West Indies Cricket - The Path ahead

What a great start to the year if you’re a West Indian cricket supporter. Your team has just shared the home one-dayers and Twenty20 series 2-2 and 1-1 respectively and that too with the mighty Aussies. This team, however, will now miss a few members as they move to India to meet their contractual obligations with the IPL (by far the most lucrative cricketing assignment available in todays Cricketing world). How bad is this for a team that is the process of rebuilding? How much would one miss players like Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard (he probably would not make the test team anyway) and the new spin sensation Sunil Narine?

Yes the selectors would have loved to have them in their test squad. Yes the fans would love to see them take on the Aussies, the same Aussies that made the Indian Test Team look like a group of amateurs during their tour down under. Is this the end of the road for our rebuilding process? Definitely not!!!

Allow me to narrate to you a love story between a husband (Chris Gayle) and a Wife (The WICB). The husband, in a fit of anger, makes some ‘not so complementary’ statements about his wife. The wife, who in my story is in a position of strength, tells her husband that he is not welcome in their home (the West Indies Cricket Team) anymore. This angers the Husband no end and at this time he meets a friend (The IPL) who offers him refuge. He now confronts his wife and tells her that “if he is not welcome at home, there are many other places he can go.” To which his wife says “Do what you want” (handing him an NOC, thus allowing him to compete in cricketing events all over the world). Now as any man would know, when your wife says “Do what you want” she means “Do not do what you are going to do”. But this husband did not pay any attention to this unwritten but utmost important rule that governs a married relationship. Now, the husband went away for a year and came back only after a compromise was reached with his wife. He came back a successful man with riches and accolades that he collected from every nook and corner of the (cricketing) world. He came back equally if not more powerful. This couple is now living a happy married life. As of now that is. And here my story ends.

Chris Gayle’s ousting from the West Indies Team spelled dooms day for a team that struggled with even him in it. How would they now face the challenges of International Cricket without the one man who was good enough to walk into any international team. This was a Bad situation the West Indies Cricket team found itself in. or was it?

This (the year when Gayle was unavailable)  was a year when the West Indies has performed far better than it ever has in past 5 – 6 years. A Test series win against Bangladesh. A drawn home test series against Pakistan. Test series (Home and away) against India where the boys from the Caribbean not only competed but also had a genuine chance of winning more than once. West Indies also more than competed in the “Limited Overs” formats accumulating wins against Pakistan and India and a series win against Bangladesh. All this without Chris Gayle. The series against the Aussies was the Icing on the Cake.

The West Indies has also unearthed some genuine talent while Gayle was away. A look at the batsmen that have performed consistently during this period shows that the Caribbean has a lot to look forward in the coming years.

Name	Age
Kieran Powell	22
Kirk Edwards	27
Kraigg Brathwaite	19
Adrain Barath	21
Lendl Simmons	27
Darren Bravo	23
Johnson Charles	23
Danza Hyatt	29

  

Average age = 23 yrs.

These are the guys who will form the core of the West Indian teams for the coming decade. And they are GOOD.

Players like Darren Bravo and Adrain Barath have already received loads of critical acclaim from the cricketing world. Lendl Simmons has amazed one and all with his grit, talent and consistency. Kieran Powell and  Kraigg Brathwaite stood up as a new opening partnership against the Indians in India and did fairly well. And Kirk Edwards announced himself on the world stage in style, becoming only the 14th West Indian batsman to score a century on his Test debut, and in the process joining the likes of George Headley, Lawrence Rowe and Gordon Greenidge. Johnson Charles and Danza Hyatt have proven to be destructive batsmen in the limited over formats.

Add Marlon Samuels, Shiv Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brendan Nash and Chris Gayle to this talented group of youngsters and you have a well balanced batting lineup capable of greatness. And when Shiv decides to leave, we replace him with Narsingh Deonarine, a man who now seems to be delivering at the domesric level and finding his feet at the international level.

Now the above takes care of the Batting, but games cannot be won with batting alone. So I have taken the liberty of listing guy who I feel will perform with the ball. All rounders, spinners and fast bowlers. Lets have a look.

Name	Age	Capability
Kieron Pollard	24	All Rounder (explosive batsman)
Andre Russell	23	All Rounder (explosive batsman)
Dwayne Bravo	28	All Rounder
Dwayne Smith	28	All Rounder (explosive batsman)
Devendra Bishoo	26	Leg break
Sunil Narine	23	Off Break
Anthony Martin	29	Leg break
Shane Shillingford	29	Off break
Nikita Miller	29	Left Arm Orthodox
Ravi Rampaul	27	Fast medium
Gavin Tonge	29	Fast medium
Kemar Roach	23	Fast
Tino Best	30	Fast
Fidel Edwards	30	Fast

The list above proves that the Caribbean has variety in the bowling department. Players like Suileman Benn, Jerome Taylor and Darren Powell can also be added to this pack to increase its potency.

Bowlers like Devendra Bishoo and Sunil Narine are among the top spinners in the Cricketing World today. Remember Bishoo was named the ICC Emerging Player of the Year 2011 and Narine attracted a cool $ 700,000 bid from the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise during the IPL auction 2012 evidencing their growing adulation. Fidel Edwards, Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul are more than just menacing quickies, who has tear a hole in a batting lineup with their raw fire power. A return from the wilderness for Jerome Taylor and Tino Best will only add to the said fire power.

So coming back to the question is asked at the beginning.   

How much would one miss players like Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard (he probably would not make the test team anyway) and the new spin sensation Sunil Narine while they exhibit their talents in IPL2012?

Not much, im glad!!!

Its gives Darren Sammy, Otis Gibson and the WICB think-tank a chance to blood some youngsters. Guys who will be given an opportunity to share the dressing room with Shiv Chanderpaul. Guys who will face the likes of Ricky Ponting, Micheal Clark, Mike Hussey and Shane Watson in an ultimate TEST for any youngster. Guys who if successful will face the pressures of international cricket with the likes of Gayle, Pollard, Bravo and Samuels. Guys who would look to rebuild the legacy of Caribbean cricket.

West Indian cricket has never looked better. The future has never looked so bright.    

PS: An exposure in the IPL will only help young starts like Sunil Narine build into World Beaters.