West Indies cruelly exposed

Whoever happened to be representing the West Indies in Sri Lanka at present, high-profile stars or eager nonentities, one truth was always glaring and constant. It only needed a cursory glance at current career records and the scoreboards of the previous series between the teams in Sri Lanka to confirm the certainty that the main threat would be posed by two bowlers, and two bowlers alone.

The conviction was reinforced by the late withdrawal of ten of the initially chosen players, among them five of the six specialist batsmen, and the hurried inclusion of unprepared substitutes. The upshot was predictable.

Chaminda Vaas, his left-arm each-way movement aided by two days of damp, overcast weather in the first Test last week, and Muttiah Muralitharan, swiftly regaining the hypnotic quality of his off-spin following a layoff of 11 months for a shoulder operation, cruelly exposed the inexperience of their ill-equipped young opponents. Vaas had eight wickets and Muralitharan seven.

Captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the one West Indian remaining with any sort of record, was the only one to score more than 11 in each innings and even he was so entangled in the Sri Lankans' web that his unbeaten second innings 48 occupied three hours, 40 minutes and 158 balls.

The new wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin and, surprisingly, fast bowler Tino Best were the only others with the basic technique necessary to counter the swinging and turning ball-and Best's delusion that he can smite Test bowlers for six whenever he is so minded continued to embarrass him.

In the sunshine, an opening day 271 for six exceeded all expectations. Subsequently, the remaining 14 wickets fell for 127. "We knew it was coming and we practiced it but when they (the batsmen) went out, they moved too early," coach Bennett King said afterwards.

That Sylvester Joseph, Xavier Marshall, Runako Morton, Narsingh Deonarine and Dwayne Smith were lbw in one or both innings revealed their vulnerability to swing and supported King's assertion that they "moved too early". Most simply planted their front foot down the pitch and missed the ball by several inches. In the second innings, the left-handed Deonarine raised his bat to one from Vaas that held its line.

"We're going to go indoors and into the nets and do a lot of work on the batting," Chanderpaul said. "We especially had a lot of problems with Chaminda so we have to do a lot of work on that to make sure that when the next match comes (the second Test starts in Kandy on Friday) we are ready for it."

Such technical deficiencies cannot be ironed out in a few days, a few weeks or a few months. They need to be addressed at youth level by the coaches back in the Caribbean. Too many batsmen have come through the ranks and into the Test team with the glaring flaws that were exploited by Vaas and Muralitharan over the past few days-as they have been by others in recent times.

There are few better exponents of their craft than the two Sri Lankans as so many of the West Indians who were similarly embarrassed by them in the previous series four years ago well know. They carry their attack virtually on their own and, with Muralitharan now 33 already with shoulder problems and Vaas 31, Sri Lanka must be concerned when they eventually take their leave.

Muralitharan is second only to Shane Warne among wicket-takers in Tests, now with 539. Chaminda Vaas has 284. Next on Sri Lanka's list is Sanath Jayasuriya, the opening batsman whose left-arm spin has been required for an average of only 12 overs a match. It has brought him 91 wickets in 97 Tests.

When the West Indies, then at full strength but for the injured Chanderpaul, were beaten in all three Tests here in 2001, Muralitharan had 24 of their 60 wickets, and Vaas 26. All the others together picked up nine. As depressing as the out -come was - the margins of defeat were twice by ten wickets, once by 131 runs - it was a series made unforgettable by the magnificence of Brian Lara's batting and his unprecedented dominance of Muralitharan.

Yet Lara, with his 688 runs in six innings at an average of 114.66, and the emerging, 21-year-old Ramnaresh Sarwan (average 53) were the only ones to properly counter the challenge. Like the fledglings now here in their place, Chris Gayle (dismissed by Vaas in five of the six innings for 9, 1, 0, 0 and 0), Daren Ganga (average 17.33) and Marlon Samuels (average 12.66) found it all too much.

They also brought technical flaws, uncorrected in their youth, into Test cricket and were found out by two high-class bowlers, just as the others were in the first Test here. Vaas and Muralitharan will once more set the same complex examinations of technique and temperament come Friday.