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Pace Comes in Four

Wednesday, March 19 2003

Since the days of Walsh and Ambrose, the West Indies has been a team searching for an identity. Finally, they seem to have found a balance, which presents them as a vastly improved team. With exceptional young batting led by the trio of Sarwan, Samuels and Gayle, the Windies shows great future promise.

What is it that this team needs to match the success of their predecessors? The answer is obvious. After the retirement of world-record holder, Courtney Walsh, Trinidadian, Mervyn Dillon, has led the bowling attack. Dillon has done a fair job but the West Indian attack on a whole has been inconsistent. Indeed there has been a crop of 'good' bowers but none have really proven beyond the point of useful. Fear not West Indies fans, the next great four-pronged attack may come sooner than you think.

Not many things can stir up excitement in a West Indian than the mention of the name Jermaine Lawson. Lawson has shown that he can bowl consistently at 95mph and has a distinct ability to take wickets. Fans will remember the blurred yorker with which he uprooted Indian batsman, Mongia's middle stump, very fondly. Lawson has already instituted a bold introduction into International cricket with 24 combined wicket (15 Test, 9 ODI) and one of the most destructive spells in cricket history to his name in 10 matches (4 Test, 6 ODI).

In 2002, versus Bangladesh, Lawson took an astounding 6/3 - the second most economical 5+wicket haul in history. The best thing about Lawson is that he can only get better. There is no better opposition currently, for a young, enthusiastic pacer to establish himself against than the mighty Australians. Surely, every true cricket fan will be rooting for him come April and beyond. Lawson is just 21 years of age.

The immediate partner for Jermaine Lawson in terms of pace would appear to be his fellow countryman, Daren Powell. Unlike Lawson, Powell has had neither the media attention nor the immediate success but shows definite promise. Powell has only played 5 Internationals (4 Tests, 1 ODI) for 13 wickets (12 T, 1 ODI) but he is just 24 with a bright career ahead.

The third member of the quartet would be unrecognisable by many, but those who follow West Indies cricket closely will be very familiar with Tino Best. Best hails from Barbados and possesses great speed. He, like Powell and Lawson, is a genuine quick bowler. At just 21 years of age, Best has gone on two 'A' Team tours and grabbed 58 FC wickets in 15 games – no easy feat on the dead tracks of the Caribbean. All the while, he has troubled regional batsman with pace and bounce.

This year, Best leads all Carib Cup bowlers with 35 wickets in 7 matches with a strike rate of just 25.1. During the course of the tournament, he has also managed to match up with a leading candidate to join him in the future of West Indies cricket, Ravi Rampaul.

Ravi completes the quadrilateral as another exciting talent with much to contribute. His stats at a glance are only moderately impressive but his potential definitely surpasses. Indeed, 24 wickets at an average of 32.83 does not do the Trinidadian youngster due.

Rampaul hails as the youngest of the lot at just 19 years. The most outstanding achievement of his career so far is a hat trick representing the region in the Under-17 World Cup against Zimbabwe.

Four very promising young men thrown into the tropical beat can confidently issue a warning to the world. Bring on Australia and beyond!



Posted by Liam