Those expecting wholesale changes to the composition of the West Indies team to England learned today that the only major change is the omission of Marlon Samuels. Aside from Samuels, the only selections that could be considered surprises are the inclusions of Sylvester Joseph, Darren Sammy, Runako Morton and Ravi Rampaul.
The WICB also deemed it unnecessary to select a specialist spinner, going instead with an all pace attack featuring Daren Powell, Jerome Taylor, Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul, Darren Sammy and Corey Collymore. Perhaps the ghost of Rajindra Dhanraj's 1995 tour to England is still fresh in the minds of the selectors to the extent that Amit Jaggernauth was overlooked for this tour. Regardless, a rebuilt West Indies future has to include the development of a legitimate spin option. The English conditions should suit Rampaul who has the ability to swing the ball moreso than anybody in the squad. One has to wonder if Pedro Collins' international career with the West Indies has ended, as his left arm swing bowling would be best suited for English wickets, yet as with the World Cup squad, he is nowhere to be found.
Denesh Ramdin will have to do his best not to tire during the tour as he has nobody in the squad who can spell him during practice matches. Perhaps the WICB feels as though Ramdin is by far the best keeping option in the territory and accordingly, there is no need to have another keeper in the squad. However, wouldn't Lendl Simmons be more valuable to the squad than Sylvester Joseph given that he can keep wicket if needed? Joseph is noted as a capable captain of the Leeward Islands. Could it be that the WICB would rather have another captain in the squad to go along with Sarwan and Ganga? With Joseph fast approaching 29 and sporting a first class batting average of 31.87, his selection is curious at best. Fans can only hope that after a month of the World Cup, Ramdin's legs are fresh enough to hold up throughout the English summer and not diminish his batting.
The batting line-up appears to be set 1-7 with the possibility that Devon Smith and Runako Morton would be interchangeable. With Morton's propensity for a run of low scores, Devon Smith may prove to be the more dependable pick. Chanderpaul will be needed more than ever the fortify the middle order and bat with the lower order.
West Indies squad
Ramnaresh Sarwan (capt), Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Daren Ganga, Chris Gayle, Sylvester Joseph, Runako Morton, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Darren Sammy, Devon Smith, Jerome Taylor, Ravi Rampaul.
Rain, No Play offers the following starting XI for the first Test Match, May 17-21...
Daren Ganga
Chris Gayle
Devon Smith
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Dwayne Bravo
Denesh Ramdin
Darren Sammy
Daren Powell
Fidel Edwards
Jerome Taylor
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Thu, 03/05/2007 - 9:07am
I really think they missed a trick by not having a spinner to give some variety to the attack. Right now, none of the seamers are of the quality of Walsh, Ambrose or any of the previous greats, so if the opposition gets in on a flat wicket, then the Windies could be chasing leather for a long time. At least a genuine spinner would give another style of attack that the batsmen would have to contend with.
Fri, 04/05/2007 - 9:08pm
As an update, Ganga has, as expected, been named the vice captain. The WICB also announced the tour management:
Michael Findlay - Manager
David Moore - Coach
Henderson Springer - Assistant Coach
Imran Khan - Media Officer
Stephen Partridge - Physiotherapist
Richard Smith - Strength & Conditioning Coach
David Scott - Performance Enhancement Consultant (Six-Week Contract)
Apparently, the Performance Enhancement Consultant is some sort of psycologist role.
Fri, 04/05/2007 - 9:25pm
Richard Smith was the Physiologist at the English Cricket Academy. He presumably fills the role vacated by Bryce Cavanaugh, former trainer, who left the team late last year, meaning that the Windies team didn't have a physical trainer for the World Cup.
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