Williams should be opening (16 April 1999)

16 April 1999

Williams should be opening

Tony Becca

The seven-match Cable and Wireless one-day series between the West Indies and Australia is locked at 1-1 going into tomorrow's third match and for the Windies it is so far, so good.

With the World Cup just around the corner, the two teams appear to be using the series as their final tune-ups and, like Australia, the West Indies should be pleased with the performances of some of their players.

Opening batsman Sherwin Campbell, for example, has been batting well, so too middle-order batsman James Adams, who, batting at number four, has been stroking the ball nicely while pulling the team out of tight spots, medium-fast bowler Henderson Bryan has been a revelation and the team has been brilliant in the field.

The West Indies, however, must be concerned about the opening position.

While Campbell has been doing reasonably well, Shivnarine Chanderpaul has not and although he is so good a player that it may be just a matter of time before he gets going, it seems strange, not that he is opening the innings, but that with Stuart Williams also in the team, he, a middle-order batsman, is being used to open the innings, while Williams, an opening batsman, is being used in the middle.

Apart from the shortage of good opening batsmen and the need to find a solid pair, one reason why Chanderpaul is being used at the top of the order is because he is a left-hander and with Campbell being a right-hander, opposing bowlers would be confronted with a right-left combination.

The fact that Williams is a right-hander has nothing, however, to do with him not opening the innings.

Williams is not being used at the top of the order because of his poor footwork and is in the team not only because of a shortage of good batsmen, not only because he is potentially explosive and brilliant in the field, not only because he could be an asset, but also because he is still considered by influential people around West Indies cricket a gifted batsman who may still fulfil his early promise.

He is also in the team because many of those now believe his place is in the middle-order - probably because the older ball is likely to swing less and therefore make it easier for him to cope.

Whatever the reason or reasons for switching Chanderpaul and Williams around, Chanderpaul is not an opening batsman - he is not of that breed, and while there is nothing wrong with using him in that position in certain circumstances, it just does not seem right to send him out into unfamiliar territory when Williams, who is accustomed to it, is also in the team.

On top of that, while Chanderpaul possesses the capacity to pull the team out of trouble, Williams does not.

Based on their record, Chanderpaul in the middle of the order and Williams at number two, must be better for the West Indies than Chanderpaul at number two and Williams in the middle.

Both batsmen, who are also brilliant fielders, deserve to be in the team. They should, however, bat in their accustomed positions. With Chanderpaul at number two and Williams in the middle of the order, the West Indies run the risk of two failures instead of one.

They could find themselves off to a bad start and then with no one in the middle to prop them up.

Source :: The Jamaica Gleaner (https://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/)