‘WI too slow off the mark’

ADELAIDE: Although encouraged by the enthusiasm and work-rate of his players, Bennett King believes the West Indies cricketers should have been better prepared —  physically and mentally —  for the opening match of the VB Series. “Really, you would like them to be closer to the stage they are at now at the start of the competition,” the West Indies head coach admitted in assessing his team’s progress at the halfway stage of their preliminary schedule in the tri-nation tournament. “I wasn’ particularly happy that there was no cricket played before they came over (to Australia). There was nothing we could do either about having just one week’s preparation before the serious matches. But these guys are thirsting for work and thirsting to improve,” he said.

After enduring a 116-run hammering from Australia in the tournament’s first fixture in Melbourne, the West Indies’ limited bowling resources were exposed when they failed to defend 273 against Pakistan in Brisbane. Yet they rebounded two days later and, but for the rain at The Gabba, would have claimed their first victory as the match was declared a no-result with the Australians labouring at 43 for five in reply to the Caribbean side’s total of 263 for nine. Much has been made of the impact he and his technical staff have had on the team, the most noticeable being the more strenuous and rigorous practice sessions.

But King dismisses talk of developing a new culture of discipline and dedication in the squad.  “I’m not really trying to set up a culture, I’m trying to direct players so that they set up the culture that they want,” the 39-year-old Queensland native insisted.  “As a coach, you are basically like a compass. You just try to point them in the right direction. They’re actually telling me what they want, so I’m just directing them along that path.” The journey of 2005 is certainly a challenging one for both players and technical staff, with the VB Series followed by the latter stages of the elongated Carib Cup at home before they entertain South Africa and Pakistan in separate Test and One-Day series.

The West Indies are then scheduled to tour Sri Lanka in July/August for three Tests and a tri-nation tournament also involving India.  They are due to return to Australia in November for a three-Test series. With such a hectic schedule, it is important for the players to take the lessons learnt here into their next assignment.  “Obviously there will be a number of players from this squad in the main Test side,” King noted.  “I’ll be stressing to all the players here that they should take back the work ethic that they’ve got during this tour and to concentrate on the areas that we’ve pinpointed for them,” he said. Ensuring that continuity takes place involves getting the coaches of the regional teams on board to his way of thinking.

The West Indies head coach, who will be based in Antigua with his wife and family from next month, acknowledges that winning over any skeptics could be a challenge.  “I’ll certainly be trying to share that information with the regional coaches and staying in touch with them,” King explained. “I don’t know any of them at the moment, so I don’t know how they’re going to take me talking to them. But certainly I understand that they’re in charge of their respective teams. Hopefully they understand too that the big picture is that West Indies cricket should be highly successful. If they want better players playing for them, one of the ways is through making West Indies cricket really really strong.”

Though mindful that there will be concerns about players being overworked, King believes returning home and playing First-Class matches after the VB Series will be beneficial ahead of the First Test against South Africa in Guyana at the end of March. “There will be four matches for which they should be available before the South Africa series. That’s a good amount of cricket for them to be  playing,” he asserted. “In reality, we haven’t really played a lot of cricket out here.  In the month that we’ve been here, we’ve played eight days. They’re not being over-extended out here, so I expect them all to play. There are a few minor niggles to attend to, but we’ll liaise with the players’ respective territories on those.” (CMC)