Over to McGarrell

The West Indies selectors have swapped one left-arm spinner for another of a different style in their squad for the fourth Test against South Africa which they must win to have a chance of taking the Sir Viv Richards Trophy.

In a surprise choice, Neil McGarrell, the 28-year-old Guyanese of the orthodox type, has replaced Dave Mohammed, the 21-year-old Trinidadian whose specialities are chinamen and googlies in the 13 for the match, starting at the Antigua Recreation Ground on Friday.

Mohammed, chosen on the exciting evidence of three first-class matches in his first season, did not make the final eleven in any of the previous three Tests but his chance will surely come sooner rather than later.

Captain Carl Hooper said in St John's yesterday that McGarrell would increase the options.

He is an experienced cricketer with six years in first-class cricket and five one-day internationals to his name, a useful right-handed batsman who would bolster a rickety tail and an outstanding fielder.

He had a satisfactory Busta Series with 32 wickets (average 28.81) and 263 runs (average 29.22).

The only other bowler of similar type who would have come into consideration was Ryan Hinds, the 20-year-old Barbadian whose forte is his left-hand batting rather than his steady bowling. In the case of both Mohammed and Hinds, the selectors may have run shy of too many inexperienced players in the eleven, given events so far.

Reports from StJohn's are that the pitch is likely to be dry and favourable to spin. It means that McGarrell is likely join the legspin of Dinanah Ramnarine and the off-spin of Hooper in a spin-based attack reduced to two fast bowlers, the irrepressible Courtney Walsh and Merv Dillon. If so, it would be the first time the West Indies have taken so few fast men into a Test since the fateful match in Port-of-Spain in 1976 when India totalled 406 for four for victory. Michael Holding and Bernard Julien used the new ball, Clive Lloyd provided medium-pace and there were three spinners, Raphick Jumadeen, Albert Padmore and Imtiaz Ali. It had a lasting effect on captain Lloyd and indirectly led to the policy of pure pace that existed until very recently.

Pace is now almost defunct, hopefully temporarily, as illustrated by the recall of Cameron Cuffy for the Barbados Test, aged 31 and four years after his last appearance.

Since then, nine others have been tried in support of Walsh and the now retired Curtly Ambrose and the selectors have clearly become fed up searching, especially with a stock of spinners available.

One other change seems certain come Friday morning. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, a proven batsman with an average of 40 in 45 Tests, has waited among the reserves for the first two Tests while the talented 20-year-old Marlon Samuels has been harshly subjected to the unfamiliar No. 3 position.

Samuels' runs and confidence have gradually diminished and the lefthanded Chanderpaul, accustomed to the role, should come back for the first time since a foot injury kept him out of the second Test against Australia in Perth in December.