THE West Indies cricketers leave for Australia this evening with their fans wishing them not only bon voyage, but also good luck, and plenty of it. Based on their recent performances away from home - a clean sweep 3-0 in Pakistan, a clean sweep 5-0 in South Africa, a clean sweep 2-0 in New Zealand and a 3-1 drubbing in England, the West Indies are in for a rough time Down Under against the top team in the world.
On top of that, with Curtly Ambrose hanging up his boots, the Windies will be without one of their two best bowlers of recent times.
Can the West Indies rise up and surprise the world? Their chances are slim. In fact, according to many, even with right-arm legspinner Shane Warne likely to b side-lined for the duration of the series because of a broken finger, for the West Indies to beat an Australian team that boasts some solid batsmen and parades quality fast bowlers such as Glen McGrath and Brett Lee, God will have to be totally on their side.
The fear is that this set of West Indians will suffer a fate similiar to their more gifted predecessors of 1975-76 who were beaten 5-1.
Where there is a will, however, there is a way, and although the one-week camp in Kingston may not have made any difference as far as technique is concerned, even though it may not have improved their skills, if it succeeded in instilling a level of discipline and pride in the players, if it was able to motivate them, there could be some wonderful days in Australia - particularly if Brian Lara is not troubled by his eyes and if, at his age, Courtney Walsh survives the rigours of an Australian tour.
Lara, on his day, is still a great batsman, he is still numbered among the most exciting, and he is still capable of playing the kind of innings that can put his team in a winning position. Walsh, like wine, seems to get better with each passing series, and he too can still produce a spell to change the course of a match. What is also important is the fact that the Aussies still fear them.
Based on their performances over the past four years, the West Indians of the day are not as good away as they are at home, and in looking at the possibilities of this tour, the fact that after losing in Pakistan the West Indies beat England at home, and after losing in New Zealand the West Indies defeated, not so much Zimbabwe but Pakistan at home may not matter.
Those home victories demonstrated, however, that the West Indies still have some good players and the Aussies, as confident as they are and deserve to be, are unlikely to forget that after losing in South Africa, after losing the first Test, the West Indies held them to a draw at home.
The Aussies are also unlikely to forget that although offspinner Nehemiah Perry chipped in with five wickets in one innings, they were beaten in the second Test at Sabina Park mainly by Lara and James Adams, and that they were beaten in the third Test at Kensington mainly by Lara, Walsh and Sherwin Campbell.
Perry, unfortunately, will not be in Australia, but Lara, Adams, Walsh and Campbell will be there.
Batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul will also be there - and the Aussies have reason to respect him; so too Ramnaresh Sarwan, who, based on his technique and composure, was so impressive in England; Wavell Hinds, who smashed a century off the likes of pacers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, right-arm legspinner Mushtag Ahmed and offspinner Saqlain Mushtaq; and Darren Ganga, who, certainly technically, is better than many believe.
As far as the bowling is concerned, apart from the fact that young fast bowlers so often explode onto the scene, apart from the possibility that one like Marlon Black could be the next one to do so, also in Australia will be Nixon McLean who promised so much two years ago and who, after a wayward start, was coming to hand in England.
FROM THE
BOUNDARY
Tony Becca
