Tym GlaserNOW IS not the time to start fiddling with the West Indies cricket team's line-up.
Sure, no real harm was done by the 'rotation system' against lightweights Zimbabwe, but with the World Cup only 10 months away, it's time for consolidation, not experimentation.
If coach Bennett King doesn't know what he has to work with by now, he never will. What the Windies have to do to have any hope of a successful home Cup campaign is pick a core squad and stick with it.
Yes, players get tired through a heavy schedule and skipper Brian Lara is starting to feel his age, but there's plenty of time for R&R (rest and rotation) after the Cup.
Instead of twirling the player roundabout, King and Co. should be thinking about who should open with Chris Gayle? Is there room for both Dwaynes (Smith and Bravo) in the best XI? Three strike bowlers or two? Who keeps? Carlton Baugh or Denesh Ramdin? How do you fit Runako Morton into the side and where?
Still, it's unfair to keep my fellow Aussie hanging on such issues, so I'll give him some pointers, that's what mates are for.
Starting at the top, hot-and-cold running Gayle opens with Shiv Chanderpaul. The ex-skipper should be the perfect counterfoil to Gayle's aggressiveness and be told to bat on and on as the anchor of the innings.
TEAM'S BEST BAT
At No. 3 comes the skipper. If you are the team's best bat you have to get optimum time at the crease and play in the side's most important batting position. Lead from the front at three, B.C. Lara.
Ramnaresh Sarwan comes in at four and must show the maturity and adaptability for such a position. It's an attack or defend role depending on how the team's going. He hasn't done that often enough yet, but the talent is there.
If you are going to squeeze Morton into the side, it's at five. I have concerns about his on-side bias and he could be sorted out by top-notch attacks, but he's done nothing but make runs to date and deserves a shot.
Bravo or Smith? Smith or Bravo? I'll pick the Trini because he's the better bowler and, while Smith's an exciting lower-order slugger, that section of the line-up needs stability more than fireworks.
Smith could play too, but that would be at the expense of a bowler and I want to get wickets as well as runs and there's no need to over-stack the batting.
Baugh or Ramdin behind the sticks? I go with Baugh in the one-day version of the game because he's a better striker of the ball and just as tidy with the gloves.
OUR BOWLERS
Yep, Kingy, now you've got to choose four bowlers.
Fidel Edwards is a must as the primary strike bowler. His half-brother Pedro Collins must be picked if he ever gets fit. Jerome Taylor gets a berth because he's a wickettaker.
That leaves the final spot which goes to ... drum roll ... Dave Mohammed, the internationally under-utilised 'chinaman' bowler. Toss in Gayle and Bravo and that's more than enough bowling in a batsman's game.
Remember, wickets are just as important as runs in the one-day game; they break momentum, slow the run rate and get this actually win matches.
So there you have it:
Gayle
Chanderpaul
Lara
Sarwan
Morton
Bravo
Baugh
Mohammed
Taylor
Collins (or Bradshaw)
Edwards
12th: Collymore
See, it's not that hard when you think about it.
