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Pressure on WI bats

Thursday, April 10 2003

An enormous task confronts an inexperienced West Indian batting line-up when the first Test against Australia begins in Guyana on Thursday. Without the names Hooper, Sarwan and Gayle, even more of an already alarming burden falls upon new skipper Brian Lara and, to a lesser extent, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who will be looking to back up from his impressive showing in last season's clash with India.

Somehow, the West Indians will need to find another four batsmen from their thirteen-man squad who can make an impact against a weakened yet still powerfully imposing Australian bowling attack. Potential debutant Devon Smith will most likely join Wavell Hinds in the opening position. Darren Ganga and the promising yet under-achieving Marlon Samuels round out what looks a fairly brittle top six, particularly if Lara is dismissed cheaply.

The player who perhaps has to lift most and justify his place in the team is Ganga, who averages a lowly 22.96 through his first seventeen Test matches. While in recent times he has occupied the number six position, Ganga's last encounter with Australia was during the 2000/01 tour. Here, he opened the batting in the first four Tests and managed a miserable 107 runs at 13.4.

This display will undoubtedly be in the back of Ganga's mind as he prepares to confront the opponent who gave him such a terrible technical and psychological belting last time around. Another similarly dismal performance could see his international career come to an abrupt end at barely 24 years of age.

Marlon Samuels, who debuted in the same ill-fated tour of 2000/01, showed an impressive ability to put the plight of his team behind him on that occasion. He made an immediate impact upon teammates, the opposition and commentators alike with a fluent 60* & 46 double in just his second Test, easily top scoring in each innings of an otherwise bleak match for the West Indies.

Yet since then, Samuels has been surprisingly in and out of the Test side due to fluctuating form and injury. His capacity to look so comfortable in notching a fluent thirty or forty has simply not been enough, especially when it is mixed in with just as many single figure scores. But Samuels may be ready to explode after a timely maiden century late last year captured the full extent of his ample promise. What better place to prove yourself than against an Indian attack featuring Harbhajan and Kumble on a turning Eden Gardens deck in Calcutta? And that's exactly what he did.

While Samuels' flare and potential makes him a danger, Wavell Hinds clearly has the capacity to take an attack apart on his day. It's just a shame that his day doesn't come around too often.

Clearly Devon Smith is somewhat of an unkown quantity outside his homeland, and that could be an advantage. While the Australians did play against him during the week, they will not have seen enough to have a sound knowledge of his game. He has the opportunity to spring a surprise assault on Australia from the opening position, in the tradition of New Zealand's Lou Vincent...even if this seems unlikely.

The selection of two 'keepers in the squad, Ridley Jacobs and Carlton Baugh, takes on another dimension with the impressive display of Baugh for the Board XI. An undefeated century in that match, as well as solid form with the bat in the domestic competition, would apparently combine to make the young gloveman an obvious choice in the side ahead of the more experienced Jacobs.

Whether or not Baugh's work with the gloves is considered good enough at this stage in his career may be a major discussion point. However, one would think that if he is selected in the squad then he is good enough to make the final XI. It is certainly no secret that Ridley, for all he brings to the game in terms of his onfield endeavour and colourful, if unorthodox, work behind the stumps, has clearly gone downhill with the bat in recent times.

In this series it is highly likely that the number seven will be required a little earlier in proceedings than the home side had initially planned. Baugh may just be very badly needed.

Posted by JohnC