WI lacking focus

London: It seems like eons ago since Lord's 100th Test left all who watched it spellbound and eager for more.

They have had to wait for more than a month, since then the euphoria that followed England's epic victory has dissolved and the sports pages here have been filled, instead, with the magnitude of Tiger Woods' golfing superiority, Luis Figo's transfer fee and Andy Flintoff's waistline.

In the interim, England have maintained their momentum with their efficient triumph in the One-Day NatWest Series, lack-lustre as the tournament was while the West Indies, beaten three times by Zimbabwe and eliminated even before their last-over consolation win over England, have failed to regroup after their Lord's setback.

While Nasser Hussain, back at the helm after his broken thumb, now talks excitedly about his team being 'a pleasure to lead', Jimmy Adams reluctantly, but realistically, bemoans the inconsistency that has been the bane of West Indies cricket for some time.

It was again in stark evidence in the first two Tests and throughout the One-Day Internationals 397 in the first Test and victory by an innings within three days, all out 54 in the second and a lead of 133 transformed into defeat; unable to defend 288 against Zimbabwe one match, beating England with 195 the next.

Such erratic performances have become commonplace. It reflects a lack of concentration, 'focus' is the modern sporting jargon, and no captain can properly plan unless it's corrected.

As Adams pointed out last week, there are times when a team will perform consistently in all departments of the game and still lose. That can be tolerated. What can't is when they are consistently inconsistent in batting, bowling and fielding, as was the case throughout the One-Day series.

Before the Cornhill Insurance series resumes at Old Trafford on Thursday morning, locked 1-1 with three Tests remaining, Adams will again stress that point.

He will also emphasise to his younger players that they cannot continue shielding behind the older hands and behind such excuses as the cold weather and the conditions.

The statistics are damning.

In the first two Tests, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, with their combined ages of 73, had 151.5 overs between them and claimed 18 wickets at 14 runs each and at under two runs an over. In contrast, Reon King and Franklyn Rose shared 10 wickets at over 30 each and around three-and-a-half an over.

At Lord's, Adams took the blame for persisting too long with the errant Rose during the tense closing stages when Dominic Cork went after him. If he becomes reluctant to use anyone but his two veterans, it won't be surprising but it paints a gloomy picture for the future.

Of the batsmen, Adrian Griffith, Wavell Hinds, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle are on their first tours of England. They were already Test cricketers on arrival. Hinds' brilliant 169 against the powerful Pakistan attack at Kensington in May and Sarwan's widely praised, unbeaten 86 on debut in the same match were causes for optimism.

This was the opportunity for them to make their mark. To date, Sarwan and Griffith average 26 and Gayle 22 in first-class matches. Only Hinds, the tall, 23-year-old Jamaican, has made any sort of show among the young brigade, averging in the high 40s.

Last week's match against a shamefully diminished Yorkshire team typified the problem. The county had folded to 126 all out. Their one first team bowler, Ian Hutchison, broke down in his seventh over. It was the chance to cash in.

The West Indies will be buoyed by the return of Ambrose although, judging from his first outing back at Leicester on Friday, his monthlong rest and recreation in Antigua seems to have left him a little rusty.

The remarkable Courtney Walsh also missed the triangular tournament to rest a sore instep but picked up where he left off at Lord's with a five-wicket haul in his first match back, albeit against weakened Yorkshire.

In their absence, the backup fast bowlers fell down on the job, as they did on the tense final day at Lord's when Rose and King conceded half England's winning runs off 20 overs fewer and for six wickets less than Ambrose and Walsh.

In the One-Day series, they were left on their own but were wayward in length and line, unable to exert the control necessary. Adams saw it as a salutary lesson.

'It gave everybody, not only the bowlers but the whole team, a taste of the fact that, in the near future, we will have to do without Ambi and Courtney,' he said. 'That was very important in the context of where we're hoping to get to in the next few years.'

It remains a fair assumption that the West Indies hopes of recording their first win in an overseas series since 1995 still hinges on three men Ambrose, Walsh and Brian Lara.

As it is, Lara is still carrying a tight right hamstring and would not have batted for two weeks. Yet, justifiably, he is the standard-bearer for the batting.

In the coming days, Adams will repeatedly stress what was achieved without Lara against Zimbabwe and Pakistan at home and remind Rose and King of the valuable parts they played in those victories.

The lesson is that cricket remains a team game and even the greatest players cannot win matches on their own.