By Tony Cozier
ONE conclusion is clear from the West Indies squad chosen for its forthcoming tour of Australia.
To have decided to send the same 15 players just beaten in both Tests and three ODIs in Sri Lanka to Australia where the climate, the environment and, above all, the opposition present altogether different, tougher challenges for the three Tests is an admission of a dearth of credible, available alternatives.
Chief selector Clive Lloyd and his colleagues simply have no way of assessing the competence of prospective Test players from a sub-standard regional first-class Professional Cricket League (CPL), devalued by the absence of several experienced players now committed to the numerous global domestic T20 franchise teams.
Nine West Indians have signed contracts for the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the closing stages of which coincide with the Hobart Test in Australia. Three are in Australia’s Big Bash December 10 to January 7. Sunil Narine and Dwayne Bravo headed directly from the limited overs matches in Sri Lanka to South Africa for the closing stages of the T20 Ram Slam.
All have abandoned Test cricket yet are hardened cricketers whose involvement in the on-going PCL would appreciably lift levels. As it is, the majority have appeared in little or no first-class cricket for their territories of late,
Seven of those who were in the Tests in Sri Lanka have managed to squeeze in the first two PCL matches before heading off to Australia; they won’t be available again until the second round in February.
The only change to the squad for Australia is the reinstatement of head coach Phil Simmons, suspended on the eve of the Sri Lanka tour for heated public comments about his fellow selectors’ rejection of his plea for the return of Dwayne Bravo and Keiron Pollard for the ODIs in Sri Lanka.
It would normally be a significant return. The Trinidadian who joined the West Indies in March after eight, highly acclaimed years as coach of Ireland had clearly developed a close relationship with the players. In his third Test, he oversaw the victory over England to level the home series last May. After his suspension, captain Holder pleaded for his quick return. He is now back after issuing a humbling apology, demanded by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), and told that it will ‘immediately investigate’ his allegations of outside interference in the selection process and subsequently ‘take the necessary and appropriate action’. In other words, he is still on notice.
He missed an important series in Sri Lanka when Eldine Baptiste, one of the selectors with whom he disagreed, took his place on an interim basis. Events in Australia should reveal whether his authority has been compromised.
When installed as chief selector a year ago, Lloyd declared a youth policy aimed at rebuilding an anemic team with promising young players.
He immediately made Jason Holder, 23, ODI captain, later elevating him to the same position in Tests. He and his panel ended the career of the enduring, ever dependable Shivnarine Chanderpaul at 41 to widespread criticism, not least from the player himself.
Lloyd remains committed to the policy. Eleven of the 15 in Sri Lanka and heading for Australia are under 30, seven under 25. Ten are on their first Test tour of Australia.
Only Samuels and Denesh Ramdin have played more than 50 Tests. The two have 11 hundreds between them, all the others the same number. Darren Bravo is the only batsman with an average over 40, Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach the only bowlers with more than 100 Test wickets.
The Tests against the Australians whose ruthless power has been demonstrated over the past fortnight against New Zealand, will inevitably break some of Lloyd’s young brigade and make others stronger. The recent performances of Samuels and Roach, whose experience is critical in such an inexperienced team, are cause for concern. Samuels has apparently surrendered his BPL contract to be available for all three Tests. After scores of 11, 0, 13 and 6 in his four Test innings in Sri Lanka, his career of a dozen years in international cricket would have ended had there been a capable option. His revival in the white ball matches was evidence of both his class and his inconsistency that has resulted in an unsatisfactory Test average of 34.52.
His returns in Australia, where he impressively started at a raw 19-year-old in 2000-01, are likely to determine his future at the age of 34.
Roach is 27. Whether he can regain his form and, more critically his confidence, could also be an indicator of his long-term prospects.The West Indies can ill afford to lose a bowler of his record and potential at this stage.
Since his Man of the Series, 13 wickets on debut against Bangladesh in the Caribbean in 2009, he has been consistently the spearhead of the attack. A strong action generating speeds in excess 140 kph compensated for his lack of height at 5 feet, eight inches. In 2014, he was the only West Indian in the top 10 bowlers in the ICC rankings.
His previous tour of Australia in 2009-10 enhanced his status; he was at his peak with five wickets in each innings against the Aussies in Port-of-Spain in 2012.
The drawback is that, through injuries, he and Taylor have been rarely at their best together.When physically healthy, they are an effective combination, each with over 100 Test wickets.
Michael Holding has stressed that management needs to ensure that they and the other quick bowlers (the pacy Shannon Gabriel and the fast-medium seamers Holder and Carlos Brathwaite) remain fit.
‘Fast bowlers will win Test matches in Australia,’ he maintained – and he should know as one of the fearsome West Indies quartets in the Eighties. ‘ I’m not saying the fast bowling squad we have is the best ever but there are some guys that can do well.’ Roach’s injuries have had a profound effect. They have sapped his pace and his confidence. After an outstanding home season in 2014 with 26 wickets in five Tests against New Zealand and Bangladesh, a fractured shoulder sidelined him until the first Test in South Africa last December. After two wickets in his opening spell, a twisted ankle ended his tour.
In his subsequent five Tests, against England last April and May and Australia in June in the Caribbean and the two in Sri Lanka last month, he has managed nine wickets at an average of 56.22 against an overall 28.21. His return in his three of the seven matches in the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand was a solitary wicket.
The latest committee’s review of West Indies cricket states that ‘the time is long past’ for the governance of the game to be reformed and calls for the immediate dissolution of an ‘antiquated’ West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
That alone won’t turn around the fortunes of the team. It needs everyone fit and performing, the development of the young batsmen and Simmons’ beneficial influence. A long, hard struggle lies ahead and they don’t come harder than confronting Australia in Australia.
