Davis slams WI batting stocks

THE LIMITATIONS of batsmen in the region have been exposed at the recently-concluded NAGICO Super50 Cricket Tournament, according to former Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies cricketer Bryan Davis.

“It is a problem that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) needs to solve, but I do not think they have the wherewithal to do so,” wrote Davis, in his February 22 column on the Catholic News. “Overall, the quality of cricket was poor. There were some delightful moments, but not enough to soothe the passionate fan.”

Davis focused on the struggles of the former Combined Islands teams, Leeward Islands and 2013 winners Windward Islands, who both failed to win a match in the preliminary round stage.

Referring to the 1960s when Combined Islands joined Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Guyana and Barbados in the regional First-Class fray, Davis wrote, “that was the beginning of the evolution of cricket in the Leeward and Windward Islands. They played together and apart for a number of years, almost as if the administrators of the day did not trust their judgement.”

He continued, “eventually, the final parting came with the appearance on the scene of Andy Roberts, Vivian Richards, Richie Richardson, Eldine Baptiste and other fringe players who held their own in the best of competition. That was in 1983. Now, they are an unrecognisable unit. This once proud region contributed to the low quality of cricket in the NAGICO Super50.”

Davis mentioned that, “the Windwards too never clicked; their performance concealed the fact that they were the champions last year. The Irish team, meanwhile, scrambled one win against the Leewards and never looked up to First Class standard.”

He acknowledged, “any cricket tournament that calls for 13 games on the same ground (Queen’s Park Oval) is going to be challenging for batsmen in at least one or two games. However, the technique of the majority of the batsmen was so poor that they just could not cope.

“When the ball was turning, they looked lost; when it was swinging, which had nothing to do with the pitch, they seemed confused; then when the pacers were seaming and cutting it off the wicket, their bewilderment was complete!”

As far as the commentators were concerned, Davis admitted, “the most knowledgeable comments I heard, and I must commend him, came from Colin Croft in his summary on ESPN. He was accurate, read the games well and his analysis of pitches and players was spot on.”

Turning his attention to the NAGICO Super50 Final on February 15, Davis stated, “how crucial chances are in a game of cricket. Barbados’ most dangerous batsman, Dwayne Smith, was let off at 22 and scored a delightful and entertaining 83.”

But he mentioned, “Sunil Narine is really a cut above the rest. The popular off-spinner beguiled the batsmen to the point where they would take no chances against him. His figures of two for 18 in ten overs are exceptional and proved what a world-class bowler he is.”

He continued, “Barbados lost their last seven batsmen for a mere 57 runs and expected TT to conquer the target of 253 to start the Carnival celebrations! It was not to be. The TT batsmen, as they walked out to bat, did not seem to have a plan of action. There wasn’t an atmosphere of confidence; the TT cricketers seemed meek, almost as if they were intimidated by the natural aggressiveness of the Barbadians and the huge expectations of the tremendous crowd.”

“Full praise to Denesh Ramdin who demonstrated the right approach to the situation and to Rayad Emrit, until he attempted a third run which was totally unnecessary and badly judged. TT were still 17 runs short. In the end, the two most deserving teams met in the final, and the best team won the tournament,” Davis ended.