WI stay with pace

Port-Of-Spain - The West Indies enter their first Test under fresh leadership here this morning against Zimbabwe, sticking to a familiar old formula.

Encouraged by a Queen's Park Oval pitch with a healthy covering of grass, new captain Jimmy Adams, new coach Roger Harper and their three fellow selectors have elected to base their attack on four fast bowlers to the exclusion of the one practicising spinner in the squad.

They have also excluded Ricardo Powell, one of only the two right-handed batsmen in the original 13, so that they are left with the bizarre, if not unique, balance of six successive left-handers from No. 2 down and seven in all.

They do not, of course, include the finest left-hander of all and the only genuine contemporary world-class player with West Indian nationality. Brian Lara is taking 'a break for a short period' after his resignation as captain three weeks ago and, according to the Trinidad Press, is off to a US clinic in a few days seeking stress therapy.

The overwhelming trust in pure pace was forged by the heady successes of a generation ago.

It remains, as do two of the fast bowlers who have bridged the gap between the last two decades of one century and into the next, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose.

They have between them not only 200 Tests and 795 wickets but also a combined age of 73 and a few creaking muscles that have lately been acting up.

One of Adams' more difficult decisions will be how and when to use them.

There is a strong case for separating them with the new ball.

Reon King is younger and faster and made a distinct impression in the previous series in New Zealand.

Franklyn Rose is the only one of the four who is an authentic swinger, in the cricketing as much as the social sense.

It would be a bold move to call up either King or Rose to start the attack but hardly one a captain in his first Test at the helm would willingly take. It is likely to come later in the season, for another Test and three against Pakistan follow.

For the time being, Ambrose and Walsh will be back together again sharing the new ball and being humanely used in short spells by their new skipper.

The stacking of eggs exclusively in one basket always has its dangers, not least at Queen's Park where the appearance of the pitch can be so deceptive. A green top can quickly become a slow turner and it is then that the omission of Nehemiah Perry's off-spin would be keenly felt.

Adams himself and Chris Gayle, who makes his Test debut along with his fellow Jamaican left-hander Wavell Hinds, may find themselves sending down more hopeful spin than they care for in theclosing stages.

Gayle, at 20 the youngest of the 11, earned his selection to his productive Busta Cup in which he led the scoring (623 runs) and the averages (56.63).

Campbell No. 2 man

He will bat one down after the openers, Sherwin Campbell, significantly appointed vice-captain yesterday, and Adrian Griffith the first of the left-handers to be followed, in order, by Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Adams, Hinds and wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs with Ambrose another to come at No. 8.

Neither from memory nor from a glance through the scores can I find an instance with so many left-handers in a West Indies team.

Powell would have broken up the sequence and would have provided the attacking approach that has been compromised by Lara's sabbatical.

The fact that he bowls useful off-spin was another factor in his favour - but, it must be accepted, his moderate returns in the Busta Cup (187 runs at 20.44 with a topscore of 38) were not.

It was not so long ago that a Test between the West Indies and Zimbabwe would have been cricket's equivalent to football's Brazil against Greenland.

Times have changed so rapidly and dramatically that the inaugural series between the two involves two weak, evenly-matched teams fighting over the bottom place among the game's nine Test countries.

It is a lot to which Zimbabwe is accustomed.

They are a united team, solid in batting, short on bowling and outstanding in the field, but they have managed only three victories in 39 Tests in eight years.

To now be seriously challenged by such opponents is an affront to the West Indies, home to a galaxy of past stars and the invincible powerhouses who dominated world cricket throughout the Eighties with their brilliant batting and ruthless fast bowling.

But it is an accurate reflection on their recent demise in which they have lost all their last ten Tests overseas, to Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand, and been wracked by a lack of quality players, internal divisions and controversy.

Defeat by Zimbabwe at this stage would be to further erode the credibility and popularity of West Indies cricket.

The teams:

West Indies: - James Adams (captain), Sherwin Campbell (vice-captain), Adrian Griffith, Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Wavell Hinds, Ridley Jacobs, Franklyn Rose, Curtly Ambrose, Reon King, Courtney Walsh. Reserves: Ricardo Powell, Nehemiah Perry.

Zimbabwe (from) - Andy Flower (captain), Grant Flower, Neil Johnson, Trevor Gripper, Murray Goodwin, Alistair Campbell, Stuart Carlisle, Brian Murphy, Heath Streak, Bryan Strang, Henry Olonga, Andy Blignaut, Pommie Mbangwa, Mluleki Nkala, Craig Wishart, Tetenda Taibu.

Umpires: Steve Bucknor (Jamaica), George Sharp (England).

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).