Tony Becca
WHEN THE ICC Champions Trophy gets under way in India later this year, the West Indies, the defending champions, may not be in it. In a move aimed at making the tournament more competitive and therefore more exciting from start to finish, the ICC, acting on a request by its members, has decided to cut the number of participating teams.
Unlike previous tournaments when 12 teams - the 10 full members who play Test cricket and two associate members - were involved, this time around it will be the top six plus two others from the bottom four.
In other words, there will be no Associate members involved this time around.
The new format will see the top six teams in the ICC one-day rankings at the end of this month qualifying automatically.
The bottom four will play in a preliminary round with the top two qualifying, and with the West Indies in eighth position on 88 points - 20 points adrift of sixth-paced England, they are destined to finish in the bottom four.
With Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, in ninth and 10th position respectively, also numbered among the bottom four, however, the West Indies, along with Sri Lanka who are ranked at number seven, should qualify from the preliminary round - and especially so as the play-offs among the four teams will be a round-robin affair.
HOPING FOR THE BEST
Based on their performance, however, not so much so against Australia but against New Zealand, based on the fact that they have won only one of their last 17 one-day matches, based on the performance of Bangladesh against Sri Lanka recently and although neither Zimbabwe nor Bangladesh should be good enough to defeat the West Indies, West Indians must be keeping their fingers crossed and hoping for the best.
With New Zealand, one point behind South Africa, ranked at number three, it is not surprising that with one match to go they are leading the West Indies 4-0 in the current series.
What is surprising, however, is the ease with which they have won those matches.
But for the second match when they were dismissed for 200 and had New Zealand reeling at 13 for four and at 49 for five, but for an encouraging performance when they had New Zealand struggling at 87 for four in the third match, the West Indies have been easy pickings for the home team.
With the exception of bowlers Fidel Edwards and Ian Bradshaw and batsman Runako Morton on a couple occasions; with the exception of batsman Wavell Hinds on one occasion, the West Indies have batted poorly, have bowled poorly and have been a disappointment in the field.
So much so that based on the manner of their dismissals, based on their wayward length and line and based on their clumsiness in the field, at times they look more like schoolboys than like international cricketers.
On top of that, the West Indies, probably because losing has become a habit, seem to have lost the ability to do the basics right, and that may be the reason why, in a 50-over match and chasing scores of 276 and 324, they have sent in their young wicketkeeper at number four - ahead of batsmen like Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Hinds and Dwayne Smith.
As level-headed as he appears to be and as disappointing as the West Indies batting has been, Denesh Ramdin is, certainly not yet, good enough to bat at number four in the West Indies team. He also is certainly not a striker of the ball, and to send him ahead of Sarwan, Chanderpaul, Hinds and Smith is tantamount to a surrender - and particularly so when, in order to win the match, the rate of scoring required is above five runs per over as it was in the third match, and above six an over as it was in the last match.
DISMISSED
In the last match, for example, Ramdin went to bat at 46 for two in the 11th over, when he was dismissed it was 64 for three, when Sarwan went to bat it was 64 for three in the 14th over, when he was dismissed it was 133 for four.
When Chanderpaul went to bat it was 133 for four in the 30th over, when he was dismissed it was 212 for five, when Smith went to bat it was 212 for five in the 43rd over, when he was dismissed it was 214 for six. Finally, when Hinds went to bat it was 214 for six in the 44th over and when he was dismissed it was 221 for seven in the 46th over. In other words, when Sarwan went to bat, the West Indies needed 261 for victory off 36 overs, when Chanderpaul went to bat, the West Indies needed 192 off 20 overs, when Smith went to bat, the West Indies needed 113 off seven overs, when Hinds, batting at number eight, went to bat the West Indies needed 111 off six overs, and with victory an impossible dream, it was no wonder Chanderpaul, Smith and Hinds all perished while playing what could only be described as desperate strokes. All things being equal, the West Indies, with or without Brian Lara, should survive the preliminary round, they should defeat both Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, and they should make it to the ICC Champions Trophy. For them to go beyond that, however, they will have to start playing some good cricket.
Right now, the West Indies are not playing well. In fact, right now they are embarrassing - so embarrassing that one like Christopher Gayle cannot decide when not to play the ball and when to play it.
Also, that Stephen Fleming can smash four consecutive fours in one over and three sixes off the first three deliveries of the following over, and that with the match by then all but decided, New Zealand can substitute their captain, one of the best in the world, after only 15 overs.
