Dear Editor,
The fourth day was better than most expected, but worse than it could have been.
Opener Brathwaite was more confident in his approach, but made the kind of error of judgment in not leaving one outside the off-stump as one would have expected him to do. Chandrika again demonstrated that there was good reason for believing he could become a good opener. Together those two provided a reasonable start.
Watching Bravo walk to the wicket I did not get a good feeling. I soon felt he was not engaged and therefore was not surprised when he perished early. He is still young and will continue to improve because he is hugely talented with a calm disposition.
Samuels’ poor showing makes me worry that he may be coming to the end even before his thirty-fifth birthday. The reason for this and several of his poor performances have nothing to do with the ridiculous allegation of not caring, due to the interpretations given to his body language. Samuels is obviously not an attractive personality, at least not to men, but only unreasonable people believe he does not want to succeed.
The combination of a major long-term knee injury and an almost complete loss of confidence inhibit movement across the wicket. Apart from forward movement to spin, of which he may still be the best exponent in the WI, he is often immobile. Management must either get help for him to improve his confidence or stand him down. It is possible for him to play well again because his record and his appearance when he plays well are evidence that he is hugely talented. Blackwood tried to repeat an aggressive shot in circumstances that made his choice quite silly. So he perished without being beaten. There is a real question, despite his obvious ability, that he is ready, although I have no doubt that with proper handling he could be a force to be reckoned with in the future.
Rookies do not often repeat good performances in successive outings. Carlos Brathwaite was no exception. He is a decent all-rounder and will be good again.
I was very happy to see Ramdin get some runs. The reason was very simple. He got back some confidence, which is a very elusive thing, even for the greatest of players. Ramdin is a decent wicket-keeper batsman whose weakness in the face of the fast inswinger is one he shares with many batsmen. There is no reason to believe he cannot overcome it.
Roach, as has become common, held his own as a lower order batsman. He did not give away his wicket. Although not relevant for today`s notes, his near term future as a top class quick bowler has to be given great and sympathetic attention.
Taylor was a great disappointment with the bat. He is one player whose failure with the bat is not, in my view, a confidence issue. It is more of an attitude problem, the solution to which, is not beyond the ken of a good professional whose work is supported by management. Although not relevant for these notes, his bowling is also a cause for concern. I believe that as attractive as his action is, it needs some tinkering with, to avoid some bad tendencies, one of which is to put the ball on the batsman’s pads.
No. 11 J Warrican, has never been out in this series. It will be interesting to see what would happen if those above him gave him some respect as well as the opportunity to show what he can do. He might provide pleasant surprises.
Yours faithfully,
Romain Pitt
