By Tony Becca - From The Boundary JEROME TAYLOR is back home, and with such talent and after such a promising start to his international career, the young fast bowler must be very disappointed that he is not now in South Africa preparing to take on the No. 2 team in the world of cricket.
The 19-year-old pacer suffered a back injury during the first Test against Zimbabwe, he has been out of action since then and although the reports suggest that it is not serious and that he should be back in action in another three weeks or so, it is cause for concern especially remembering that apart from his other problem, Jermaine Lawson, another young West Indies speedster, another Jama-ican, is also suffering from back problems.
Is it a coincidence that the two youngsters are Jamaicans?
With all the talk in the region these days about biomechanics, delivery and counter-rotation, it may not be a coincidence. It may well be that Jamaican coaches have not been paying attention, or enough attention to the technique of their young fast bowlers and that this is the result.
SUFFERING
Remembering that fast bowlers have been suffering from back problems throughout the history of the game, however, and the many injuries to West Indies fast bowlers since the introduction of pre-tour camps and the crash programme, the rigid exercises they have been put through in an effort to get them physically fit, it may well be a coincidence and not the fault of Jamaica's coaches. It may simply be the fault of those who selected them to represent the West Indies.
Fast bowling, real fast bowling calls for good technique and rhythm. It also, however, calls for strength, and with both players selected at a tender age, maybe they were not physically strong enough to take on the job of bowling fast in a Test match.
ONLY 19
Although he was only 19 when he was selected for the tour of England in 1957, Wes Hall did not play even one Test match, he also did not even play one Test match when Pakistan toured the West Indies the following year; and although he was almost 21 when he toured India in 1978, Malcolm Mar-shall played in only three of the six Test matches.
In fact, none of the other great West Indies fast bowlers played in a Test match as teenagers certainly not Learie Constantine, not Herman Grif-fith, not Manny Martindale, not Roy Gilchrist, not Andy Ro-berts, not Michael Holding, not Joel Garner, not Colin Croft, not Curtly Ambrose and not Courtney Walsh.
In these days of scarce resources, the selectors probably had no other choice but to call on Lawson, Taylor and then Ravi Rampaul before they had fully developed physically - not with the likes of Colin Stuart, Reon King and Adam Sanford falling by the wayside, and not with one like Mervyn Dillon proving ineffective despite his years in the sun.
HEAVY WORKLOAD
Whatever the reasons why young fast bowlers are being called into action so early, whatever the other reasons for the injuries, the main one seems to be that there are too many of them at the same time, and because of that the workload is too much for them.
In looking at what is happening to the young fast bowlers, it should be remembered that the West Indies Board ruled only recently that in an effort to protect them, young fast bowlers will be limited to a specific number of overs in a spell and in a day depending on their age.
Also that when Taylor and Ram-paul were selected for Zimbabwe, Viv Richards, chairman of the selection committee and in response to a question about the workload, said that having been selected for Test cricket, there would be no rest-rictions.
PROBLEM
Brian Lara is the captain of the West Indies team, he is the one who decides how many overs his young fast bowlers bowl, after the Test and one-day series in Zimbabwe he spoke about his problem, and although they are the best around, although Daren Powell is older, physically stronger and would probably do well if given another chance, in any debate as to the number of young fast bowlers in the team, his words should be remembered.
"The youthfulness of our bowling attack was a major issue in both series, and the task of protecting whilst developing our very young bowlers remains a serious challenge."
The question is this: how do you protect a young fast bowler in a Test match if the pitch is good, if the opposition is batting well, and if there are two or three of them in a four-man attack?
