One man short

Tony Becca, ON THE BOUNDARY

The West Indies sprung a surprise last Sunday when they named Darren Sammy as the new captain of the region's Test, one-day and Twenty20 teams.

The 26-year-old Sammy takes over the reigns from Chris Gayle, who refused to sign a retainer contract and thus disqualified himself after three years at the helm.

The first St Lucian to represent the West Indies, Sammy also becomes the first St Lucian to captain the West Indies, and every West Indian wishes him well and hopes that he will bring to the job the enthusiasm and passion that he displays while representing the Windward Islands and the West Indies.

Sammy, however, has a tough job ahead of him.

First of all, the West Indies team is ranked number seven in the world and with all the passion and confidence of the new captain, the presence of Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, and the promise of Kemar Roach, Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo and Andre Russell, runs and wickets will be hard to come by.

Second, with the selectors sticking to their new policy of fitness for the players, justifiably so, the absence of Ramnaresh Sarwan, Denesh Ramdin, Jerome Taylor, and Narsingh Deonarine also leaves the team short in batting, wicketkeeping and bowling, especially so where Sarwan and Taylor are concerned.

An aggregate of 5,759 runs, a count of 15 centuries with a topscore of 291 and an average of 41.73 is nothing to frown at; 82 wickets with a best of five for 11 is something beyond the ordinary, and the West Indies will miss performances like those of Sarwan and Taylor, respectively.

questionable

The third reason why Sammy will have a tough job ahead of him is that, apart from the early days of West Indies cricket, this will be the first time the West Indies will be led by a man whose place in the team is questionable.

Sammy first played for the West Indies in 2007 and since then he has played eight Test matches, scored 291 runs with a top score of 48 and averaged 19.40.

His bowling reads 27 wickets, with a best seven for 66 and an average of 27.74.

In the one-day game, he has played 43 matches, scored 508 runs - with his astonishing 58 not out off 24 deliveries against South Africa earlier this year as his best - and averages 24.19.

His bowling figures are 31 wickets at an average of 43.06.

Those figures certainly are not outstanding and because of that Sammy has not been a regular in the team. In fact, Sammy was not selected for any of the Test matches against South Africa earlier this year.

With Chanderpaul and Gayle in the team, Sammy will be leading two former captains, the two senior players in the team and the most successful players in the team.

team selection

It will be interesting to see how he manages things and how he deals with the issues.

Probably most interesting of all is the selection of the team.

Most teams are made up of two opening batsmen, three middle-order batsmen, one all-rounder, one wicketkeeper, two fast bowlers and two spin bowlers. Some teams are made up of two opening batsmen, four middle-order batsmen, one of whom can bowl a few overs, one wicketkeeper, two fast bowlers and two spin bowlers. Some teams are made up of the first seven plus three fast bowlers and one spinner, and some, like the West Indies in the 1970s and the 1980s, are made up along with four fast bowlers.

Whichever combination the West Indies go for, they will be one man short - either a batsman or a bowler.

Sammy is an all-rounder and so is Dwayne Bravo. Sammy, however, is not the all-rounder that Bravo is. Sammy and Bravo, however, will be selected, with Sammy getting the place of either a batsman or a bowler.

The first Test may not be a problem, what with the unavailability of Sulieman Benn. But for the second Test which team would you refer? Gayle, Barath, Darren Bravo, Chanderpaul, Nash, Dwayne Bravo, Sammy, Baugh, Roach, Pascal and Benn; or Gayle, Barath, Nash, Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Sammy, Baugh, Roach, Pascal, Benn and Shillingford.

The selectors and the board decided on Sammy ahead of Daren Ganga, possibly because they felt that he could not make the team, maybe because he was the captain on a previous occasion and did not do a good job, and probably because of Sammy's passion for the game.

Whatever the reason or reasons, the months ahead will be a testing time for them, for the selectors and the board members, as they ponder the team, the starting eleven and question the wisdom of their selection as captain.