I don't know for certain the state of readiness, preparedness of the west indies.
this must be a very well known anecdote about west indies to Oz 1931..32...about George Headley and they did to him.
George hit Oz like a storm..then his scoring dropped off almost totally. they Oz worked him out and took his batting away. they were on to him like white on rice, had something for him almost every time he batted: took away the leg side field and fed him down the leg side. he goes greedy and flicks away only to find the keeper at leg slip taking the catch.
that is simple stuff..but it works for simple minds like George's was at that time.
what did George say when asked: did you stop flicking, leg glancing
'No' he answered. 'I take care to make sure no traps are set for me'
Headley overcame the Oz and all they set for him. Headley was one of the greatest batsmen of all time. he was class, he had talent. these west indian batsmen are not comparable talent-wise
try and imagine what the Oz must do now when it comes to organizing attack on opposition players. it must be a sophisticated thing indeed, Paint does have talent and can score. when he has been made to look helpless it is more than all you claim for pace and swing at 90 miles an hour. there shud have been at least a fifty or 2 in there for Paint this series. they gave him none. he was a targeted batsman for sure..one the Oz must have been determined not to let get away on then
now what concerns me is the west indian response. if I know the Oz as well as I describe from general reports and experience..what does Clive Lloyd know from years as west indian captain, having defeated the Oz at least 3 times?
what does Viv know having done the same? but Viv is not there! Richardson is, Ambrose, Baptiste..what do they know of the Oz approach..how did they prepare the collection of west indian neophytes they sent out to meet the Oz, aware of the level of sophistication of the Oz as they must be
that is the question I would like you all to answer GILS....how prepared were both the Oz and the west indies going in?
If I am right about the Oz then west indies had no chance except that they were so prepared in return. were they!
what was the level of west indian preparation relevant to the Oz I have described
what was necessary for the west indies to do in response to have a chance to win...and what of what they had to do... did they accomplish that, any part of... what indeed was their response period...did they do anything at all along those lines
the impression I have is that Simmons, LLoyd and company sent out this west indies side totally unprepared to meet the Oz..totally unprepared to deal with prepared Oz assault. that is the impression I had...that this neophyte west indies team was a lamb for sacrifice at the Oz altar...and were duly blooded.
somebody prove me wrong please. I love to be proven wrong about west indies cricket when my position in the negative.
but if I am right then we have a much clearer picture of the real state of west indies cricket in the games with the Oz.
Headley had a whole tour to deal with the Oz. when he realized that had been targeted he responded properly. he studied the Oz and devised ways to deal with their challenge. he came to know he was challenged and how he was challenged and fought back successfully.
Paint for example had 2 games..2 test matches top deal with it. not enuff time perhaps but the lessons would have been learned and if he has the moxy and the ability he will learn and trump next time.
I expect at least a powerful effort to develop the means to deal with the Oz next time from all west indian players of any class at all. that after all is what class means
a lot would depend on the team administration for sure if they are as capable as is necessary to understand what is going on and devise successful responses. if not they would be obstacles in the players way.
the team officials are in fact the problem now as we can see clearly..the team administration as well as the whole wicb. they are not focused on the cricket in ways that will make the team successful on the field.. which statement clarifies my outlook and the answer I anticipate to the very questions I posed above
. You don't find Greenidge stuck on the crease.
