Time for spin

A former West Indies fast bowler of recent vintage says the time has come for the regional selectors to move away from the traditional pace-biased attack.

Ian Bishop, manager of the Trinidad and Tobago team which took part in the just-concluded Busta Cup, has not been encouraged by the faster stuff throughout the competition.

"I haven't seen any fast bowlers who have played against us that you can say `there goes a guy who you think is surely going to be in the [West Indies] team for a couple years to come'," Bishop said.

Asked if the time had come for us to be playing spinners, Bishop said: "You have to, you definitely have to.

"I may be wrong, but the spinners certainly seem to be the strength once again of West Indies' cricket," added the first-time manager who captured 161 wickets in 43 Tests for the West Indies between 1989 and 1998.

West Indies have hardly given slow bowlers an extended run in recent years and the last of the spinners given a chance was Guyanese leggie Mahendra Nagamootoo, who played in only the final Test on overseas tours to Australia and England.

The leading wicket-taker in the 2001 Busta Cup was Bishop's fellow Trinidadian, leg-spinner Dinanath Ramanrine with 41 scalps, and of the 15 bowlers who finished the tournament with more than 20 wickets, 10 were of the slower variety.

The solitary fast bowler who impressed Bishop was little-known Guyanese Reon Griffith.

It was clearly a learning experience for Griffith, who managed only three wickets at 76 each in three matches.

"He looked as though he had something in him, but it doesn't look as though he might mature for a couple of years yet. That's the only real promising sign I have seen," said Bishop, who has become a respected television and radio commentator since his retirement from international cricket.

Bishop was generally low-key about the emergence of young players across the region.

"The talent I have seen is the talent that has been around for a number of years," he said.

"I don't think we have seen enough young players [coming through] - if any.

"When you look at the averages, you don't see any young players in their first, second or third years being on top of the averages. That's slightly disappointing."

Bishop, however, was pleased that Test discard Chris Gayle was back among the runs, along with Gayle's fellow Jamaican opening batsman Leon Garrick.

Gayle, MVP of last season when he scored 615 runs, once more batted consistently for his 721 runs (ave. 65.54), while Garrick, with whom he featured in a record first-wicket stand of 425 last weekend, scored 592 runs (ave. 49.33) on his return to first-class cricket.

Bishop also made mention of young Guyanese Travis Dowlin, who scored 354 runs (ave. 70.80).