By Tony Becca - On The Boundary ONE OF the weaknesses of the West Indies team these days is the poor quality of its fast bowlers. They are not genuinely fast, they are too inconsistent in line and length, and but for Mervyn Dillon and Adam Sanford, they lack aggression.
That weakness, however, should not last too long. There are a few young bowlers around, bowlers like Daren Powell and Tino Best who, if left to do what they want to do, if allowed to express themselves and not only allowed but also encouraged to bowl as fast as they can, have the speed and the aggression to drive the fear of god into batsmen and to become really good bowlers when they have matured.
There are also a few who are not so fast but who, apart from being fast enough, possess other skills, Jermaine Lawson is one of them, and if he too is allowed to develop his skills, if he is encouraged to do so and not to simply bowl "line and length", if he is encouraged to strive for greatness rather than settle for mediocrity, it really won't be long before batsmen around the world begin to once again fear West Indies bowlers.
Another weakness, however, is the wicketkeeping.
With Ridley Jacobs, but for the series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, doing a good job, the wicketkeeping is not weak at the present time. At 34, however, Jacobs, who was dropped for the first two matches of the series now in progress, cannot be expected to be around for much longer, and that is the problem.
Unlike the situation with the bowling, the problem is that the cupboard is bare - so bare that the bowlers who promise so much must be wondering who are going to take their catches when their time comes around.
According to the selectors, who placed him on standby for the away series against Pakistan and who have selected him for the "A" team's tour of England, the man for the future is Keith Hibbert.
The selection of Hibbert, however, is what has exposed the weakness.
Although he looked reasonably good a year or so ago and is young enough that he could improve, Hibbert is not now a good wicketkeeper, he drops the ball too often, including when it touches the bat, and his selection is one of the reasons why the selectors are under fire right around the region.
The truth, however, is that when one looks at the other wicketkeepers, with Wayne Phillips of the Windward Islands falling by the wayside, the selectors had no choice but to select Hibbert.
The wicketkeeper for the Leeward Islands is Jacobs and he is the Windies wicketkeeper; the wicketkeeper for the Windward Islands is Junior Murray, and at his age and after his many failures, they could not have selected him; the wicketkeeper for Barbados is Courtney Browne, and at his age and after his many failures they could not have selected him; the wicketkeeper for Trinidad and Tobago is Keno Mason, and apart from his age, he is not and never was a good wicketkeeper; and with Vishal Nagamootoo injured and missing the recent Busta series, the wicketkeeper for Guyana is Azib Ally Haniff and he is simply not good.
For a region that produced quality wicketkeepers like Allie Binns, Gerry Alexander, Jackie Hendriks, Deryck Murray, David Murray, and Jeffrey Dujon, the present standard of wicketkeeping is embarrassing and something should be done about it.
Good bowlers need good wicketkeepers, and the better the bowlers, the greater the need.
