Could this be a fast bowler's series?

While Saqlain Mustaq, the Pakistani off-spinner, his compatriot, legspinner Mustaq Ahmed, and perhaps even newly called-up West Indies legspinner Mohendra Nagamootoo may have something else to say and do about it, this upcoming three Test series between the West Indies could very well end up being a series completely dominated by fast bowlers, the recently very slow pitches in the Caribbean allowing. As the series gets underway on Friday next, perhaps we can compare the merits and demerits of that thought.

It is possible, while not very likely, that Pakistan could even start a Test match here in the Caribbean with four fast bowlers; Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar Younis and Shabir Ahmed Khan. The first three, fitness permitting, would certainly have something special to give to this tour, as they are special fast bowlers in their own right.

"The Rawalpindi Express", Shoaib Akhtar, last played a Test match, his 15th overall, against Sri Lanka late last year. Since then, he has suffered with so many injuries that he might be wondering when he would be fully fit. He has had foot problems and shoulder problems recently. Certainly, his confidence would have taken a bit of a dip under those circumstances.

In those 15 Tests, with always tremendous pace, he has captured 45 wickets and the imagination of many a cricketing pundit, with his allout, ultra aggressive approach to the art of fast bowling. As he himself puts it, "I want to bowl every ball faster than the last." After giving the West Indies a taste of his potential power in the last one day international in Trinidad & Tobago, when he hit the stumps twice, including those of West Indies captain Jimmy Adams, with express deliveries, bowling from around the wicket, I am sure that many know realize this guy's potential. If he gets everything right, he could destroy a team and make them look very mediocre indeed. This guy is a truly exciting, even pulsating fast bowler to behold. If he plays, and bowls well, the Caribbean people are in for a great treat!!

Waqar Younis, that purveyor of both "reverse swing" and the "inswinging yorker", is again bowling well. It would have been great just for him to be able to bowl just one of these types of deliveries well. Waqar has perfected both. Especially when bowling with an "oldish" ball, say 45-65 overs old, Waqar does magic.

Waqar has played 61 Tests so far and has 292 wickets to show for them. Had he already gotten a total of 305 wickets overall, he would have averaged an excellent 5 wickets per Test, so he is close to that excellence. That is tremendous going for someone who has been playing since 1989, but whose appearances have also been curtailed by injuries. It is more likely than not that he will get his 300th Test wicket in this three-Test series. Now, fully fit, and perhaps the Pakistani bowler with the most impressive form recently, Waqar would be the perfect foil for Shoaib, if indeed Shoaib plays.

Waqar is the first of the Pakistani "slingers", using the body and the arm in great unison, very much like a javelin thrower, thus "whipping" the ball along at tremendous pace. He seldom worries about slowing down. Probably, because he is older in the game, he is more likely to "think" his deliveries through than Shoaib, but there is no doubting the mold and the model for Shoaib's bowling. It must be Waqar Younis. His confidence is high, and if he gets "everything right", he will certainly present exciting times for the crowds, but a handful of problems for the West Indies batsmen.

That grand "old man" of Pakistani fast bowling, Wasim Akram, who was the team's captain just before Moin Khan took over the reigns for this tour, is still probably still the best, certainly one of the most wily fast bowlers, in world cricket. His left-handed "swingers", movement though the air, and "cutters", movement from the pitch, are a match for any of the world's batsmen, and indeed have defeated most of them since his debut in 1984/85.

Wasim is infinitely fitter in 2000 than he was in 1999, , due mainly, according to him, "total commitment and tremendous work in the gym with weights etc.," so it is reasonable to assume that he would add to those 383 wickets he has already garnered in 92 Tests. Indeed, so devastating and dynamic he could be that it is not too far fetched to believe that he could get his 400th wicket sometime in this series. Even after such a career, his runs per over average (RPO) in Test cricket is an incredible 2.61. This purveyor of pace, like his West Indian equal, Curtly Ambrose, seldom gives anything away to batsmen. He makes them work harder than most to get success.

Wasim will lead the Pakistani bowling, and for my money, all things being equal, he is Pakistan's best bowler in this team, able "to dance" the ball around at any time, new or old. Many of the world's batsmen have been known to suggest that Wasim is one of the hardest bowlers to get away, as he never seems to give up. With his experiences, both as a fast bowling all-rounder and as captain, he could certainly be a great combatant in this series.

To counter that trio of pacemen from Pakistan, the West Indies could, more than likely would, throw four fast bowlers at the visitors. Curtly Ambrose, Reon King, Franklyn Rose and Courtney Walsh have done well recently against Zimbabwe. Pakistan, they acknowledge, will be tougher.

Reon King has already been voted, in most minds, as the "Most Improved" fast bowler in at least West Indies cricket, if not indeed in world cricket. He has come through well, under the pressures of being one of the successors of that dynamic duo, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose. With only five Tests to his name, King would be playing his first Test ever in his homeland, Guyana. How he reacts to such pressures and expectations could be as important as to his form and fitness for the fray at hand.

King has only 15 wickets to show for his efforts so far. Yet, most agree that there should be so many more devastating spells in store for us. His deliveries are easily the quickest in the Caribbean and with his confidence fairly high after the Test series against Zimbabwe, King's persona, and production, could well be the difference between these two teams. He is on a learning curve, and if his fitness and his form holds for the three-test series, not only Guyanese, but everyone else, region-wide and even world-wide, would have a treat, as a young, but emerging fast bowler makes his real impact on the world of cricket.

Franklyn Rose has also had a very good 2000 so far, making a great "come back", if that is possible from one with only 15 Test matches so far. Like King, he has shown recently that he could take over some of the responsibilities now being shouldered by the still effective but aging Ambrose and Walsh.

46 wickets to show from those few appearances puts Rose in exactly the same category as Reon king in terms of production; just about three wickets per game. Both King and Rose will have to up their production considerably if they are not only going to be the forefront of West Indies fast bowling in the near future, but also be regularly responsible for West Indian wins.

At least, no one can fault Rose's commitment so far. He has done everything that everyone has asked him to do recently, and more. His fitness, though, with a swollen middle finger on his bowling right hand, like Reon King's continuing knee problem, could cause some recalculations on the make up of the final team.

What more can be said of Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose. Like Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, Walsh and Ambrose have become synonymous with West Indian fast bowling, and more particularly West Indian successes, than anyone else over the last decade or so. With 812 Test wickets between them; Walsh that record-breaking 435 wickets, and Ambrose, with 377 wickets, these two still present the greatest threat to opposing batsmen.

Ambrose may not be the all out fast bowler he was, say in 1994, when he destroyed England in Port of Spain, but he has retained all of the other attributes which has made him the great fast bowler that he still is.

"I do not like giving anything away to batsmen," he says. "They must earn every run they get. By 'keeping things tight', I help keep the pressure on. All I need is a little break, a chance to get among the wickets, and immediately we would see that the pressure would have paid off."

Even after playing for more than 10 years, "Amby", "Cuddy" and Wasim are enjoying their cricket immensely. If nothing else, the younger fast bowlers should emulate that.

Courtney Walsh has, like Ambrose, of course, been written off so often that they must smile sometimes as they continue to weave their own magic, poison if you are an opposing batsman. Yet these two continue on. It is conceivable too that, given an equal playing field, Ambrose could get his 400th Test wicket, and Walsh his 450th, by the end of this series.

Under these circumstances, it is hard to pick a "winner" from the two sets of fast bowers, Pakistani and West Indian. However, one thing is assured. If these seven fast bowlers on show all bowl well, and the pitches in Guyana, Barbados and Antigua & Barbuda give them even just a little help, the batsmen of both teams will suffer badly. For those who like fast bowling, and the adrenaline-pumping excitement it produces, this series could be a tremendous treat!!