Skerritt looking beyond the vets

Others are beseeching them to soldier on for one last hurrah but Ricky Skerritt has pointed out that the continuing discussion over whether Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose continue or not is a distraction the West Indies could do without.

'From a management perspective, we would love to have Courtney and Curtly in the team,' manager Skerritt said after the West Indies' defeat in the fifth and final Test at the Oval on Monday that resulted in their first series loss to England since 1969.

'But it cannot be our focus to try and persuade them to stay in the team,' he stated.

'We have to be prepared for the reality that they are leaving and try to work with the players of the future, to build a team that can get better in the future.'

Ambrose has restated that the Oval Test, his 98th, was his last but Walsh said after the match that he would return to Jamaica to consider his position.

West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Pat Rousseau and former captain Sir Viv Richards are among the voices asking the two great fast bowlers to go on the forthcoming tour of Australia, starting in November.

Captain Jimmy Adams has pointedly stayed clear of the issue, repeating his line that he respects the decisions of both.

The campaign to have them remain gained currency following the lack of success of the younger, back-up bowlers in the series.

While the two veterans shared 51 wickets at an average of 15 runs each (Walsh 34 at 12.82, Ambrose 17 at 18.64), the five other bowlers had 25 between them at a combined average of close to 40 runs each.

Ambrose's departure and the possible exit of Walsh will clearly weaken the bowling in the short-term and leaves their successors with a daunting challenge in the coming two Test series against the strongest teams in the contemporary game, Australia away and South Africa at home.

But it also presents the emerging bowlers with a chance to step forward and fill the breach. Such opportunities often make men of boys.