A new low for West Indies cricket

A few weeks ago, after their first innings of 82 in the First Test at Brisbane, I remember suggesting that the West Indies should have been sent home.

There were two distinct replies to my suggestion, from either side of the world. I will say this in my defence. Had the team gone home then, the embarrassments that we saw on the second day of this Test would have been avoided: the cricket shown by the West Indies on day two was putrid, at best.

The Australian supporters, who wanted to see their team surpass the then West Indian consecutive winning record, rebuked me for such a suggestion. They knew that the West Indians were on to a terrible hiding. One did not have to be a soothsayer to know that the writing was already on the wall. The Australian supporters knew their team would never have this kind of chance again.

From across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and the Caribbean Sea, came the retort that perhaps "Colin Croft should emigrate to Australia, since he does not know what he was saying. Our boys will bounce back." That sort of blind faith has allowed many people to lose much in the past.

I even had some supposedly important people associated with West Indies cricket saying publicly, but indirectly, that "one of our former West Indian cricketers, a former fast bowler, is never positive about our team, since we know that the team would come out of its slump while on the Australian tour."

If I could be as sure with my lottery numbers as I was that the West Indies should have been sent home then, then I would be so rich that I would not have to endure such abuse for being one of the few really honest sports journalists around.

The West Indies cricket team on this tour has been so outplayed that even some of the team's officials have deluded themselves into believing that their charges are better than they have shown. Maybe they are, but that does not show at all.

I am sure of at least one other thing. Had the team been sent home then, they would not have been involved in what I call "negative history"; being involved, on the losing side, of so many landmarks. Already, the West Indies have scored 22 zeros on this tour, and not all by the tail-enders.

Another piece of "negative history" is looming. If the West Indies lose this game at the MCG - which is likely - then they are in danger of becoming the first West Indies team to travel to Australia and not to win a Test. The West Indies started touring Australia in 1931/2.

There is an old saying I had heard in my youth: "you can fool everyone some of the time, or some of the people all of the time. However, one cannot fool one's self." It is my opinion that a few of the West Indian team officials are fooling themselves.

This West Indies cricket team has more officials than any I have ever known on tour. While there is a Manager, whose job should not necessarily include many cricketing matters, this team also has a coach in Roger Harper, an assistant coach in Jeff Dujon and a fielding coach, in Julian Fountain. Now, if anyone wants to tell me that the team looks as if they are benefiting from the presence of these supposed experts, then maybe they can tell me the lottery numbers too?

The technical deficiencies are appalling. The fast bowlers, again except the "great" Courtney Walsh, seem unable to pitch on a constant line or length. To allow Australia to recover from 225-7, and 295-7 at the close of the first day, to realise 364, even with the considerable input from Steve Waugh, defies any explanation. While Waugh was truly brilliant with his 121 not out, he did not even try to corral the bowling, but allowed his "tailenders," Gillespie, Miller and even McGrath to blast the continually wayward bowling everywhere.

One has to assume that either the younger West Indies fast bowlers were not listening to either the captain or the coaches, or that they decided to act otherwise.

Then the West Indies batsmen, especially the senior ones, showed their lack of technical assets, as if they too did not understand the idea of the game, or were simply not up to it.

Darren Ganga drove a Jason Gillespie delivery pitched outside the off-stump with his left foot just outside the leg-stump. Anyone who knows about batting knows that could not be the right technique. I am here to suggest to you that McGrath, Gillespie and to a lesser Andy Bichel, know something about bowling. Unlike the West Indian bowlers, they knew exactly the length to bowl on the still excellent pitch for batting.

Wavell Hinds drove at a delivery, as did Brian Lara and the well-organised Ridley Jacobs, with their weight on the back foot. The deliveries that dismissed them were pitched up a bit more, getting enough time to move from the seam to take the edges and to fly to the brilliant slip fieldsmen.

At least the normally reliable Jacobs could be proud of his new West Indian record, snaring seven catches. This equals the world record held by Wasim Bari, Ian Smith and Bob Taylor. For one, I feel very happy about this, as I remember suggesting back in 1995, when Jacobs had made his One-Day International debut, that he should have made his Test debut then. Many thought that I was mad then too!

Marlon Samuels showed best how it should be done. Again playing within his limitations, his innings was a technical gem, the poise unbecoming of one so inexperienced and so young.

One commentator suggested that Samuels never played with "his head moving." A "still" head, as opposed to a "steady" head, is necessary for proper stroke-play. Another suggested that he did not play much outside his off-stump. Yet the young man took on the Australian bowling and in a way, won. One could only hope that the West Indies could try, for once, to emulate the youngster. This guy is going to be very special.

What was glaringly evident though, Samuels apart, is that the entire West Indies cricketing effort has fallen down, especially the batting, and, ironically, this is a team that has three specific coaches, more than any other team in the history of West Indian cricket.

On no occasion in recent times could it be said that the West Indies have put in such a poor effort overall - bowling and batting - in just one day of cricket. It was really embarrassing: a new low!