West Indies must go back to basics

AS THE start of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup approaches, the West Indies cricket team continues to prepare for the big occasion. which bowls off in Australia on 15 October.

Their first assignment to acclimatise themselves was a two-game T20 series against the home team and defending champions, Australia.

The first game at the Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast was a close affair in which WI lost by three wickets. However, some poor cricket was played. Winning this game could have made all the difference as a confidence-booster. The way the game was lost reveals a deep lack of confidence.

Left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell was given the responsibility of starting the final over to the left-handed Matthew Wade, with the Aussies needing 11 to win. Being slapped for four in the first delivery reduced the deficit to seven. Wade, with that boundary, moved his personal score to 43, then scooped the next delivery into the air, was dropped by Raymon Reifer at deep cover and gained two runs in the process.

After one run was taken from the next ball, Mitchell Starc, the tall left-arm fast bowler who also bats left-handed, played a wild swing with the intention of striking a boundary to end the game – and was dropped by Kyle Mayers.

A close, exciting end to a tight match. Australia placed in the winning position at the pole, to win with just one delivery left.

Some might call this bad luck for WI, but I believe it was bad cricket. Captain Nicholas Pooran had his opposition on the ropes in the final over when his players let the game slip.

There are no excuses for this ragged cricket in a final over in an international game. This was the opportunity to build confidence and pull down the Australians a peg. Every advantage is of vital importance. It would’ve been such a booster to start off with a win against the defending champions and earn new-found respect from the other teams in the tournament. Nevertheless, it wasn’t deserved.

WI didn’t have to wait long for the Aussies to show them how the game of cricket is played in the T20 format.

And to hear captain Pooran’s remarks after the games makes one cringe. Do coach Phil Simmons and Pooran ever discuss T20 cricket, how to approach it and how to apply cricket intelligence to the format?

The first thing that must be understood is that all the meetings the team may have cannot replace actual practice.

On a wicket that was giving the bowlers some help in this second game, which actually is not unusual for the Brisbane Cricket Ground, the exposure of the major weakness of a Windies team that struggled to adjust to changing conditions showed the lack of proper batting technique to suit those conditions. And this is the shortage of understanding and intelligence that masquerades as knowledge.

For example, in the first game, when WI had the game sewn up, Reifer and Mayers both dropped relatively easy catches that would have given the men from the Caribbean a much-needed win, not only for the specific game, but to position themselves advantageously for the tournament, with self-assurance.

After those dropped catches, the following morning, the entire team should have been doing catching practice, if only to show them how serious and important taking catches is and why the way to win matches is to take catches. When one practises catching over and over, it becomes a habit, and the catches are then taken almost by instinct.

The pitch at the Gabba didn’t just start seaming recently, but has always assisted seam and pace bowling. This is not a revelation. Over the years the seam bowlers had their way on this ground.

Yannic Cariah is a newcomer and I believe should be blooded. This is his first tour with the WI to Australia, and the CWI (Cricket West Indies) does not realise that one should not play an inexperienced back-of-the-hand spinner at Brisbane.

Another mistake is opening the bowling with Mayers. He should concentrate strictly on his batting, but if one needs a change because the game is drifting aimlessly, he can be used. However, giving him a main bowling role will not help.

Although WI could be a better team than their performances show, they are short of self-confidence through lack of practice. After some sessions, the difference in basic proficiency would be quite remarkable.