Pre-match blunder led to Windies loss (18 May 1999)

18 May 1999

Pre-match blunder led to Windies loss

Tony Becca

The West Indies lost the opening match of their World Cup campaign to Pakistan at Bristol on Sunday, and manager Clive Lloyd, captain Brian Lara and the other selectors should be kicking themselves.

After restricting Pakistan to 229 for eight in the allotted 50 overs, the West Indies were dismissed for 202 in 48.5 overs, lost by 27 runs, and the consensus is that their batsmen let them down.

With the exception of Shivnarine Chanderpaul who scored 77 before he was last man out after joining the action at 84 for three, the batsmen did fail to perform. That, however, was probably not the main reason why the West Indies lost. The main reason was probably the combination which was selected for the match.

Based on the performance of the batsmen in recent times, Sunday's disappointment was not a surprise, and it should not have been a surprise.

For sometime now, the West Indies batting has depended on Lara, to a lesser extent on Chanderpaul, and but for a flicker here and there from the others, that is how it promises to remain until a few of the young batsmen in the territories come to the age of maturity.

What was surprising on Sunday was that the West Indies went into a World Cup match with only three specialist bowlers.

In a limited-over match where each side is limited to 50 overs and each bowler to 10, the emphasis is usually on who are going to bowl those 50 overs, and while it is usually left to four specialists and one allrounder, and sometimes to four and two, it is seldom ever left to three and two, or three and three.

Unlike South Africa, Australia, and Pakistan, the West Indies are not blessed with batsmen who are good bowlers and bowlers who can bat. On top of that, their batsmen have been inconsistent, because of all that they have problems putting out a nicely balanced side, probably that is why the team selectors went for a team with eight batsmen and three bowlers. Although nothing is ever certain in cricket, may be that was why, in ideal conditions, they could not finish off Pakistan who were reeling at 42 for four after 19 overs and at 135 for six.

The three bowlers - Curtley Ambrose with figures of 10-1-36-1, Courtney Walsh with 10-3-28-3, and Mervyn Dillon with 10-1-29-3 - all bowled well, but although Phil Simmons, who should have been one of the two or three allrounders in support of the four specialists and not one of the four, also bowled well, Keith Arthurton - one over 10 runs, James Adams - 8 overs 57 runs, and Ricardo Powell - one over 14 runs - were easy pickings for the Pakistani batsmen.

With only three good bowlers, the West Indies were unable to keep the pressure on Pakistan - to the extent that with Pakistan on 49 for four off 21 overs after Ambrose and Walsh had bowled seven overs each and Dillon five, Arthurton was slammed for 10 and quickly removed from the firing line, at 66 for four after 24 overs. Adams conceded 11 in his first over and was immediately replaced. At 172 for six off 45 overs, Adams was hit for 12, and with four overs to go and Wasim Akram on the go, Lara had to call on Powell for his first over in a limited-over international.

The question is why did the West Indies opt for three bowlers to be supported, obviously not by Powell who bowled one over towards the end, but by Simmons whose record in one-day internationals up to the start of the series against Australia was 30.33 runs per wicket and 4.55 runs per over, Arthurton with 59.33 and 5.08, and Adams, who despite a few overs against Australia, bowled only a few overs for Jamaica in the Busta Cup, did not bowl even one ball in the warm up matches, and whose record was 36.66 and 5.00.

Was it because of a lack of faith in their batting, a lack of respect for Pakistan's batting, or too much respect for Pakistan's bowling?

If it was a lack of respect for Pakistan's batting, then something is wrong - for the simple reason that despite their unpredictability, Pakistan, with the likes of Shahid Afridi, Saed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam Ul-Haq, Salim Malik, and Yousef Youhana, allrounders Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, and Akram, and wicketkeeper Moin Khan, boast one of the best batting teams in the game.

If it was a case of too much respect for an attack to be selected from pacers Akram, Waqar Younis, Mahmood, Razzaq, and Shoaib Akhtar, offspinner Saqlain Mushtaq, and right-arm legspinner Mushtaq Ahmed, that would be understandable - even though one like Viv Richards believes that too much respect can be a dangerous thing.

If, however, as appears to have been the case, it was a lack of faith in their own batsmen, then Lloyd, Lara and company really blundered. Quantity is never a substitute for quality, the West Indies team is short of quality batsmen, and as it has been proven in the past, what six cannot do, seven and eight will not.

A West Indies team with three bowlers is simply a mistake - not only because, with one at 36 years and one at 35 there is always the risk of ending up with less, but also because the West Indies' best chance of victory is limiting the opposition to small scores.

Source :: The Jamaica Gleaner (https://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/)