West Indies middle order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul must be moved one spot forward in the batting order to the number four position thus accommodating the less experienced Darren Bravo to number five. This move will assist to modify the West Indies strategy in creating some stability in the top order.
Chanderpaul with 25 Test centuries to his name must serve as a stable force in the top order making the way quite possible for the West Indies to gain useful scores and grip the advantage in Test cricket. It is therefore necessary for Chanderpaul to bat at number four.
Windies Needs to Stengthen Vital Areas
West Indies cricketers ought to work very hard in strengthening their weak areas. Batsmen have to adopt a principle of settling down in Test cricket before attempting rash stroke play and batting aggressively.
Looking at the just concluded Test series between West Indies and England, most of the West Indies players, particularly the batsmen, were overwhelmed with the conditions and the experienced bowling attack from England. Pacer Stuart Broad and the expert swing bowler James Anderson totally embarrassed the West Indies batsmen.
Marlon Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are the only two players who staged a real challenge and performed well. Openers Adrian Barath and Kieron Powell were constant failures along with Kirk Edwards and Darren Bravo.
Lack Of Experienced Players
The absence of West Indies players Chris Gayle, Ramneresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo in the Test series against England caused a great negative effect on the team’s performance resulting in the team losing the series 2-0.
Darren Bravo and Kirk Edwards are still learning and because of the critical importance of the number three and four batsmen in Tests is necessary to have the very best players in those positions. The constant failures of West Indies batsmen in those positions have created chaos for the team resulting in the team losing in Test cricket. With the openers failing and other front line batsmen scoring low that certainly created serious problems for the West Indies.
The West Indies management, coaching staff and selectors hopefully has learnt a good lesson in not making the best effort to have the best possible players available.
Every effort must be made to always have the best team to represent the region. The bowling department must not be compromised in Test cricket. Four specialist bowlers must be in the team. Head coach Ottis Gibson must do some comprehensive work with the West Indies batsmen despite the lack of experience of some players.
