West Indies World Cup 15
Should Hooper, Lara have been selected?

Former West Indies fast bowler Colin Croft takes a look at the West Indies 15 man squad announced by the West Indies selectors and asks a question or two.

So, what about the West Indies eventual squad?

CARL HOOPER

Having had knee operations in Australia recently, Carl Hooper has been retained as captain. The West Indies selectors must have had a few ticklish thoughts where he is concerned.

Should they select him in the final squad, and hope that all works according to plan, or should they not?

What a question!! All West Indians are now offering another collective prayer, in addition to the hopes for the New Year, that all goes well with captain Carl.

We can only hope and pray that he gets fit in six weeks time. At least modern medicine is on our side.

In Australia in 1979/80, Clive Lloyd missed the first Test after a cartilage operation but led the West Indies in Tests No. 2 and 3, doing well himself.

Let us just be optimistic here and just suggest that `modern medicine is great.’

The alternative does not merit a thought here.

CHRIS GAYLE

Chris Gayle, with his explosive batting and underrated but essential slow cutters, and good fielding too, was an easy pick.

What year he has had in 2002.

WAVELL HINDS

Wavell Hinds was also a shoo-in, with his un-orthodox batting style.

I would also suggest that his medium pacers should be used more.

Incidentally, I wonder if the West Indian scouts; I hope they have been looking on; have noticed that Australia, South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, play the `real’ fast bowling very much better that the medium-paced `dibbly-dobbler stuff.

With the present restrictions in the field, it is much easier to score from the faster stuff than the slow-medium deliveries.

MARLON SAMUELS

Marlon Samuels is gaining maturity like he takes in oxygen, with every breath.

His clouting of the Indian bowlers in that final ODI in India will be remembered for a long time.

His bowling too, like Gayle’s will be useful.

RAMNARESH SARWAN

Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul will lend the stability if the blasters falter.

RICARDO POWELL

Ricardo Powell is another of the free hitters, but he too, like Samuels, is slowly learning that it is not necessary to hit sixes and fours at every ball.

If one is at the crease for 15 overs, 90 legal deliveries, (plus, inevitably, a few extras), and faces half of them, 45, one could be at least 45 not out without hitting a boundary.

That, folks, is about three runs per over from only one batsman, so there could be at least six runs per over in the overall average.

BRIAN LARA

Of course, the big problem for many was Brian Lara.

Despite what had been suggested in other quarters, I always would prefer that he be included.

Look, folks, Lara is Lara, mercurial, yes, but also necessary for maturity. Yes, maturity, in batsmanship, for this team, especially if Carl Hooper is still, realistically, doubtful.

The other political and other agendas should be kept out, for now.

Indeed, those should have been addressed so long in the past, at about 1992 and 1995, that it is probably impossible to get the cat back into the bag.

The horse had bolted a long time ago, so simply, we have to let it run its course until the steam and energies are absorbed.

At least some of both are still there for the 2003 cricket World Cup where Lara is concerned. Let us use it to our advantage.

The present West Indies cricket team, for all of its recent success, lacks real maturity in batsmanship, and needs both Lara and Hooper, badly, very badly, to go with Chanderpaul.

Of course, if Lara plays in the final XI, then maybe Ricardo Powell will miss out in the games, but those are the breaks sometimes.

RIDLEY JACOBS

Ridley Jacobs as the wicket-keeper and batsman was `no problem’, but the West Indies bowling certainly is.

MERVE DILLON

Merve Dillon has been, like his collective team, too inconsistent for his and the team’s good, but, again for maturity, has been included.

He must now lead from the position he seems not to realize he is in, the front.

JERMAINE LAWSON

Jermaine Lawson’s inclusion was also easy, as was that of Vasbert Drakes, for varying reasons.

Lawson is the future of our West Indian fast bowling attack while Drakes’s experiences in South Africa and especially his recent exploits in India and Bangladesh, at least showed that he is ready for the one-day stuff at the highest level.

PEDRO COLLINS

Pedro Collins too, in the absence of Dillon, showed some maturity in the recent series.

NIXON MC LEAN

I am not sure I understand the selection of Corey Colleymore and Nixon Mc Lean.

Neither is a killer performer, so one or the other may have been acceptable, in my mind, but neither could command a real place in the recent one-day series that the West Indies have played.

Worse than that is the fact that each respective RPO (runs per over) average in recent times is much too high, Collymore is at 4.06 and a strike rate (balls for every wicket) at 41.6, while Mc Lean is even worse, RPO 4.86 and S/R 45.3.

RYAN HINDS

I would have preferred a bowler who could bat, perhaps a Ryan Hinds, if he were fit enough, or even maybe Mahendra Nagamootoo, despite his less than effective bowling. At least, if he gives away 50 in his ten overs, Nagamootoo could make that 50 when he batted. Neither Collymore nor Mc Lean could.

While the suggestion for the inclusion of Mc Lean is that he knows the South African conditions having played there over the last few seasons, he has not exactly lit up the country with his performances.

I just wonder if this is not `Sir Viv’ and his selection committee, perhaps with the Rev. Wes Hall, as President of the WICB, in the background, not doing their bit for Caribbean unity by including the sole representative from the Windward Islands.

The West Indies will be very good unit in the not too distant future, but simply, 2003 has come just too early in the development of many of these players. Perhaps the development came too late in the piece, or maybe the individual players just did not `show’ themselves in time. For all that, they will have to work exceptionally hard if they are to progress from the group stages to the `Super Six’ stage, but miracles do happen, especially in these days of high technology and clones. (Back to top)