Heartening signs

Two differences heralded this series for West Indies: one, they did not approach it with acrimonious contract disputes overhead, and the other was that they were not coming straight to it from yet another string of defeats. These might seem trivial, but not when one considers how long and faithfully those two conditions have served to pull the team down.

West Indies were not able to shed everything negative in one go, though; the series was also marked by a furore over pitch preparation, and the permanent transience of spinners. The previous tour by Sri Lanka had revealed that the pitches had indeed gone to sleep, and the quirkiness of selectors regarding bowling choices summoned up pervasive theories of the hegemony of fast bowlers.

The series got off at Sabina Park with confirmation that the pitch was flatly unaccommodating to pace, and by Antigua it was back to the "days of sticky molasses", as Garth Wattley wrote. Worse, the Sir Viv Richards Stadium was a waterlogged nightmare, losing two sessions to a soaked outfield and transforming a match that might have had a decisive end into a draw.

Australia predictably won the first Test, but not as easily as had been expected. A remarkable innings from Shivnarine Chanderpaul - as indeed this entire series turned out to be for him - poured more than vital runs onto the scoreboard. A sickening head blow felled him, but he rose and, perhaps too stunned to realise that he'd really been knocked out, continued batting to his 18th Test century to the delight of onlookers. It served as a call to arms, and West Indies' fast bowlers answered ferociously, piercing the Australian batting and its veneer of invincibility. It set the tone for the series. There was competitive cricket to be seen after all, and even if it went in Australia's favour, it added hitherto lost flavour to the matches.

The West Indies team may have shown some progress in the right direction, but the inability to hold to a standard continues to haunt them. The fast bowlers performed well but were overworked without the respite the presence of spinners in the line-up would have offered. Fidel Edwards was marvellous, and Jerome Taylor and Daren Powell worked hard, though Powell as an opening bowler seems too flat.

The pitches demanded extra from the quick bowlers, and with all the games lasting five days, it seemed unfairly too much. Sulieman Benn had a good outing in the final match. His height makes him such a curious sight as he delivers looking like a windmill, but it obviously gives him an edge, and one hopes that he, like the other spinners on the periphery, will be given more opportunities on the team. Realistically, this is not a team of excellence. At best, it is a learning team, and there is no reason why the composition cannot be adjusted. The bowling attack is too one-sided and not flexible enough to meet diverse challenges.

The batting was again erratic. The top order never settled, never posted a decent bag of runs, and too often it demanded heroics of a lower order that is now beginning to realise they have to bat hard and bowl hard. Wickets fell too carelessly, and perhaps the most dismal aspect of the series was the spectacle of the batsmen in full flow, lifting spirits then dropping them casually with foolishly earned dismissals.

None revealed consistency or depth save for Chanderpaul, who presented such formidable resistance that he seemed unstoppable. Dwayne Bravo, Ramnaresh Sarwan (despite his century in Antigua), Chris Gayle - the senior players - reminded that they can bat but not protect their wickets. Xavier Marshall, the newcomer, was lovely to watch, but his inexperience was evident, and a little reminiscent of the stylish sloppiness of his seniors. Yet he seems to be one of the finds of the series.

The batsmen were not helped by some of the shoddy umpiring decisions that haunt the game. Several batsmen, at critical moments, were given out unreasonably, and that provoked more calls for increased use of technology. It even raised questions about impartiality, and for the first time, one heard speculation about match-fixing even at the umpiring level. Given the number of things that have come to pass that were once thought unthinkable, anything is possible and worth examination. Certainly umpires cannot be held to be infallible, and performance standards and measures must be timely and stringent for them given the nature of their authority and influence on games.

The series featured two captains at the helm for West Indies, and there was something a little curious in that switch. When Sarwan had been captain in England last year, it was an injury that brought Gayle in in his place. When Gayle was injured, Sarwan returned, and one assumed it was to his place as captain. But in switching them again during the series, one got the impression that it is Gayle who is the captain and Sarwan was simply standing in. It means that Sarwan was not an injured captain, but had lost the captaincy to Gayle, and had lost it so emphatically that the WICB opted to return Gayle even while they declared him to be less than perfectly fit. In any case, neither captain seemed to bring anything particularly useful or inspiring to the matches.

Much has been made of the fighting spirit that the West Indies showed. It may be an improvement on the obvious way they have retreated in the middle of matches in the past, but the fight always seems to come at the wrong end of the game. They lose it when they have it to win, throw themselves into hopeless deficits, and then transform the whole thing into a scramble. It would be much better cricket if they learn how to get good starts and not rely so heavily on their old reputation of being miracle finishers.

Overall, it was a better series to watch than expected. Excitement was often a genuine spectator, and there were times when the competition was as keen as one could want from a cricket match.