One-day rest for Walsh, Ambrose (10 April 1999)

10 April 1999

One-day rest for Walsh, Ambrose

Tony Cozier

The West Indies will adopt the same humanitarian policy as Australia and rest overworked fast bowlers Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh for most of the series of seven Cable & Wireless one-day internationals. "They did more than their fair share in the Tests and, with the World Cup coming up, we've got to handle them with care," chairman of selectors Mike Findlay said yesterday as the teams prepared for the first match at Arnos Vale, St Vincent, tomorrow.

"They are not as young as they used to be and they go straight into the World Cup after this series," he added. "We want them as fresh as possible for that."

Also with an eye on the World Cup, Australian captain Steve Waugh earlier indicated they will not extend fast bowler Glenn McGrath, their leading wicket-taker in the four Tests with 30 wickets.

Walsh, at 36, the oldest man on either side, sent down 208.1 overs in the Tests. Ambrose, 35, had 184.2 and McGrath, 29, bowled 199.4, as many as 140.1 in the last two, back-to-back Tests in Barbados and Antigua.

The series is a dress rehearsal for the World Cup. Both teams will use the same squad of 15 as chosen for the Cup that starts in England on May 14, less than three weeks after the final match of this series at Kensington Oval April 25.

"Seven matches gives plenty of opportunity to work out the right combination," Findlay said. "We'll be aiming to give everybody a chance so that we can go to England settled in our minds as to what our best eleven might be."

Findlay said Sherwin Campbell, recalled after he was omitted from the last 14 one-day internationals, would open the innings with Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Stuart Williams would be kept in the lower order where he was successfully used in last year's home series against England.

"We felt we needed someone solid at the top of the order who could hold things together if we lost a few early wickets," Findlay said. In keeping with modern trends, both teams have made several changes from their Test sides to adjust to the special demands of the abbreviated game.

Australia have replaced eight of their original 15. Openers Michael Slater and Matthew Elliott, middle-order batsmen Justin Langer and Greg Blewett, fast bowler Andy Bichel, two-in-one bowler Colin Miller, leg-spinner Stuart MacGill and wicket-keeper Ian Healy have given way to the so-called one-day specialists.

Batsmen Michael Bevan and Darren Lehmann, both left-handed, and right-hander Damien Martin, all-rounders Brendon Julian, Shane Lee and Tom Moody, swing bowler Damien Fleming and wicket-keeper/opening batsman Adam Gilchrist arrived in St Vincent last Monday to prepare for the series.

The West Indies have brought in six players who were not involved in the Tests-Keith Arthurton, Hendy Bryan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, whose shoulder injury has now mended, Reon King, Phil Simmons and Stuart Williams.

Of the West Indians, only Bryan, the lively fast-medium bowler and hard-hitting batsman from Barbados, and Nehemiah Perry, the Jamaican off-spinner who made his debut in the second Test, have not appeared in a one-day international. All the Australians have international experience.

The exclusions of Junior Murray, the power-hitting batsman and wicket-keeper, and, to a less degree, leg-spinner Rawl Lewis, have been greeted with irate disappointment in Grenada where the second match will be played at the new US$25 million, 15,000 capacity stadium on Wednesday.

It means that no Grenadian will play in the historic match, prompting angry calls to radio call-in programmes. It will be the second one-day international in Grenada, following the first against India in 1983, and all tickets were sold weeks ago. But there is now even predictable talk of protests and boycotts.

Source :: The Trinidad Express (https://www.trinidad.net/express/)