Sport

Same old Windies story

Brian Lara (left) and Ramnaresh Sarwan - file photos

IT WAS THE same old story for the West Indies in the second Test at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago yesterday.

After a creditable performance in the first Test at Bourda in Guyana, the Caribbean team went back to their old ways and went down meekly by eight wickets to to the South Africans.

Despite a near double century in the first innings by Brian Lara and an unbeaten hundred by Ramnaresh Sarwan in the second, the West Indies were just not good enough to deny captain Graeme Smith and his South African team.

Lost the plot

The game lasted almost five days but the West Indies really lost the plot on the second day when they failed to capitalise on Lara's brilliant knock and could not get past 400. Lara got very little support and it gave the South Africans a chance to dig in during their first innings and to achieve a small but decisive lead.

It is difficult to compare the just finished Test with the first game at Bourda in Guyana. That Test, despite the first innings low score by an obviously under-prepared South Africa, was a batsman's paradise and it showed in the two double centuries by new captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Wavell Hinds.

The Queen's Park pitch was, as usual, much more helpful to the bowlers and the West Indies batsmen, apart from Lara and Sarwan, failed to apply themselves. They got a lesson in the type of application for such a surface from the South Africans in their first innings and it paid off handsomely in the end.

The road ahead will be difficult for the West Indies and skipper Chanderpaul. They would have been on a high after Guyana but now there are several questions to be answered as far as the way forward is concerned. There are not many better players around than the ones who took the field for the second Test.

Jamaica's Donovan Pagon who looked so promising in the first Test only made the second Test eleven when allrounder Ryan Hinds dropped out. He failed to make use of his chance and looked quite ordinary against the pace of Makhaya Ntini who became only the second South African to take 13 wickets in a match with his 13 for 132. In addition his fielding let him down and he will surely not be seen in the third Test. The West Indies remain unable to produce two quality batting and bowling performances in consecutive innings and until they are able to do so they will always be losing against the better teams. The problem appears to be both a matter of fitness and discipline and this will have to be addressed quickly by coach Bennett King.

There were far too many no-balls during the Test and the West Indies were hurt twice in the second innings when the South African openers had two let-offs in the second innings from illegal deliveries.

Chopping and changing after every Test is not good for the stability of the team but in addition to Pagon, pacer Reon King should also make way for a more disciplined bowler until he can solve his no-ball problems. I must admit that his bowling has improved since the last time he played for the West Indies but it is really no use taking a wicket and then be disappointed by the outstretched arm of the umpire.

If Ryan Hinds is fit then he should be back to take Pagon's place while the tall Dwight Washington must now be given his chance. The West Indies need bowlers who can consistently take four or five wickets per innings.

The team should have scored more than 400 in the first innings but 347 is a more than adequate score to defend on a Queen's Park Oval pitch which is assisting the bowlers. With a better and more disciplined attack, and better fielding, the West Indies would have been able to restrict the visitors for under 300.