Stumbling through Test cricket

IN international cricket, one cannot assume the outcome of a forthcoming competition from the results from a previous tournament. Every Test match has a definition of its own.

For those who understand and enjoy Test cricket, this is where the beauty of the game exists. So many characteristics rely on the country in which the series is taking place and on the nature of the pitches. There are hard, fast, bouncy pitches like those in Australia, or the slower, seaming wickets of England, plus the turning surfaces of India. There are other diverse types of pitches throughout the world of cricket.

Coaches have to be aware of the intricacies of the various international cricket fields and their pitches throughout the world. However, it is not a rule that any particular quality is specific to that location.

For instance, the West Indies captain and some of his players were still harping on the excellent victory their team obtained in the second Test match against Australia earlier this year, which allowed them to draw the series and claim the first Test victory on Australian soil in 27 years.

One startling performance by a newcomer, Guyanese fast bowler Shamar Joseph, who collected seven wickets for 68 in the second innings to win the match, blinded Kraigg Brathwaite and his coaches to the fact that at present they are playing a different series in contrasting conditions and they ought to be prepared for it.

In the first Test at Lord’s in London last week, the WI batting collapsed in a heap in both innings for scores of 121 and 136. England gathered 371, with four of their batsmen scoring fifties. Gudakesh Motie, the slow left-arm orthodox spinner, batting at no 9, was not dismissed in either innings, getting to 14 in the first and top-scoring with 31 in the second.

There wasn’t a single fifty scored by a West Indian batsman in the game. The best first-innings score was 27, by Test debutant Mikyle Louis. It is a good and positive feeling to be self-confident, as it helps the young cricketer, plus the inexperienced, to look forward to their next game. More importantly, the feeling of pride ensures that the long hours of practice are adhered to, for the main reason that one does not want to be a failure after that performance.

Nonetheless, after witnessing the play in this first Test, no one seemed to be fine-tuned for tackling the English opposition.

Therefore, I had a close look at the coaches and the captain and arrived at certain conclusions.

Firstly, I believe that the skipper is going through a crisis of confidence in his batting. When he should be leading from the front, sadly, there are no runs backing his innings outlay over the past 16 months to give him the positive feelings that he mentions often in his interviews about his players. In his last 17 Test innings he has made 258 runs, at an average of 15.17.

Hence the captain cannot be feeling very good about his batting right now, and thus will find it exceedingly difficult to motivate his charges to greater things if he himself is struggling for runs.

Secondly, why is Jimmy Adams an assistant coach with the team? He was a failed captain, and a failed director of cricket with Cricket West Indies. His analysis of why the batting failed, describing bowler-friendly conditions, yet nothing about batting technique, is unfortunate. It begs the question of why the English batsmen scored 371.

Did head coach Andre Coley and his assistant Adams put their batsmen and bowlers through hours of practice before the first Test?

Previously, before the T20 format took over the world of cricket because of its simplicity, touring teams had at least seven first-class county games to acclimatise to the challenging English conditions.

Nowadays, a team has to be ready to compete internationally before they arrive. Preparation through practice, supervised by coaches, is now vital before an international tour.

The WI batsmen did not look the part because the ball was moving off the seam and they did not have the skill to resist. These are English conditions, and that happens throughout the country, albeit on some pitches more than others. However, because of lack of application, they would never be able to retaliate to play a substantial innings.

The WI bowlers, apart from Jayden Seales, did not use the conditions as well as they should have.

The WI team was below Test standard.