As the West Indies cricket team wing their way back home to the Caribbean, no doubt they are a saddened but wiser bunch, with their luggage slightly lighter, albeit for having lost the Wisden Trophy.
Before reviewing their performance on the field, let’s stand and tip our hats to our boys, including the reserves, for accepting the challenge to play in England, which at the time was suffering one of the highest death rates in the world as the Covid-19 pandemic raged. Their willingness to play and live in a bio secure bubble for seven weeks was very admirable to say the least, and their noble act probably saved the English Cricket Board financial hardship and kept the flame of Test cricket alight. Chances are, the Pakistanis, who are about to commence a similar series, might have also declined to accept the rather demanding conditions had the West Indians refused the invitation.
Kudos aside, how could the team’s performance have deteriorated so quickly from the First to the Third Test match? In less than three weeks, the visitors went from scoring 200 for the loss of six wickets to capture the First Test match, to two lacklustre batting displays in the Second Test, to being unable to survive two full sessions of play, to draw the Third Test match.
The lame excuse of “the difficult circumstances under which the series was played” does not hold water. Weren’t the English exposed to the same terms and conditions? The pressure was actually greater on the English side since they were enjoying home field advantage and then found themselves trailing in a short series. This is Test cricket where the best face the best. Nothing is given, nothing is asked. One is expected to adapt and adjust to the varying conditions and tactics that one is confronted with as the game progresses. It is a physical and mental game in which the very best thrive. Clearly, the West Indies players are lacking in some departments at this critical level, though their skill, talent and fitness levels need not be questioned.
Where then lies the answer to the problem? Since the beginning of 2014, the West Indies have participated in 21 Test series winning five, drawing two and losing 14. Of the 14 lost, five were by 2 -1 margins in three Test encounters, of which four were tied heading into the final Test, three of which occurred within the last three years. In each of these encounters, the West Indies have capitulated in the deciding match. The failure to win or draw any of these encounters speaks volumes about their confidence and belief in their ability to win on a consistent basis.
How can one ever forget the injudicious agriculture swipe attempted by Shannon Gabriel in the Third Test versus Pakistan in 2017 in Dominica? With seven deliveries remaining in the series and the reliable Royston Chase, 101 not out, destined to face the final over, Gabriel essayed a shot one would employ to hit a six off the final delivery of a T20 game, and was comprehensively bowled by a simple delivery. Tying with the very strong Pakistani team would have been an immense confidence booster to a side which had fought tooth and nail throughout the series. So, what is the West Indies doing wrong or not doing at all?
In the National Basketball Association (NBA) League, as the play-offs progress every year, a familiar pattern emerges. The better defensive teams are always advancing to the next round. In the final minutes of a close game, with a narrow lead to protect, the whole team seems to adapt a different identity. The players on the court, their faces masked in deep concentration, arduously execute their defensive assignments, as the pace of the game quickens. Why does the better defensive team always seem to emerge as the winner? Is it because they want the victory more than their opponents? The ability to focus and concentrate on the task at hand, that of closing out the game and protecting the lead, is the key to their success. Players spend countless hours doing repetitive drills in the gym and studying films of their opponents, breaking down their weaknesses, but more importantly, when the occasion demands, they can deliver what is expected of them.
Why aren’t our players closing out? Why aren’t they winning or at least drawing close series? Is it a lack of concentration? Is there a lack of self-confidence? Does the root of the problem lie in the structure of our Under-19 youth tournament which is now a 50-over, one-day affair as opposed to years ago when it was conducted in the three-day format? At the end of the day, Phil Simmons can do a perfect job as coach, it is still the players who have to believe in themselves and perform on the big stage of Test cricket
What strategies did England adapt after they lost the First Test? Michael Vaughan, the former England Test captain, writing in the Daily Telegraph quite aptly sums up their approach, “The last two Tests provide the blueprint for how England should play Test cricket. It is about hard, disciplined batting for periods of time, seeing off spells of bowling, wearing bowlers down, and making sure the batsman on any pitch guide the team to at least a par score.
“With the ball in hand it is about relentless discipline outside off stump and bowling dots. By doing that they build pressure, inducing mistakes from batsmen. It is a simple formula and stood the test of time in Test cricket.”
The West Indies need to work on developing the mindset of closing out opponents and not letting them back into a game or a series, until that time we will continue to rank in the middle of the pack of Test playing countries.