Tony Becca
NO ONE likes to lose, and Brian Lara is no different.
There are two kinds of losers, however, those who rant and rave and find all sorts of excuses and those who take it in stride.
Unfortunately, based on his remarks at Sabina Park on Sunday, remarks that disappointed many a West Indian fan, Lara is not one of those willing to take losing in stride.
Minutes after India had defeated West Indies in the fourth and final Test match to win the series one-nil and to tick off only their second victory in the West Indies and the first in 35 years, Lara, the captain of West Indies, not only washed his linen in public but also hung it out for all to see when he lambasted the regional selectors and the regional grounds-men, particularly those at Sabina Park.
Instead of commending India who dominated the series and who, with a little luck, could have won the first Test match - and barring rain could have and more than likely would have won the second - Lara used the opportunity to knock the selectors and the groundstaff when he said, for all the fans and the members of the Indian team to hear, that the selection of the West Indies team throughout the series was poor and that the pitches were also poor, particularly the one at Sabina Park.
REPUTATION BEING DRAGGED DOWN
"It's painful what has gone on for the past couple of months," said Lara. "Really and truly, I have West Indies cricket at heart, but it is a situation where my reputation as a captain is dragged down. The fact is that I never got the team I wanted. I feel let down. It did not affect my mood for the Test match but definitely these little inefficiencies are not becoming of a team, or board, or association which wants to move forward."
And talking about the pitch at Sabina Park, these were Lara's words: "It was not worthy of such an important match. It seems that this one was prepared for the Indians."
With the selectors dropping left-arm wrist spinner Dave Mohammed after one Test match, with the selectors going into the second Test with four specialist bowlers who all bowl pace and an all-rounder who also bowls pace, with the selectors then dropping one of the pacers and bringing in a batsman to bat at number seven and to bowl his occasional offbreaks, although one does not agree with Lara continuously washing his dirty linen in public, one can understand his disappointment, if not his anger with the selectors.
SO-CALLED SLOW PITCHES
What is really baffling, however, is his criticism of the pitches and particularly so the one at Sabina Park - and especially after what happened in all four matches.
According to Lara and many others in West Indies cricket, West Indies pitches have become too slow and that is why West Indies are doing so badly at home.
This is why although visiting teams have come into the Caribbean, have made runs, have taken wickets and have won matches, West Indies batsmen have found it difficult to score runs and to take wickets.
A look at all four Test matches shows that they all could have ended in a result - in victory for one team or the other - and that India - despite the so-called slow pitches in Antigua, St. Lucia and St. Kitts - could have won the series 3-0.
In Antigua, West Indies, after India were routed for 241, after taking first innings lead of 130 and after they were set a victory target of 392, were reeling at 298 for nine against an attack that did not include offspinner Harbhajan Singh.
In St. Lucia, West Indies, after scoring 215 in reply to India's 588 for eight declared and were following on 373 behind, were hanging on at 294 for seven against an attack that did not include Harbhajan and in a Test match which saw the loss of almost two days due to rain.
The only one that India did not looking like winning, but also did not look like losing, was the third Test at St. Kitts
There, West Indies, batting first, scored 581, dismissed India for 362, refused to enforce the follow-on, scored 172 for six in the second innings, and after setting India 392 to win in 88 overs, picked up only a few wickets as India eased to 298 for four off 85 overs.
After all of that, Lara came to Jamaica, asked for a pitch with some life in it, got one with some life in it and when the Test match was over - a Test which ended in three days, a Test match in West Indies fast bowlers Jerome Taylor picked up five and four wickets and Corey Collymore five in the second innings, and a Test match in which India's spin bowlers Harbhajan picked up five wickets in the first innings, Anil Kumble picked up six wickets in the second innings - complained about it being a bad pitch.
Although it was not a perfect pitch, the Sabina Park pitch was not a bad pitch and Rahul Dravid, 81 and 68, Kumble 45, Daren Ganga 40, Ramnaresh Sarwan, 51, and Denesh Ramdin with 62 not out, showed that with some good and sensible batting.
DESTROYED CONFIDENCE OF BATSMEN
West Indies lost the match simply because - after India had battled to 200 in their first innings, West Indies were routed for 103 in 33.3 overs; and with their two pacers taking three wickets in one innings and four in the other, and their two spinners six in one and six in the other - India's attack was a better attack and nicely balanced.
West Indies, who pitch or no pitch was second best to India, also probably lost because their captain, by his words about the pitch and by his hints, his antics, while batting, destroyed the confidence of his batsmen - not one of whom, certainly in the second innings, could have blamed the pitch for his dismissal.
