West Indies have the pace to worry Indians

Be it Nari Contractor’s near kiss of death, Mohinder Amarnath’s bloodied mouth or Anil Kumble’s broken jaw, almost every visit to the Caribbean has exacted an ultimate sacrifice on a cricket pitch.

This time around, the Sehwags and Yuvrajs, Dhonis and Rainas face the litmus test of handling the Carribbean quickies, who possess the firepower to cause discomfort to the batsmen.

The young Indian brigade face the stern test of critics as well as in their own eyes as they prepare themselves for the challenge to change India’s fortune outside their den.

The shaggy West Indies of today could fool critics and make Indian fans drool in anticipation but Indian batsmen know better about the threat they perceive in Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor, the two pacemen who have the ammunition to rattle any side.

Both bowl upwards of 90 mph, are hostile and were talented enough to be picked up for international honours after just one representative match. So far a series of injuries have kept them from unleashing their terror on batsmen consistently. Now, they are ready.

Edwards is 24 years old to Taylor’s 21. Both were plucked early in the season of 2003 during Brian Lara’s captaincy. The similarity does not end here.

Both are also short which is a departure from the fast bowling dynasty of Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, Andy Roberts and Joel Garner. They are also small in build-up which explains their strings of injuries. But Lara is determined to pull them through this season.

“The risk of overworking them is a major concern. Just look at them and you would wonder how they generate such pace with such small physiques. These guys bowl in the region of 90 mph and upwards, and surely the constant pounding will accentuate injury,” Lara said.

“I must express how worried I am about the state of injuries to these young and very talented bowlers. Edwards continuously finds himself on the physio table and now has been sidelined at least five times in his brief career,” the West Indies skipper said.

In three years of top cricket, injuries have allowed Edwards only 23 Tests and Taylor only four. There was a glimpse of what they could do together in Auckland in New Zealand recently before Taylor’s hamstring pulled him up.

“Just to see him bowl a few overs in Auckland and you know the guy’s got something to him,” Lara said about Taylor.

No such issues prevented Edwards from leaving his mark. He was greased lightning even on sluggish New Zealand pitches and in Wellington was rewarded with a five-wicket haul.

“I still believe in him and believe he’s got the potential to go far,” remarked Lara.

Now the rotation of these men have started in earnest. Taylor has played three games against Zimbabwe in the ongoing series, picked up successive man of the match awards in the first two and was then cotton-wrapped for the Indians. Edwards too has been seen only in three games.

Lara believes that their experience of last few years would now come handy.

The word has got around that for the moment there is a fair bit of grass on the already quick pitch of Sabina Park for the first one-day international next Thursday. It might help explain why the Indians are returning from Montego Bay the same day after the practice match on Tuesday.