WORLD CUP: Group B Squads - West Indies

West Indies World Cup Squad

Batsmen

Chris Gayle - 31 - Left Hand Opening Batsman

Adrian Barath - 20 - Right Hand Opening Batsman

Devon Smith - 29 - Left Hand Opening Batsman

Shivnarine Chanderpaul - 36 - Left Hand Top/Middle Order Batsman

Ramnaresh Sarwan - 30 - Right Hand Top/Middle Order Batsman

Darren Bravo - 21 - Left Hand Middle Order Batsman

Carlton Baugh - 28 -  Wicket Keeper - Right Hand Middle/Lower Order Batsman

All-Rounders

Dwayne Bravo - 27 - Right Hand Middle Order Batsman - Right Arm Medium Fast Bowler

Kieron Pollard - 23 - Right Hand Middle Order Batsman - Right Arm Medium Fast Bowler

Darren Sammy (Captain) - 27 - Right Arm Fast Medium Batsman - Right Arm Lower Order Bowler

Spin Bowlers

Sulieman Benn - 29 - Left Arm Orthodox Spin Bowler

Nikita Miller - 28 - Left Arm Orthodox Spin Bowler

Fast Bowlers

Ravi Rampaul - 26 - Right Arm Fast Medium Bowler

Kemar Roach - 22 - Right Arm Fast Bowler

Andre Russell - 22 - Right Arm Fast Bowler

The West Indies are somewhat of an enigma, with a difficult to predict fate at this World Cup. They of course have been in terminal decline for the best part of twenty years, with outright turmoil filling the last ten. The Caribbean festival in 2007 went so wrong, both as a tournament thanks to the incompetence of the ICC, and the poor performance of the hosts. Their failure to really threaten any Test nations genuinely throughout the tournament was made even more disappointing because it represented the swansong of the legend Brian Lara.

The four years that have since passed have surely been the worst years yet in the sorry history of 21st century West Indies cricket. Contract disputes leading to player walkouts resulted in a humiliating pair of Test and ODI series defeats at home to Bangladesh by a team scarcely able to even be called second XI quality. The general feeling remains that the Windies to this day have not fully returned to the very best team they can play since the strike. In 2010 the notoriously blase Chris Gayle finally saw reason and resigned from the captaincy, but with no suitable candidates ready or willing, the captaincy went to Darren Sammy, despite the fact that he is far from a certain starter in any form of international Cricket. Sammy is one of the least credentialed Test and ODI captains in recent memory on paper but to his credit he has stepped up, proving to be a strong marshaller of troops and showing the natural leadership qualities the West Indies administrators saw in him. But his Cricket will need to lead by example at this World Cup.

The West Indies' squad for the tournament still looks suspiciously light on genuine talent when you consider the cricketing depth of the Caribbean system. But it is at least a stable team. The Windies recently look to be at their most stable off the field, and consistent on the field since the last World Cup. The batting is the key for the calypso men. Chris Gayle is always inconsistent but he should surely have a good day or two in the tournament, and if they come against quality opposition he could singlehandedly cause an upset. Gayle's opening partner Barath is a young superstar who could potentially lead the way for the West Indies in the World Cup. Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo have vast amounts of talent and experience in the middle order and if they all find form, any team would struggle to bowl the West Indies out. 

But the bowling looks to be a huge issue. For a nation famous for its legendary mean fast bowlers, the lack of depth is astonishing. Ravi Rampaul is international quality, but hardly world class, and yet for any West Indies ODI squad is an automatic selection. Spinners Suliemann Benn and Nikita Miller will be useful at times, but lack consistency and real killer turn. In a dilemma similar to Australia's, it could be the form of the young vibrant pair of Kemar Roach and Andre Russell that decide their fate. Both are supremely talented bowlers of express pace, but both of them (Russell in particular) are inexperienced and unproven on the big stage. If they fire along with the batsman then the West Indies could spring a surprise or two, which could be all a team needs to be out of the tournament because of the Quarter Final format.

Prediction

The West Indies unit looks to have stabilized enough to be able to play its best cricket in this tournament. But there are question marks over how good that is. They should beat Ireland and the Netherlands at least (even that looked decidedly unlikely two years ago) but D Day will be March 4 and the game against Bangladesh. There is very little to split the two sides and the in form Bangladesh recently overtook the Windies for No.8 in the ICC ODI rankings. That game should decide who makes the Quarter Finals in 4th. Neither team is likely to go any further.

Hosford's XI

 Gayle, Barath, Sarwan, Chanderpaul. Dw Bravo, Dr Bravo, Sammy (C), Baugh, Benn, Roach, Russell

This Week in Sporting History: THE TIED TEST

Australia vs West Indies,1960/61 - 1st Test
Wooloongabba, Brisbane
December 9-14 1960

West Indies: 453 (Sobers 132, Worrell 65, Solomon 65, Davidson 5/135)
Australia: 505 (O'Neill 181, Simpson 92, Hall 4/140)
West Indies: 284 (Worrell 65, Kanhai 54, Davidson 6/87)
Australia: 232 (Davidson 80, Benaud 52, Hall 5/63)

MATCH TIED

The West Indies celebrate as Joe Solomon 

affects the most famous run-out in cricket history.

This week exactly fifty years ago saw the famous Tied Test, the first ever instance of a complete Test Match finished with both teams equal on the same total (constituting a TIE as opposed to the common DRAW occurring when the 5 days expire without a completed result) in the 498 match and 83 year history of Test Cricket up to that point. The story of this iconic match has gone down in legend, indisputably the greatest ever cricket match (not just for the final drama but on overall quality throughout the match) to anyone lucky enough to have witnessed it.

The wider context of this historic match has perpetuated its legend. As the 1950s wore down Test Cricket was becoming increasingly dull and was entering a period of extreme divisiveness, with the real danger of losing fans in their drones. Frank Worrell, now a West Indies legend perhaps more for his endearing personality than his cricket, led a star-studded West Indies team to Australia which for the first time ever, was rated a genuine chance of challenging and beating the hosts. Worrell had in recent times become the first ever black West Indian captain, a major milestone in the history of a predominantly anglo-centric sport (India were still young in their independence and retained white-anglo elements, and Pakistan had barely yet registered as an international force). Worrell's team and the Richie Benaud led Australians gathered in Brisbane in 50 years ago this week for the series opener, two of the game's greatest ever figures as captains going out for the opening toss. What ensued was not only five days of competitive Test Cricket and pure theatre of the highest order, but five whole Tests of similar quality, resplendent with vibrant aggressive play and in played in a spirit consigned forever to the realsm of fantasy in the modern age. Record crowd figured flocked to all five Tests, matches which in many views, single-handedly recharged Test Cricket into its popular heights of the next decade and beyond.

As for the actual match, The West Indies won the toss and batted. Some wonderful enterprising batting from the god-like genius Sir Garfield Sobers saw him make 132, an innings Benaud described as the greatest innings he ever witnessed. An astonishing 50 from fast bowling No.10 batsman Wes Hall then helped carry the total to beyond 400, the Windies making a strong 453, at a 3.37 run rate which would be impressive even by today's standards. But the Australians were equal to the task, making full use of the flat wicket to amass 505, spearheaded by a majestic 181 from Norman O'Neill, an innings criminally underrated in the annals of cricketing history. As the pitch began to show signs of wear, The West Indies fought hard to 284, on the back of another stodgy captain's 65 from Worrell. This left Australia little more than five hours on a patchy final day wicket to make 233. Hall was in his element and ripped through the Aussie top order, reducing an ominous top order to 5/57.

At 6/92 midway through the day captain Benaud joined Australia's bowling hero Alan Davidson and the rest is history. Eschewing conventional logic which suggested attempting to defend for the draw, Benaud made the decision to attack and the pair put together an epic partnership, which took Australia to within a whisker of victory. But with just seven runs remaining a suicidal call from Benaud ran Davidson out for a magnificent career best 80. Enter the final either ball over and Australia found themselves needing six runs to win, with three wickets left. After a single from wicket keeper Wally Grout, Benaud was caught behind of a wild barely controlled bouncer from the bounding Hall from 52. A thigh-smashing scrambled leg-bye and a woefully grassed catch by Hall later and 3 runs were needed from 3 balls. No.10 batsman proceeded to slog Hall beyond where any modern rope would stand, but a spectacular chase and direct hit throw (from upwards of 75 metres) from Conrad Hunte caught Grout short going for the 3rd and winning run. This brought in Australia's final man Lindsay Kline with the scores tied. Kline tapped the penultimate ball square and called Meckiff through for a scrambling single. From almost exactly side-on, with one stump visible, Joe Solomon's aim was true and Meckiff was run out. The West Indians jumped for joy, most presuming they'd won. Australian players and fans were unsure which team had won, if either, so implausibly unlikely was the concept of such a long form contest finishing tied. Finally once the confusion settled the astonishing reality became clear. Cricket's first tied Test. Half a century later the result has only been repeated once, between India and Australia in similarly dramatic circumstances in 1986.

For the record Australia won the 5 Test series 2-1, after 25 days of supreme Test cricket and thanks largely to a miraculous draw in the 4th Test where Ken Mackay and that poor No.11 Kline again, batted for nearly two hours at 9 wickets down, preventing the West Indies from taking the final wicket to win the match.