A ray of sunshine for West Indies

OUT of the gloomy, dark days for the West Indies in the United Arab Emirates and Oman at the start of their defence of the T20 World Cup, there was a ray of sunshine on October 29. On this day they got the better of Bangladesh by three runs to celebrate their first victory in three games having previously lost to England and South Africa.

However, before that, they experienced defeat in their two warm-up games against Pakistan and Afghanistan. Thus it was their first win in five games.

However, if I were Kieron Pollard or Phil Simmons I wouldn’t be impressed with the performance of the team.

They ought to be pleased that they won, of course, as it means there is still something to play for. Nevertheless, I’m sure they realise it was not a convincing win. Still much has to be done and nothing has improved since they arrived in the Middle East. They appeared listless in their warm-up games and this condition persisted in the three tournament matches played.

It was a joy to witness Jason Holder on the field during the match against Bangladesh, and he certainly added a fillip to the team with his positive attitude, enthusiasm and obvious professionalism. His batting, bowling and that excellent, critical catch on the boundary off the final delivery of the nineteenth over were all attributable to his fine display of cricket finesse.

And to think the WI selectors only saw him as a reserve. Unbelievable.

Performances must be examined and changes made to suit.

WI made 55 in the first game and the only person who was dropped for the second match was Obed McCoy, a fast bowler, for the spinner Hayden Walsh. By this time the left-arm spinning all-rounder Fabian Allen had already been sent back home because of injury and Akeal Hosein replaced him and did well in his brief time out there. England only needed 8.2 overs to overtake the measly total.

The selectors thought no change in the batsmen was warranted for the next game against South Africa, only a change in the batting order. Hence Nicholas Pooran was entrusted to take up the mantle at three and Chris Gayle was dropped down one in the order to number four. Fortunately, Evin Lewis scored a delightful 56, opening the batting, and a contribution of 26 at the latter part of the innings by skipper Pollard helped the total to limp to 143 for 8 wickets in 20 overs.

The Proteas took care of the relatively small total, arriving at their target in 18.2 overs for the loss of two wickets.

Alas, the third match against Bangladesh was next for the men from the Caribbean, being a do-or-die situation to stay in the contest. Either team that lost this game was left little chance to reach the semifinals in the competition. It would have been humiliating for the WI cricketers, as they were the defending champions.

Another change in the batting order, as selectors stuck with Gayle so that he would produce his fireworks, this time as an opening batsman, so they could tell their critics, “I told you so.” Lendl Simmons was “thrown under the bus” to accommodate the Jamaican, who failed once more, though tried in three different positions, at numbers 2, 3 and 4. They’re running out of positions to place him.

It’s good to see two of the travelling reserves, Hosein and Holder, on the team. They have given the team a fresh look with the eagerness of their approach; it seems as if the team is gradually achieving its right balance.

The selectors are not sure of themselves, as shown by the following example:

How come when left-arm spinning all-rounder Fabian Allen is injured, he’s replaced by one of the four travelling reserves, Akeal Hosein, who also happens to be a left-arm spinning all-rounder, yet when left-arm fast bowler Obed McCoy has to exit the team and be replaced, it is not the left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell used as his replacement but Jason Holder?

I questioned Cottrell’s inclusion before, as I did Darren Bravo as a travelling reserve instead of Sherfane Rutherford. Also, Romario Shepherd should have been there instead of Cottrell. The team is taking its positive shape by accident.

I will continue to question WI selectors and their sentimental choices, plus their questionable fitness tests and medical exemptions.