So, where does Shivnarine Chanderpaul look for help? It must be getting lonely fighting alone, and looking like the only player other teams might consider worth devising strategy for.After much thought, Chanderpaul finally allowed himself to name two players who really looked like sharing the responsibility- Xavier Marshall and Jermaine Lawson.Two of many ‘promising’ players who were to be groomed under the experienced wings of senior players. Instead, they are the hares trapped in the headlights.Marshall opened the batting with Runako Morton and stood defiant against the Indian pacers. While Morton disappointed, Marshall went on to score a decent 26 runs.Chanderpaul was impressed with his resolve to stay at the wicket for 48 balls.‘‘We desperately needed someone to walk out there and stay around. That’s not been happening at all. Whether someone’s batting results in a win or a loss is a different issue altogether. The priority is to try hard,’’ Chanderpaul said.Lawson’s pace and his attitude excited everybody, and the skipper was no exception. ‘‘It’s been a little tough time for him. But the way he bowled against the Indian top-order was really good,’’ Chanderpaul said. Lawson scalped two wickets in nine overs and troubled Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina the most.It would be only unfair, on Chanderpaul’s part, if he ran his inexperienced side down. And despite seeing positives in almost all the players, he could not deny that the side had submitted tamely to an experimenting outfit.Chanderpaul praised the doggedness of Narsingh Deonarine and Denesh Ramdin, the speed of Darren Powell, and the miserly ways of Dwayne Smith. Tino Best has shown he can make the best batsmen hop. Ricardo Powell has brought many an attack to its knees, and if they all roll together, they might just surprise the other teams.Colin Croft also believes this side should not be expected to set the world alight. The former fast bowler, who is currently commentating for BBC Radio in Dambulla, said, ‘‘You have to understand that they are a very inexperienced side. Players like Marshall, Smith and Morton are highly talented. But there’s still time before you start expecting something really big from them.’’In times when the priorities back home have been dangerously jumbled, nobody is expecting wonders from the reserve side that, to people’s surprise, troubled Sri Lankan batsmen in the Tests.Still, the West Indies team media-manager Imran Khan said, ‘‘The talent and the performance are not coherent. They can definitely be better than this.’’Whoever drafted this statement must have seen the better side, and sooner the rest of the world sees it, the better it is for the sport.
