Give the West Indian youth a chance!

There has been a tremendous celebratory cry from the West Indies camp, all eleven million of them, for the "arrival" of Marlon Nathaniel Samuels, born 5th January, 1981. This, of course, is a retort to the wailing and hollering about the West Indies and their lack of batsmanship to counter the Australian bowling.

In only his second Test, as he did in his first, Samuels managed to upstage the supposedly better batsmen, certainly the more experienced ones, like Brian Lara, Jimmy Adams and Sherwin Campbell. This, with Jason Gillespie, Glen McGrath, Colin Miller, Stuart MacGill, Andy Bichel, or any combination thereof, coming at him with the after-burners full on.

Even the Australians are heralding the young Jamaican as the new "Messiah" for West Indies cricket. Steve Waugh, the Australian captain, gave him some kudos by suggesting that "he looked to have a very good technique, knuckled down well, and perhaps the other guys in his team should take a leaf from his book to see how to play Test match cricket." High praise to Samuels and an indictment of the other West Indian batsmen all in one.

The million dollar question being asked is this: "Are there any more Marlon Samuels in the Caribbean?" I would say that some of the players already tried by the West Indies are probably just as good as Samuels, but have not been given any extended chances. Samuels, 19, has been described as "the future of the West Indies." What about these others then?

Ricardo Powell, 21, made his Test debut in New Zealand at Hamilton late last year. In his only Test to date, he too looked rather good, getting 0 and 30. That 30, the innings top score, was made from a total of 97 all out as the West Indies lost the First Test. Since then Powell has not been heard of, after a full year, in Test cricket.

Eight players have made their Test debuts for the West Indies since December 1999. In the just completed Test at the MCG, only three of these managed to get into the final eleven, despite the terrible form of more illustrious team-mates like Sherwin Campbell and Jimmy Adams, both of whom should be dropped.

Chris Gayle, another 21-year-old Jamaican, has managed only four Tests. He debuted against Zimbabwe in March this year at the Queen's Park Oval. He too looked fair, scoring 0 and 33. He was not selected for Australia.

We all know what has transpired with Ramnaresh Sarwan. After making a splash in Test cricket with a wonderful 84 not out against Pakistan at Barbados, there were suggestions that he was "another Rohan Kanhai". Sarwan has lost his way. This is due to too much input from the respective coaches rather than loss of ability. He has been cast by the wayside for the moment, since he has not even been retained for the one day games, despite his obvious talent.

Another Jamaican, Wavell Hinds, 24, debuted against Zimbabwe at Port of Spain in March with 46 not out and 9, and already has a good Test hundred. He has so far survived, but the way he is playing, he too will soon feel the chop.

Perhaps he needs it, since like Sarwan, he has fallen into the clutches of the team's coaches. Look at the way he was dismissed in this Fourth Test, both times with his feet together, weight more behind him than in front, driving with his head in the air. I doubt whether the West Indies coaches even noticed that aspect of his batting.

Guyanese Mahendra Nagamootoo, now 25, made his debut, ironically, when the West Indies had already lost the series in England earlier this year. He played in the Final Test, his only Test to date, at the Kennington Oval, and gave a positive account of himself, getting 31 runs and three wickets with his leg-spin. He has not yet played in a Test here, despite the less than stellar performances and the continued string of injuries. One wonders if the West Indies selectors are blind, or do they believe in miracles?

Marlon Black and Colin Stuart are the other two to have made their debuts on this tour, both fast bowlers. In the Third Test, Black bowled only three overs in the second innings, as the Australians took 43 overs to get 130 to win. Somehow, his captain, Adams, as he did with Stuart in the second innings of the Fourth Test, forgot that he had another fast bowler in the team. Black was dropped for the Fourth Test, as Stuart will probably be for the Fifth. I do not blame the players I have just mentioned. They have done nothing wrong.

The West Indies are nearing another negative landmark in this series, that of making the most "ducks" in a tour. In 1978/79, in the Ashes series here in Australia, 26 ducks were made by the Australian batsmen in six Tests. Already, the West Indies have managed 25 in this series, with only four Tests completed.

What is more, the senior batsmen have been the main perpetrators. Brian Lara has so far made three ducks, as has his captain, including a pair in the Fourth Test. Sarwan has made two, while Campbell has only one, but few scores over ten. Yet the West Indies selectors have been exchanging and replacing bowlers, who have held their own well!

Perhaps instead of having these so-called batsmen embarrass themselves and all of us, they should give the younger players, the Samuels, the Powells, the Sarwans, the Gayles, an extended stay in Test cricket.

The leadership leaves a lot to be desired. I feel sorry for those players who are joining this team positively. They too will be drawn into the mire of the negativity which abounds.

Instead of asking for consistency, Jimmy Adams and his coaches, Roger Harper and Jeff Dujon, should be looking for the answers. The lack of batting technique is plain for all to see. Let us hope that the younger batsmen shake off the shackles and follow the example of Marlon Samuels and Ridley Jacobs.

Australia, on the other hand, just keep rolling along, with the West Indies finding new ways to make new heroes of the Australian players. Australia now have 14 Test wins in a row. No one wants to wager that the West Indies could pull off a shocker at Sydney, and win the last Test.

Even the Australians are losing respect for the West Indies. Steve Waugh even said: "We are thinking about our next tour, of India, but was do have another Test to complete first."

I think the worst thing at international level is when the opposition, fellow professionals, lose respect for the vanquished. I saw it in South Africa when they beat the West Indies 5-0, then in New Zealand, even before the West Indies got to the point of losing the Fourth Test here. It is a very sad when it comes to this.

Jason Gillespie, Andy Bichel and especially Steve Waugh should be extremely pleased with their input. Again they showed that professional sport should be played by hard men, ready for the fight.