For me it wasn’t so much that the West Indies lost the first Test by an innings. My greatest concern was that from ball one, Jason Holder and his men played as if they fully expected to lose. How else to explain the field for Shannon Gabriel in the first few overs of the opening morning with no one under the bat on the leg side?
Gabriel may not be the most skilful fast bowler around, but he is very fast, big, strong and potentially extremely intimidating. He proved that last year when he forced the exit from Test cricket of the outstanding England batsman Jonathan Trott.
By failing to back their top fast bowler to the hilt in his very first spell, the West Indies sent a message they were scared. It was a mindset that plagued the team for most of that first Test. It was manifest in Carlos Brathwaite’s first-innings dismissal, bowled first ball, shouldering arms to an innocuous delivery pitched an inch or so outside off stump.Had he come to the wicket with his mind clear, uncluttered by defeatist thoughts, Brathwaite probably would have blasted that half-volley back over the bowler’s head.
In the second innings, with the cause long lost, the true Carlos Brathwaite fight-to-the-death mentality came to the fore. That willingness to fight, giving no quarter, even if everyone else believe you have no chance, must be the mindset as the West Indies face India at Sabina Park, starting on Saturday.
That was the mentality that gave them victory over England last year in Barbados, when, like now, they weren’t supposed to have any chance. Not just the players, but coach Phil Simmons and his staff must locate that positive mindset ahead of the second Test.
They must also make changes to the team. In hindsight, it was obviously a mistake to have left out fast bowler Miguel Cummins. He should’ve been partnering Gabriel with the new ball. But hindsight is 20/20 vision.
Cummins will presumably come into the side at the expense of batsman Jermaine Blackwood who has lost confidence. Blackwood, is very talented but right now a break is what he needs. Hopefully, coaches Robert Samuels, Junior Bennett et al will help him to get his groove back ahead of the regional first class season in a few months.
The exit of Blackwood and entrance of Cummins will mean five specialist batsmen, instead of six, which means that the specialist batsmen — wicketkeeper/batsman Shane Dowrich, and the all-rounders Holder and Carlos Brathwaite — must strive to stand firm in unison. Holder’s dismissals in the first Test to loose shots were particularly disappointing because he never looked in any trouble. Holder has the makings of a high-quality batsman, but he must focus.
The same is true for Darren Bravo. He was wonderfully focused on the tour of Australia at the turn of the year, but the manner of his dismissals in Antigua suggests his mind was wandering.
In many respects, Marlon Samuels defies reason. His battling, second-innings half-century certainly saved him his place at Sabina Park. I do not see how the selectors could have persisted with him had he failed yet again. My hope is that he will be angry, with that special back-to-the-wall feeling, when he gets to Sabina. That’s when Marlon is at his best.
Round about now, opener Kraigg Brathwaite will be hearing talk that he needs to push back more against the Indian pacers, especially that he should play more shots. He should ignore such chatter. His job is to stay at the wicket as long as he can, bat till the cows come home, and gather runs as he always has.
Rajendra Chandrika has challenges, but he is obviously tough. He should take heart from his second innings in Antigua. Dowrich too, seems to be resilient. Many others would have gone to pieces after dropping that straightforward catch which facilitated all-rounder Ravi Ashwin’s third century against the West Indies. But the wicketkeeper’s batting, especially in the first innings, suggests he was able to put that awful error behind him. Let’s see how he goes from here.
Every time I see Roston Chase bat, I feel enthused. It was the same on his debut in Antigua last week. He sees the ball early and obviously has a lot of time. However, especially against high-quality, well-balanced attacks such as is being offered by India, he has to tighten up.
Of the West Indian bowlers, Gabriel and leg spinner Devendra Bishoo were good. I would only ask that Bishoo be given less work. The fifth specialist bowler will hopefully allow that to happen.
The tall medium pacers, Holder and Carlos Brathwaite struggled on the Antigua pitch which offered them minimal seam movement. But it seems to me that the field setting for their bowling was unimaginative. Holder and Brathwaite may lack genuine pace but they are both very tall, which means they get extra bounce. They are also accurate.
It seems to me that rather than two slips and a gully, having extra men in short-catching positions — in front of the bat, either side of the wicket — will often make far more sense. Top stroke players, the world over, are nothing if not egotists. Virat Kohli and company are no different. They will drive on the up and that little extra bounce can be their undoing.
A spirited, imaginative, never-say-die approach can help the West Indies complete this series against India with their heads high. Failing that, they could easily get swept.
Lastly, it strikes me that this continuous gripe about Holder and Brathwaite not bowling fast enough is nonsensical. Just because they have the physical stature of giants doesn’t mean they should be able to bowl fast. They are medium pacers who, fortunately for West Indies cricket, have real batting talent.
The task must be to help them become the best medium pacers they can be, even while they fulfil their potential as batsmen. If they bat to their potential, that additional spot for a genuinely fast bowler will always be there.