Head coach Andre Coley became the latest in his position to try to explain another West Indies batting disaster that put them on the verge of defeat against Australia in the first Test, yesterday.
The Caribbean side plunged to 73 for six at the close on the second day of the match at the Adelaide Oval after Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood reduced their batting to rubble when he removed the first four in the order cheaply.
West Indies entered the third day still 22 adrift of making the Aussies bat again with wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva on 17 overnight with only the bowlers remaining to try to salvage a bit of pride for the visitors.
It was a stark contrast to the first two sessions of the day when West Indies, led by a five-wicket haul from new fast bowler Shamar Joseph, defied a seventh Test hundred from left-hander Travis Head and bowled out Australia for 283, restricting them to a first innings lead of 95.
“Our intent to score has always been evident, but that has to be matched with decision-making here,” Coley said after the day’s play ended. “With a lot more bounce potentially, the ability to leave the ball more consistently has to be part of your repertoire and your approach. Generally, I thought that our intent was pretty good. Our decision-making was questionable on occasions.”
He added: “There were times when our batters played quite well. They played quite well down the ground when we got the ball pretty straight and full, and if there was any width, we capitalised on it as well and that was very rare. The ability to maintain the intent, but not necessarily going searching for it (scoring opportunities), I think that was where we were found wanting in the batting so far.”
Coley said part of the challenge for his side was the lack of Test matches, which makes it more difficult to give young players the exposure they need to be able to get better in the sport’s longest format. “The challenge really is the number of Tests that we do play,” Coley noted.
“Generally, outside of a Test series against England, we generally play two-match series. And then if you look at how our schedule is set up over the next two years, in some instances Test series are six months apart, and there’s not a lot in between.”
More international exposure
“So it’s really about us trying to fill the gap in some instances where we can, maybe with other bilateral tours or potentially looking to fit in A-Team tours that could help to improve that exposure or increase the exposure that the players have.”
Coley said the situation is not likely to change any time soon if administrators do not act to redress the imbalances, especially with franchise T20 leagues luring some of the Caribbean’s best players. “Our situation is that financially we aren’t secure enough to be able to offer substantial central contracts and that is always going to be a challenge for us,” he said.
“What we have tried to do in the last maybe six or 12 months is really have more conversations with the players to be able to work out windows where we can have our best players available. But I believe this is something that is widespread already and will become more of a challenge. But more so for countries who potentially aren’t financially viable and don’t play a lot of Test cricket.”
Coley said he was generally satisfied with the way the bowlers had executed their plans and hailed newcomer Shamar Joseph for the immediate impact he has had. “I thought we stuck to the plans as best as we could, and generally, that worked well,” Coley said.
“The plan was to bowl out Australia in less than 90 overs. We never had a target in mind, but just to do it in 90 overs because we believed if we were disciplined, we could bowl them out for a manageable total that we could chase down.”
He said: “From what I have seen, there is not much difficult batting on the pitch. From both bowling attacks, we have seen if you remain disciplined, your defence will be tested, but whenever the ball is offline, and you are committed to the shot, you see the ball travels well to the boundary.
“There is runs to be scored on the pitch, but I think both bowling attacks have been really disciplined and have not really served up a lot of loose balls.”
On Joseph, he said: “I believe his performance speaks for itself. The passion he has brought… It’s pretty much what you see is what you get. We took him to South Africa last year. We knew he was inexperienced, but he had pace. He had a natural ability to work to a plan and be consistent with discipline around it. And he’s done that.
“On the back of that A Team tour, he was fantastic. He got the most wickets on that tour, and he showed what he’s capable of in his first Test match.”