WIs batting disorder

You know what the difference between Bajans and coconuts is boy? At least you can get a drink out of a coconut. That,however,is far from the truth. But if theres one area,where you should not expect any quarters from the Bajans then it is the cricketing field.

This is also the cricketing capital of the West Indies. Not only has Barbados some of the greatest West Indian cricketers in history; the Kensington Oval at Bridgetown has forever been their most well-guarded fortress. Many an opponent has arrived with the same swagger as that of the waves,but only a few have survived the onslaught meted out to them and more often than not,have been conquered. Not surprisingly,the West Indies have the best win-loss ratio at Kensington Oval compared to other home grounds and since 1930,have lost only nine out of 46 Tests played here,while having won on 21 occasions.

Their fortress though seems slightly unguarded this time around,as Darren Sammy & Co brace up to defend it against the marauding Indians,the No.1 team in the world,fresh from a convincing 63-win in the first Test,on Tuesday. And the main reason for that has been the appalling and inconsistent form of their batsmen,especially in the last couple of years.

In fact,the West Indies have not managed to cross 300 in a Test in 19 out of their last 29 completed innings. These have included Tests against Bangladesh at home,though it was a depleted West Indies side that competed in that series. Only five of their regular Test batsmen have averaged over 30 in this period,and its not surprising that they have won only a single Test since March 2009. Incidentally,Chris Gayle has averaged 54 in the 11 Tests that he has played over the last couple of years.

But apart from Gayle,who continues to be kept out of the side despite the struggles of the other batsmen,the experienced batsmen in the side have been in dismal form. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was on top of the world for a three-year period,averaging over 100 for two consecutive seasons but since then,he has averaged a disappointing 37.61 and scored only one century. He has looked completely off-colour against Pakistan and in the first Test against India.

Ramnaresh Sarwan,these days,bats as if he has forgotten the whereabouts of his off-stump. And if not getting trapped lbw to an in-coming delivery,he has made a habit of playing a flashy stroke to a wide delivery and edging it to the slips. In 14 innings,Sarwan has averaged a measly 20.07,with just one century.

Even Ravi Rampaul,who has been the most consistent West Indian batsmen in the last few months,has a better average than him. In the absence of Gayle,the West Indies have tried a variety of opening combos,but they have ended up either flattering to deceive or like Devon Smith found the highest level way above their standards. And it was a prolonged poor run of scores that led to Brendan Nash,who was elevated to the role of vice-captain behind Darren Sammy,being eventually dropped for the second Test.

Having to answer repeated queries about his teams batting woes is something that Sammy has not only gotten used to,one can sense that hes had enough of it. The guys are still trying their best. We bought Desmond Haynes in as the batting coach,and we already have Ottis (Gibson). But at the end of the day,the players have to go out there and do well. We need more guys to take up responsibility, said Sammy. With six losses out of nine at Kensington Oval coming after 2003,it is clear that the West Indians have lost their stranglehold off their fortress.