Tony Becca/Columnist
THE WEST Indies 15-man squad for the three-match Test series in Australia has been announced and, with five of their countrymen in it, Jamaicans must be happy and especially so as Marlon Samuels is numbered among them.
With Christopher Gayle, Wavell Hinds and Daren Powell considered "sure picks", and so too Jermaine Lawson once he was passed fit, the only surprise was Samuels.
Despite a promising start as a 19-year-old and a couple of really brilliant innings one in a Test match and one in a one-day international, Samuels' selection was in doubt simply because of his inconsistency, his lack of urgency in the field and, based on reports, probably because of an attitude that many believe has not only hindered his develop-ment as a player but which is also not good for team spirit.
At his best, however, Samuels is a batsman out of the top drawer, West Indies need a batsman of his talent and skill, it is good that the selectors have handed him another chance, and now that he is two years older and hopefully wiser than when he last played in a Test match, the hope is that the 24-year-old right-hander will grab it with both hands.
disappointed anguilla
Also, that if given the opportunity he will do justice to his talent and parade his class in Australia, that he will become a permanent member of the team and that he will play his part in the effort to take the West Indies back to the top of world cricket.
Unlike Jamaicans, however, the people of Anguilla must be disappointed and bitterly so.
Looking at the squad, the selectors have done a good job with one exception the omission of offspinner Omari Banks.
While the omission of left-arm pacer Pedro Collins can be questioned because of his ability to swing the ball, he lacks the stamina to bowl long spells, to come back towards the end of a day, and the selectors may well have decided that although he is capable of an early wicket or two, this is a Test series and a few overs from one of their specialist bowlers in a Test match is a luxury they cannot afford.
The omission of Banks, however, is difficult to understand and for many reasons.
Reason number one is that Banks is a good offspinner; reason number two is that at 23 he is young and there is room for improvement; reason number three is that the more he plays the more likely he is to improve his skill and to develop the craft.
stunning omission
Reason number four is that he is a good cricketer a competent lower-order batsman and a good fielder; and reason number five is that he bowled well in Sri Lanka and against batsmen accustomed to play spin bowling.
And there are other reasons why the omission of Banks is baffling.
One is that Australians generally do not play offspin bowling well and unless they believe that Gayle is a front-line spin bowler, two is that the West Indies, packed with five fast bowlers and one or two medium-pacers, have left themselves without any ammunition should they be confronted with a pitch or two that favours spin bowling.
Banks may not now be a Lance Gibbs and probably never will be. The only chance he has of developing the skills of the master offspinner, however, is to play, and he should have been in the squad - probably ahead of batsman Dwayne Smith.
The West Indies selectors, like West Indian fans, love fast bowlers and there is no question that fast bowlers have served the Windies well, that fast bowling is still better than spin bowling in the West Indies, and that in their hunt for victory, fast bowling remains the Windies best bet.
good spin bowler needed
If the West Indies, especially as they are no longer blessed with fast bowlers the calibre of Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose or Courtney Walsh, are to climb the ladder, however, if they are to win matches at home and away and on different types of pitches, they need a good spin bowler.
Unless the selectors are hoping that one day one will drop from the sky, the only way they will have one is to develop one.
It is strange that while the other teams, certainly the top seven, boast a spin bowler or two, the West Indies, number eight out of 10, continue to ignore them to the point where they hardly give them a chance.
