West Indies pin hopes on youngsters

by Sa'adi Thawfeeq

The West Indies cricket team is hoping that its young and inexperienced cricketers will do the job for them in the absence of the senior players in the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka.

"We have a very good and exciting team on tour here and we expect them to come good individually for the West Indies," said West Indies team manager Tony Howard at a media conference held at Hotel Taj Samudra yesterday.

"These young men have been asked to replace the senior players but sometimes we realise the senior players are also junior players. Now we have a new crop of players looking to stamp their authority on the game of cricket," he said.

The West Indies side was depleted with stars in the calibre of Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Corey Collymore and several others being left out following a dispute over player-contracts with the WICB.

Howard said although negotiations are currently taking place between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the Players' Association he said the possibility of any other players joining the squad now was very remote.

The WICB picked six players from the Caribbean and added eight others from the West Indies 'A' team currently touring Sri Lanka to make up the 14 players for the senior team captained by Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Howard said the future of the senior players is strictly a matter of negotiations between the WICB and the Players' Association.

"Like every other player on tour here you have the option to choose if you want to participate or not. That is you make a decision on your future. Whether or not it is the end of the road for the senior players, only they can decide that," said Howard.

He said there was always something missing if the senior players are not on tour, but added that it had happened in West Indies cricket before.

"Like any other aspect of life cricket evolves. If you check our history you will find out it has happened time and time again with every international team. I certainly remember the time when it happened during the Packer series and out of that came Malcolm Marshall, Sylvester Clarke and players like that," said Howard.

"I have absolutely no doubt that you are going to find a similar occurrence here. This is just another stage of evolution of cricket in the Caribbean. I think out of this will come better than senior players," he said.

Howard ruled out the possibility that the two-Test series played for the Union Assurance trophy on July 13 will be a cakewalk for Sri Lanka.

"A Test match is a competition between two teams. As you know cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties. Anybody can win. Sometimes the toss makes the difference, on other occasions it is a brilliant innings or a great spell of bowling. It depends on who is best on the day," he said.

West Indies coach Bennett King said the whole side was focusing on solutions not problems.

"We are trying to keep moving forward. We've been trying to focus on the present and absorb the moment that we have got together and that we are here. That's what is important," said King.

Skipper Chanderpaul said the absence of heavyweights like Lara, Sarwan and Gayle would not put extra pressure on him and that he was confident the players who replaced them would do the job for him.

"We have a group of young, new and exciting players like Xavier Marshall, Ryan Ramdass and Narasingh Deonarine and Tino Best who are keen and ready to play Test cricket.

These guys have performed well with the 'A' team. Most of them have played international cricket. I know they are capable of doing the job. This is a good opportunity for them to make a name for themselves. I don't have much to worry about," said Chanderpaul.