Chance for new recruits to shine, says Skerritt

West Indies manager Ricky Skerritt has expressed his disappointment at the spate of injuries affecting his team on their tour of Zimbabwe. Five changes have so far been made to the team which arrived in Zimbabwe last month.

Fast bowler Mervyn Dillon is the latest player to join the injury list, hurting his right knee in the Coca-Cola Cup final at Harare Sports Club on Saturday. Dillon was on crutches while watching his teammates beat the Zimbabwe President's XI in a three-day warm-up match in the capital on Wednesday.

"It's unusual to lose as many players in only one tour. We lost Brian Lara, Cameron Cuffy and now we have lost Dillon. And, of course, we have the unfortunate situation where Ridley Jacobs has been banned for the Second Test.

"So we had to mobilise a number of replacements. Coming in Thursday morning is fast bowler Marlon Black. Another fast bowler Pedro Collins will arrive on Friday while, hopefully by Tuesday (July 17), we will have Courtney Browne the wicket-keeper. So there have been quite a number of changes.

"Some of these guys have not been playing very much cricket. Fortunately Black has been playing in England and temperature changes in Zimbabwe should not affect him much. But the higher altitude might be a problem and it takes a couple of days to adjust. They then have to get accustomed to the particular pace and bounce of the Zimbabwe wickets so it does take some time to acclimatise; that is standard.

"But they have to get down quickly and get it running. That's the point. It's a good test to see what they are made of. They have to walk straight in like Colin Stuart did when he joined the one-day squad after Cuffy's injury. It's not easy but such is the nature of professional cricket today.

"The losses we have suffered are four significant ones and it clearly would have set us back somewhat. But it's an opportunity for the young players to play and show what they are made of. But it's not what we would have wanted. We are going to feel their absence, there is no question about that.

Skerritt was, however, impressed with his team's performance in the first warm-up match ahead of the two-Test series. "We did not bat very well in the first innings but the lower order rallied and showed a little bit of character, which helped us recover.

"We were then able to bowl the opposition out and take a lead. Chris Gayle's innings is the best I have seen him bat. I would say that the guys adjusted after a very bad start in the first morning. It's very encouraging."