
But our bowlers, teamwork and never-say-die attitude made up for this, and it is what eventually won us this Test match. The attitude especially was different from previous matches even when we had our full stock of ‘superstars.’ And this is what the coach wanted – a total team effort.
Ravi Rampaul was a revelation and was, in my judgement, the deserved man of the match. He bowled with pace, movement and control, and is a complete change from the bowler he was a few seasons ago.
Again this has been credited to the work of the coach. If he can be reborn imagine what our other more talented players could achieve if they show similar commitment.
Bishoo has been the find of the season and probably of the decade, and has a very long career ahead of him provided that he conforms to the coach’s mantra of hard work and discipline.
His batting at the tail-end was a revelation, simply because he stuck it out for the team as did Kemar Roach and Rampaul in the 1st innings.
Those few extra runs that were made by the tail made the difference. Again these were things not seen in the recent past and must have been because of the coach’s impact.
Another obvious plus was the batsmen’s willingness to put aside their natural tendency and graft for runs under difficult conditions. Simmons and Bravo in the 1st innings, Simmons again in the 2nd and of course the old hand Chanderpaul, all showed that willingness. Too often in the past our batsmen tried to slog their way out of such difficult situations without trying to adjust to the conditions.
This team is still a work in progress and many more changes need to be done before a final quality team is met.
Firstly, Devon Smith needs to be replaced since his confidence must now have fully evaporated, and it is difficult to see him recovering as a cricketer.
Braithwaite needs to take his place in the team and should be given the full confidence to develop his career. We must not place too much burden on his young shoulders.
There is definitely a need for an attacking batsman in the middle order – à la Umar Akmal – who is willing to take the attack to the bowlers.
That player in the W/Indies is Marlon Samuels.
He has all the hallmarks of a great player, but his effortless aggression makes him stand out as a special player in a Test match. What he did in the trial match – though not against quality opposition – was brutal (though elegant) and he would definitely be an asset to any Test tam.
We should not place too much burden on young Bishoo’s shoulders and there must be an alternative spinner in the squad who should play under correct conditions.
Roach looked flat at times in this match and he is probably feeling the burden of leading the attack for the past few months. Edwards is already on the team and is a more than capable replacement.
Baugh was completely at sea against the spinners and his demise in both innings was reminiscent of our past. Ramdin is definitely a better player of spin and also a better keeper and should be reinstated.
As we prepare for the 2nd Test we should not raise our expectations too high. At least we can say that we are on par or even better than this Pakistan team, and this was obvious since the 3rd ODI.
This is much more than what was expected when the Pakistan team first landed on our shores a month ago. At that time this team was given zero chance of success against Pakistan, so they have already exceeded expectation.
Looking ahead, the team for the 2nd Test should read – Simmons, Braitwaithe, Bravo, Sarwan, Chanderpaul, Samuels, Ramdin, Sammy, Rampaul, Bishoo, Edwards/ Roach.
Good Luck Windies!
Yours faithfully,
E Fredericks