What with one thing then another, no West Indies team couldhave entered a Test series less properly prepared than CarlHooper’s when it takes the field against Sri Lanka in thesouthern town of Galle tomorrow morning
Tony Cozier12-Nov-2001What with one thing then another, no West Indies team couldhave entered a Test series less properly prepared than CarlHooper’s when it takes the field against Sri Lanka in thesouthern town of Galle tomorrow morning.It required the persuasive powers of Wes Hall, the newpresident of the board, and the kind of security assurancesotherwise reserved for heads of state to convince theplayers that they should venture into Sri Lanka in the firstplace.Until a few days before they departed, it wasn’t certainwhether Brian Lara, the key batsman, was fit enough to makeit.No sooner than he told the selectors that he was, ShivnarineChanderpaul, no less essential to the middle order,developed serious back problems and had to drop out.Wavell Hinds, not in the original squad but summoned ascover for Lara, found himself substituting for Chanderpaulinstead, only to promptly have his nose broken in a festivalknockabout in Kingston.Doctors, and selectors, deemed him fit enough to join thetour all the same, even if a week late. Be advised that heshouldn’t be placed too near to the bat when fielding.Once on the ground, the West Indies have found their welcomemost inhospitable, not from their cricketing hosts, thedisruptive rebel Tamil Tigers guerillas or the rivalfactions campaigning for the December 5 elections but fromthe weather. It’s the closing weeks of the monsoon season.Hooper, Lara and coach Roger Harper were on the last WestIndies team to tour Sri Lanka, over the first three weeks ofDecember eight years ago, when three days of the solitaryTest were washed out, just 106 overs bowled in the onefirst-class match and only one of the three One-DayInternationals ran its course.Assigned a mere two three-day matches prior to the threeback-to-back Tests this time, they have had to pass moretime slapping dominoes, listening to Shaggy or Shadow ontheir walkmans or simply watching the rain fall than gettingin any meaningful cricket.Come tomorrow morning and they would have had roughly twoand-a-half days match play as groundwork.At least Hooper himself, Chris Gayle, whose appetite forruns continues to be insatiable, Lara, Marlon Samuels,Ridley Jacobs and Daren Ganga have each had valuable time inthe middle. And those bowlers lucky enough to be chosen forthe match that ended yesterday had the workout of oneinnings.But, whichever way you look at it, it is all patentlyinsufficient, especially against opponents with homeadvantage who have played four Tests as recently as lateAugust and mid-September and who have just returned from atriangular One-Day series in Sharjah.It is a test for the motivational skills of Hooper, Harperand manager Ricky Skerritt, the proficiency of trainerRonald Rogers and the resilience of the players themselves.The most recent evidence is encouraging. The spate ofinjuries that decimated the team in Zimbabwe back in Junewith Lara departing before the tour started and Merv Dillon,Cameron Cuffy and Dinanath Ramnarine going before the Testsseemed to strengthen the resolve of those who remained.Gayle, Ganga and Hooper set the platform for the first Testvictory with a 500-plus total. Colin Stuart and NeilMcGarrell, who would probably not have been in the XIotherwise, finished off the job by an innings.Sri Lanka, it is true, are not Zimbabwe. They are a strong,well-balanced, confident team with a recent record thatplaces them fourth of ten on the ICC’s current Test leaguetable.But they are not Australia or South Africa either. They willbow to the pressure of a sizeable total and consistentbowling, supported by alert catching and sharp fielding.Such attributes have been in short supply in West Indies’teams of late and, given the present circumstances, it maybe too much to except them to suddenly materialise as if bymagic.Hooper and Lara, as the two classiest and most experiencedbatsmen, carry the task of giving the undeniably limitedbowling attack the leeway it needs. The West Indies’ abysmalaway record 18 losses against one win and one draw in 20Tests prior to Zimbabwe was caused by several things. Highon the list was a collective lack of heart and commitment.If ever they were needed, it is now.