Tony Becca - FROM THE BOUNDARY WEST INDIANS in England are furious following the West Indies performance at The Oval. Long after the West Indies had walked off the field on Saturday afternoon, the faithful few who had turned up to support their team, were still on the ground.
Unlike former years when, at the end of The Oval Test, they were, most times, happy, boasting about the greatness of the West Indies and waiting to serenade the players, this time they were sad and disappointed.
In fact, according to them, they were embarrassed. They could not believe what they had seen, and criticisms of the team, the players, the captain and the board flew left, right and centre.
"I never believed I would have lived to see this day," said one man who was well advanced in years. "I would like to know where they got these guys from. Jesus man, most of them look like they are just learning the game."
CLOSE TO THE TRUTH
Although that may appear harsh, it was close to the truth so close that even captain Brian Lara, the man who picked Fidel Edwards out of the nets, the man who has always found something encouraging to say about his players and who has said that he is proud of them, has finally admitted that "we are asking young guys to do a man's job."
After losing the first Test, the second Test, and the third Test, the West Indies went to The Oval facing the embarrassment of a whitewash, and but for some good bowling on the first day, and particularly so by the 25-year-old Corey Collymore, it was business as usual a disappointing performance that exposed the lack of experience, the lack of skill, and which led to defeat by 10 wickets in three days.
In fact, when England. 64 for three in the 17th over shortly after lunch on the first day, went to bat in their second innings 58 minutes after tea on the third day, the score was level and all they required to beat the West Indies and make it four out of four was one run.
BOYS UP AGAINST MEN
Once again, as it was throughout all four matches, the West Indies looked over-matched, despite the presence of experienced players like Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ridley Jacobs and Ramnaresh Sarwan, it was really like boys up against men, and the performance of the bowlers on the second day, the performance of the batsmen later on the second day and on the third underlined the difference in experience, and therefore skill, between the two teams.
After striking early on the second morning and reducing England to 321 for seven, the young West Indies bowlers were at sea bowling to England's bowlers to Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison and James Anderson who stroked fours, 20 of them, and smashed sixes, three of them, at will while adding 149 in 30 overs for the last three wickets.
And although the young batsmen cannot be blamed for the West Indies falling for 152 in 36.5 overs in the first innings, as the manner of their dismissal shows, they were obviously out of their depth against some quality bowlers and some experienced bowlers.
In both innings, Sylvester Joseph going back but not behind the ball, simply handed his wicket to Harmison; in the first innings, Dwayne Bravo ambitiously attempted to hook a nasty bouncer from Harmison and wicketkeeper Geraint Jones went to his right, towards gully, for the catch; in the first innings, Carlton Baugh attempted to leave a delivery from Harmison and forgot to pull his bat away; and in the second innings he went back and attempted to cut a short delivery from Harmison instead of allowing it to go through to the wicketkeeper.
The inconsistent bowling, the way they bowled to England's lower batsmen, and the batting of the young West Indians had nothing to do with the lack of talent, but rather with the lack of experience.
LACK OF EXPERIENCE
In a performance that led to the fans asking what has happened to West Indies cricket, the bowlers pitched the ball where the England batsmen wanted them to and the batsmen played strokes which the more experienced England bowlers tempted them to play and all because of the lack of experience.
If the performances at Lord's, Edgbaston and Old Trafford were bad, the one at The Oval was worse even though Lara batted well in the first innings and Chris Gayle, in the second innings, blasted the fastest century in England since 1902.
