Tony Becca, Contributing EditorTHE WEST Indies selectors have named a 15-man squad for the three-match Test series against New Zealand in New Zealand and with both Corey Collymore and Pedro Collins on the injured list, win, lose or draw, they have, in the circumstances, done a reasonably good job.
Looking at those who are in and those who are out, one can argue against the inclusion of batsman Runako Morton and spinner Rawl Lewis and against the exclusion of batsman Marlon Samuels and spinners Omari Banks or Dave Mohammed, but although Samuels looks a better batsman than Morton, even though Banks and Mohammed seem a better bet than Lewis, not one of them has forced the selectors to select them.
Having said that, however, class is class, Test cricket is, or should be, for class players, West Indies cricket is short of class players, the selectors should be looking for class players, and if the reports that came out of Australia are true - if there was really an improvement in Samuels' attitude towards the game during that tour - he should have been in instead of Morton, and particularly so as the West Indies prepare for the World Cup.
In failing to produce - to score centuries and to be consistent, Samuels, it is true, has so far not done justice to his amazing talent.
SAMUELS
The fact of the matter, however, is that he is still a young man, and remembering how Morton's poor technique was exposed in Sri Lanka recently, once he has really changed his attitude towards the game, Samuels, whose career has been marred by injuries, deserved another chance for the simple reason that he is a much better batsman than Morton, that he is more likely to score runs at the highest level, and that although West Indians are disappointed that he has not done so more often, he has played one of the finest innings in Test cricket and one of the most exciting innings in one-day cricket.
A DISAPPOINTMENT
Right now, Samuels, with 930 runs at an average of 28.18 after 37 Test innings, has been a disappointment. Like Jacques Kallis - who scored only 340 runs at an average of 22.66 in his first 15 innings and now boasts a record of 7,420 at an average of 57.07, like Steve Waugh - 271 runs at an average of 20.84 after 16 innings before finishing with 10.927 runs at an average of 51.06, like Gary Sobers - 419 runs at an average of 29.92 after 17 innings before finishing with 8,032 at an average of 57.75, and like Inzamam Ul-Haq who started with 466 runs at an average of 31.06 in 17 innings and is now sitting pretty with 8,052 at an average of 51.61, Samuels, however, may be a late starter, but a brilliant finisher.
While the selectors probably made one or two bad moves, in retaining Shivnarine Chanderpaul, they made one good one.
Chanderpaul may not be the greatest tactician ever, a captain, like a coach and more often than not, is as good as his team, and it would have been unfair to blame him for the team's lack of success by removing him as the captain.
On top of that, and all things considered - including the fact that Brian Lara has captained the team on two occasions, that he was heavily criticised, and that he was removed after his first stint, that vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan is not matured enough to occupy that position, and apart from his own problems with the Jamaica team, that Wavell Hinds has not been able to hold down a place on the team - Chanderpaul, who has served West Indies cricket well, is the best man, right now, for the job.
TIMID BATTING
Apart from wishing that the players will support him, my only hope is that he does not continue to let the captaincy affect his own performance - that unlike his timid batting in Sri Lanka and in Australia, when he spent his time at the crease blocking and pushing, he will bat positively and lead from the front.
As a captain, Chanderpaul is not a Frank Worrell, he is not a Rohan Kanhai, he is not a Clive Lloyd, and he is not a Vivian Richards. Like the players now representing the West Indies, however, he is the best we have and we simply have to stick with him until, hopefully, we find a good one.
