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This is not an issue worth agonising over. At a time when Caribbean societies are grappling with matters affecting the quality of life in our very small countries, engaging in heated arguments over the captaincy of the West Indies cricket team is both irrelevant, unnecessary and a complete waste of time and energy that should instead be devoted to finding solutions for the real problems of crime, violence, the rising cost of living and entrenched social inequalities.To cut a long story short, Chris Gayle, once fully recovered from his injuries sustained in southern Africa, should be confirmed to lead West Indies in the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka and Australia. Full stop. We don’t even need to have one of those bigging up-type letters of congratulation from the West Indies Cricket Board president.Just send out the press release confirming the appointment and spare us the mamaguile lyrics. Yes, there is a process to be followed, but if the selectors choose not to recommend Gayle after considering the manager’s and coach’s reports from the just-concluded tour, then Gordon Greenidge and his colleagues better just go and find something else to do.Likewise, should the WICB directors or executive or whichever relevant arm of this complicated organisation decide not to ratify that recommendation, it will merely confirm long-held suspicions that horse trading and settling scores are higher on their list of priorities than the best interests of West Indies cricket.None of this should be misconstrued as an attempt to elevate the 28-year-old Jamaican to the status of a Sir Frank Worrell (apologies to Julian Hunte, who, in one of his buttering up specials to Clive Lloyd, described the current team manager as the greatest West Indian captain ever). It’s just that the evidence in South Africa was blindingly obvious that Gayle, for whatever reason, has been capable of uniting the team and getting them to play with a greater level of commitment and consistency than has been seen in recent times.Of course, as with most issues in the public domain, merit and performance don’t count for much. It’s just about like or don’t like, based almost entirely on prejudices and perceived injustices.So the pretentious debate implies that some heinous injustice will be meted out to Ramnaresh Sarwan should he be overlooked for the captaincy in favour of this troublemaking Jamaican with no manners. To claim that race (we just can’t get away from it, can we?) has nothing to do with the issue is a blatant, unadulterated lie. As we see in our politics, we are still some distance away from reaching the level of societal maturity where the majority view is influenced primarily by performance on the job.But then we are not alone in that regard. Just wait until either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton is confirmed as the Democratic Party’s candidate for the office of President of the United States and watch how all the colour or gender biases will come to the surface in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

There are also those who try to mask their true feelings with the disingenuous claim that Sarwan is the incumbent as captain and only missed out on the tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa because of injury.Again, this ignores the reality that the WICB has always made such appointments on a tour-by-tour or series-by-series basis, at least since those bad old days when leadership was based on which territory the Test match was being played.In any case, what is the big hasikara about acknowledging that Gayle, for all of his many failings and occasional brushes with authority, has exceeded expectations as a leader? Is it so unbearable to concede that the hard-hitting left-handed opener, who always seems to be in a world of his own on the field, is actually well respected by his team-mates and therefore able to get his message across very effectively?As for the contention that this is tantamount to rewarding bad behaviour, just keep in mind that the very same was said at certain times during the careers of Worrell, Lloyd, Lara and almost every captain of note we have ever had. One man’s insubordination is another man’s refusal to accept stupidness, and it’s only with the passage of time that the true picture emerges.The point is that no decision is ever made in West Indies cricket with the benefit of universal acceptability. You do this, and one group feels slighted. You do that, and another segment starts to kick brass.So it’s up to the people in the decision-making positions to have the strength of their convictions, whatever the consequences, and be guided by the fundamental principle of seeking the best interests of the regional game.The perpetual state of flux that is the WICB suggests that such people are in critically short supply. Then again, the same can be said of most of our parliaments.Chris Gayle may ultimately prove to be a complete failure as captain, widening already existing divisions within the ranks and maybe even accelerating the decline into irrelevance. Yet all of that is speculation and supposition. What is fact is the noticeably different attitude and determination of the entire team (not just the Jamaicans) when he is at the helm.Just confirm the man as captain and let’s move on to the real issues of the day.

The Sri Lanka Under-19 team will be arriving in Bangladesh on Monday for a five-match ODI series against the Bangladesh U-19s. The 15-man squad, coached by Roger Gerard Wijesuriya, will play the first match at Bogra on December 12 followed by two more matches at the same venue. The teams will then move on to Fatullah for the final two matches on December 18 and 20 before the visitors head back to Sri Lanka the following dayBangladesh U-19 have just returned from a successful tour of Pakistan where, after drawing the one-off Test in Karachi, they staged a remarkable comeback to win the five-match ODI series 3-2 after losing the first two matches.Bangladesh U-19 squad Sohrawardi Shuvo (capt), Dolar Mahmud, Marshall Ayub, Ashraful Aziz, Shubhashis Roy, Rubel Hossain, Syed Gulam Kibriya, Rony Talukder, Mahmudul Hasan Limon, Nasir Hossain, K. M. Shakil, Mohammad Nadimuddin Mintu, Mithun Ali (wk), Hamidul Islam Himel, Ashraful HossainSri Lanka U-19 squad Ashan Priyanjan Subasinghe (capt), Sachith Shanaka Pathirana, Rumesh Lahiru Thirimanna, Imesh Udayanga Rajapaksha, Dinesh Chandimal Lokuge, Roshane Shiwanka Silva, Kusal Janith Perera, Dilshan Yasika Munaweera, Hasitha Nalinda Ekanayaka, Chatura Madusanka Peiris, Kashapa Wimanga Kodikara, Lahiru Shashendra Gunatilaka, Dasun Madumal Dinayadura, Navin Madushan Kavikara, Harsha Denuwan Fernando

Dr. Donald Peters has been named as the new chief executive officer of the West Indies Cricket Board, succeeding Bruce Aanensen, who resigned in August after less than four months in the job.Peters, a Dominican, has a wide academic and sports background. He has served as a college president, provost and university vice president in the USA and Bermuda. He was elected as the youngest general secretary of the Dominica Amateur Sports Association and subsequently was appointed one of the country’s representatives on the Windward Islands Cricket Board of Control and manager of the national cricket team.Peters has an exceptionally successful track record at senior management level in several different academic institutions. He has demonstrated success in leading programmes that have helped organisations to meet their institutional objectives and increase their revenue streams in very complex environments.Peters describes himself as an achiever and believes in results-oriented management. He has been invited by international organisations to facilitate workshops and present papers on areas related to strategic planning, revenue generation, and organizational behaviour. He has lectured at major international institutions including Oxford University and has managed budgets ranging from US$7 – US$435 million. He has distinguished himself as a leader with strong skills in resource mobilisation and financial management.”I am excited to be selected as CEO and look forward to working with the organization to provide the support and administration necessary to make our team move once again to the top of international cricket,” Peters said.He assumes his post on November 5.

1993-94 in Sri Lanka
The entire tour was wrecked by the weather and the inaugural Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies turned into a damp squib of the wettest proportions. No play was possible on the last two days – although that was due largely to poor covering and drainage – with barely enough time to complete two innings. West Indies’ seamers dismissed Sri Lanka for 190 but they could only manage a slender lead as Muttiah Muralitharan took 4 for 47, including Brian Lara for 18 – the first of many battles the two would have over coming years.
Tests Sri Lanka 0 West Indies 0 Drawn 1
ODIs Sri Lanka 1 West Indies 1 (one no result)1996-97 in West Indies
Sri Lanka’s first visit to the Caribbean may only have been a two-Test series but it did not want for action. Wickets tumbled throughout, with Lara registering the only century – 115 – as the bowlers dominated. Curtly Ambrose took eight in the first Test in Antigua and although West Indies conceded a first-innings lead of 34 Sri Lanka couldn’t capitalise. Sherwin Campbell and Stuart Williams added 160 as West Indies eased to a six-wicket win. In the second Test Ravindra Pushpakumara skittled West Indies for 147 before Lara’s second-innings ton set Sri Lanka 269. At 189 for 3 they were on course, but a combination of rain and Courtney Walsh left them relieved to leave with a draw as they ended eight down.
Tests: West Indies 1 Sri Lanka 0
West Indies 1 Sri Lanka 02001-02 in Sri Lanka
This was Lara’s series – but it wasn’t. He scored 688 runs in the three Tests and yet West Indies were still whitewashed. His contests with Muralitharan will be the abiding memory as he made scores of 178, 40, 74, 45, 221 and 130. Twice West Indies were in a commanding position with the bat – with Lara in full flow – only to hand the advantage back to Sri Lanka. At Galle they were 393 for 3 and at Colombo 347 for 3 only to see the rest of the order subside. However, it wasn’t always Muralitharan doing the damage and he was even overtaken as the leading wicket-taker by Chaminda Vaas with 26. Vaas took 14 for 191 at Colombo,only Muralitharan had taken more in a Test for Sri Lanka, and their batting ensured that even replying to totals over 400 was not a problem. Hashan Tillekeratne filled his boots – and even outshone Lara by averaging 403, albeit with three not outs – although their only other century came from Kumar Sangakkara. West Indies’ bowlers were hapless, unable to take wickets or even maintain a semblance of control.
Tests: Sri Lanka 3 West Indies 0

2003 in West Indies
West Indies gained a measure of revenge for their mauling in Sri Lanka the previous year, with Lara again leading the way. However, this time, he had the support of a more penetrative bowling attack helped by the return to fitness of Corey Collymore and the emergence of Fidel Edwards and his sling-shot action. The first Test in St Vincent petered out into a draw as heavy rain lashed the area. Lara and Muralitharan, though, had enough time for the next installment of their head-to-head battle. Again Lara came out on top in the personal stakes with 209 although Muralitharan did pick up 5 for 138. The series was decided by two fiery bursts of West Indian pace bowling at Jamaica. Edwards shocked the Sri Lankan batsmen with a five-wicket haul on debut before Collymore demolished their second innings with 7 for 57. Sri Lanka unearthed a talent of of their own in Prabath Nissanka, who claimed a maiden five-wicket haul, but Ramnaresh Sarwan and Lara guided West Indies home. Sri Lanka won the one-day series, which preceded the Tests, including a successful chase of 313 in Barbados.
Tests: West Indies 1 Sri Lanka 0
ODIs: West Indies 1 Sri Lanka 22004-05 in Sri Lanka
Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s unhappy tenure as captain continued in Sri Lanka, leading a West Indies side of hasbeens and wannabes due to yet another contractual crisis with the board. Xavier Marshall, Runako Morton and Denesh Ramdin all made their debuts as West Indies were bundled out for 285 in the first innings of the first Test. Surprisingly, they tore through Sri Lanka to dismiss them for 227…but the threat of Muralitharan was never far away and he decimated them for 113 in the second innings, picking up 6 for 36. It was a similar story of dashed hope in the second Test at Kandy. Darren Powell grabbed 5 for 25, bowling Sri Lanka out for just 150 but West Indies could only respond with 148. Kumar Sangakkara then batted West Indies out of the game with a fine 157, before Muralitharan mopped up a hapless West Indies with 8 for 46 in 16.2 overs of mayhem to record a 2-0 series trouncing.
Sri Lanka 2 West Indies 0

New Zealand Cricket will announce their decision on the tour of Pakistan on Tuesday. The doubts about whether the tour would go ahead – four players dropped out because of security concerns – were compounded by Pakistan’s threat to pull out of their tour of New Zealand if this one was cancelled. The financial implications of that put NZC in a fix, having to balance safety issues with commercial ones.A statement released by NZC stated: “New Zealand Cricket is continuing to work through a process to determine whether the Black Caps will be going on their scheduled tour of Pakistan. The process may be completed tomorrow afternoon. There will be no further comment from New Zealand Cricket until the process is completed.”If the tour does go ahead, NZC will also have to name the replacements for those who have dropped out. Stephen Fleming, their captain, is returning home for treatment of an abdominal strain, and a replacement will be needed for him – besides the four men who had dropped out earlier. Mathew Sinclair, Matthew Walker, Michael Mason and Andre Adams are the players tipped to replace Craig McMillan, Scott Styris, Lou Vincent and Ian Butler.The fifth replacement might well be from the New Zealand Academy, who have played several matches over the last three weeks. The main contenders are Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor.

Andhra Pradesh have made a promising start in their vital Elite Group sixth round match against Rajasthan. By the end of the first day’s play at the Ukku Stadium, Visakhapatnam, the hosts, who are battling to avoid being relegated to the Plate Group, had managed to restrict the visitors to 195/8.It was quite a fall for Rajasthan, who were 120-2 at one stage after their skipper Rahul Kanwat won the toss and elected to bat.Openers Vineet Saxena and Gagan Khoda put on nine runs before Khoda was forced to retire with an injury.The veteran opener was, though, soon back in action following the dismissals Anshu Jain (10) and Nikhil Doru (1). If the injury had rattled him, Khoda showed no signs of it, as he and Saxena began to establish command. The duo guided their team to 120-2, when Khoda fell for a patient 56 off 131 balls.It was a dismissal that was to precitipate a collapse which saw the visitors lose another five wickets for 73 runs. Saxena, for his part, went on to make 64 off 201 balls with eight fours before becoming the fifth wicket to fall.For Andhra Pradesh, off-spinner Mohammed Faiq returned the best figures of 2-28.

Sri Lanka 228 for 9 (Atapattu 65, Sangakkara 53) beat India 203 for 9 (Tendulkar 74) by 25 runs
Scorecard

Sri Lanka underscored their supremacy at home with a 25-run win over India to win the Asia Cup in style. The R Premadasa stadium reaffirmed its status as one of Sri Lanka’s safe houses. You can seemingly do what you like, but once Sri Lanka have a score on the board – and it may be as low as 228 – they defend it tooth and nail. They have all the weapons they need in a canny left-arm seamer, a vicious off-spinner and a host of other spinners who seem born to deny batsmen the space and time needed to score. India began their innings needing to score at 4.58 runs per over to win and by the 40th over the asking rate reached 8.9. And soon, they were put out of their misery.When Marvan Atapattu won the toss and unhesitatingly chose to bat, India’s chances of winning the Asia Cup receded ever so slightly. Soon, Irfan Pathan, in his exuberant manner, did his bit to level the odds with a fine first spell that got rid of the dangerous Sanath Jayasuriya, trapped in front of the stumps (28 for 1). Ashish Nehra, one of two other left-arm fast bowlers in the Indian line-up, did his bit by removing Avishka Gunawardene (31 for 2).Then, just when India sniffed a chance of kicking Sri Lanka when they were down, Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara came together in a match-winning 116-run partnership for the third wicket that took Sri Lanka out of the woods. An already slow pitch grew steadily slower and lower and the spinners began to come to the fore.But Atapattu showed the way, putting behind the niggling self-doubts that would have been caused when he survived a confident shout for lbw early on. Twin drives on either side of the bowler, all along the turf, played with the full face of the bat, left fielders with no chance and the packed house at the Premadasa stadium increasing their already-earsplitting support of the home team.

Sangakkara had his own share of luck, but to his credit, toughed it out to make an invaluable 53. First, he was dropped on 6 by VVS Laxman at second slip when a flashing drive off Zaheer Khan only resulted in an edge. Two carved boundaries through point, one crunching cut off Harbhajan Singh and a forceful pick-up shot over midwicket signalled Sangakkara’s ability to put the chance behind him. However, on 38, Sangakkara was left stranded mid-pitch when he played the ball down to short third man and thought about pinching a single. Lakshmipathy Balaji, on the field as a substitute, fired the throw in at near-yorker length and Dravid failed to collect. But it was third-time lucky for the Indians when Sehwag got a ball to sneak past Sangakkara’s bat and kiss the outside of the off stump (147 for 3).At this stage it became clear that the fancy totals of 270 and 280 that were freely bandied around by pundits was not on the cards. Tendulkar (2 for 40) and Sehwag (1 for 32) did a fine job in tandem, and Sri Lanka only managed 228 for 9 from their 50 overs.India’s run chase began as a mirror image of Sri Lanka’s. Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa bowled to the field set to them, put the ball in the right places, took the pace off the ball, and got rid of two batsmen with only 26 on the board. Virender Sehwag was trapped in front by Vaas while Ganguly’s nibble at a ball was exhilaratingly snatched at slip by Mahela Jayawardene.With Sehwag the powerhouse back in the hutch India shifted to the lowest gear. Tendulkar battled for survival, only chancing his arm when the ball begged to be hit, and VVS Laxman tried to find his groove. Laxman could not have chosen a worse match to feel his way back into international cricket after an injury. He batted 34 balls for 12, but the boundaries simply were not forthcoming and his attempt to manufacture a shot only ended in his spooning the simplest of chances to Tillakaratne Dilshan off Jayasuriya (62 for 3). Rahul Dravid, India’s crisis man, got off to a fine start under the circumstances, stealing singles to the keep the strike rotating. Then, with 16 to his name he shaped to cut Upul Chandana and Dilshan snapped up a sharp chance at slip after a quick juggle (96 for 4).Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, heroes of many an Indian run-chase, came and went without much impact. Yuvraj struggled to get the ball away, repeatedly sweeping and missing till he waltzed down the track and was clean bowled by Chandana (119 for 5). Kaif attempted an ambitious chip before he got his eye in and only holed out to long off (135 for 6). Chandana ended with 3 for 33 from 10 overs of innocuous-looking yet deadly legbreaks.But surely, while there was Tendulkar there was still hope. After Billy Bowden repeatedly reprieved Tendulkar on close shouts, his painful innings of 74 (100 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) came to an end when he was bowled through the gate by Dilshan. India were 140 for 7 needing 99 from 64 balls, and were dead and buried. The match ground to its inevitable end, only delayed by some old-fashioned slogging from Zaheer.

Former New Zealand cricket coach Warren Lees was amazed at England’s failure to make the most of their opportunities on a limited first day of their three-day match against Otago at Queenstown today.Lees coached the New Zealand team during their highly-successful 1992 World Cup campaign and the following drawn Test series with Australia in New Zealand before he was dropped as coach.Now involved in the game as a comments man on radio he was surprised at the basic approach employed by the English who finished the rain-shortened day on 82/6.”What they wanted from today was to have a net. They needed everyone to bat for 50 minutes to an hour and 20 minutes and at the end of the day for everyone to feel they had enjoyed a good net.”But their top three (Marcus Trescothick, Mark Butcher and Mark Ramprakash) failed.”The next batsmen up needed to say, ‘Hold on, we’ll now bat for two hours,’ but they didn’t. They just kept batting the same way.”When the Otago bowlers bowled a wayward ball they never let it go, they kept playing at it,” he said.Lees added that the side’s captain and coach would be pretty disappointed at the end of the day.”They are playing in a holiday venue, and they played holiday cricket.”What they should do when they come tomorrow is decide to play some good cricket, and I am sure we will see some different batting,” he said.Lees said that of the batsmen Butcher looked out of touch, and that was to be expected having come straight from the English winter, but the players who had been here for the one-day series had been guilty of still playing one-day cricket.

Clearly something has to change. Sri Lanka’s most precious natural resource,Muttiah Muralitharan, is in danger of being mined into an early retirement.His bowling shoulder, packed with ice after every practice session andmassaged continuously by the fitness team, is hurting more each week.

Natural joints can only take so much wear and tear. The longevity of hiscareer, and the size of the world record he eventually posts, depends uponSri Lanka’s second spinner in particular and Sri Lanka’s support bowlers ingeneral.Muralitharan’s workload during this England tour has been phenomenal.Already, in the first two Test matches, he’s bowled 164 overs out of the 459sent down by Sri Lanka – that’s a 36% share of the workload. His totalseries figures are: 164-79-217-19. Not bad!The problem that Hashan Tillakaratne faces is that his spin wizard isbowling quite brilliantly. England’s batters had arrived in Sri Lankaquietly confident of decoding his trickery, but they now admit that he’sbeen fiendishly difficult to read from the hand. The ball has been spittingboth ways and all the batsman to score runs have lived charmed lives -except perhaps Michael Vaughan who played him expertly in Kandy.But Muralitharan appeared to wane during that final day. He bowled 56 out ofthe 140 overs in the innings. It was an unreasonable and unacceptableworkload. Although he loves to bowl and bowl, Tillakaratne should have usedhis support bowlers more.Chaminda Vaas’s workload in the final two sessions was, for example,strangely light: nine overs spread over 4 ½ hours in the field. At first wethought he was poorly after he vomited on the outfield at the end of his runjust after lunch. It turns out though that that was merely a badly timedhelping of fruit salad. Tillakaratne surely missed a trick.The unwillingness to use Dinusha Fernando – who was given just one over withthe second new ball after Tillakaratne delayed taking it until the finalhour – was also surprising. One wondered how many overs Dilhara Fernandowould have bowled – certainly more is the answer. I have no doubt thatDilhara will play in Colombo on his home ground.

But it was the relative ineffectiveness of the second spinner, KumarDharmasena, which caused most concern. Dharmasena’s offbreaks providedEngland’s batters with few problems. Perhaps, with hindsight, Upul Chandanashould have played? The legspinner had in fact been announced in the finalXI at the pre-match team meeting but a last-minute change on the morning ofthe match saw Dharmasena being drafted in.The more controversial view is that neither should have played. Instead,Rangana Herath, a left-arm spinner that has been hauling in wickets in SouthAfrica and India with the A team, should have been in the squad.The argument against his selection is that Sanath Jayasuriya provides asound slow left arm option. But such thinking is flawed. You don’t pickvariation for variation’s sake; you pick the best bowlers. Jayasuriya is auseful spinner, someone who is capable of nicking out a wicket or too, butis not in the same class as Herath. On the evidence of the first two tests,Chandana and Dharmasena are also no match.Unfortunately we also have to be honest, Herath is no world-beater. When hebowls in tandem with Muralitharan he will no doubt look ordinary. The factis that Muralitharan is truly exceptional. His standards are so far abovemost bowlers in the world that comparisons are unfair. Nevertheless, Herathmay well be a better bet, possibly even for the third Test in Colombo.In the long-term though, the selectors must intensify their search forbowlers. The Muralitharan era is, I’m afraid, slowly drawing to a close. Hebelieves he can last until 2007, but with his current workload burnout mighthappen much sooner. A premature end to his career would be a travesty. SriLanka must protect him.

Few reporters had good words for either the ICC or the ECB as they repacked their bags and prepared to head for Zimbabwe

“After promises from David Morgan [the ECB chairman] that they would never again be placed in such an invidious position, leadership has failed them once more,” wrote Derek Pringle, one of the 13 originally banned, in The Daily Telegraph. But he also warned: “Uncertainty and obfuscation are the stock-in-trade of places like Zimbabwe and this tour is by no means settled.”Writing in The Guardian, Mike Selvey said that Robert Mugabe had acted with “the timing of a top comedian”. He added: “[Mugabe] sat them on a whoopee cushion to end all whoopee cushions. Guess what lads, just when you thought you had it taped; just when the Sons and Daughters of News International had delivered their 11th-hour get-out trump a la Cape Town; just when, for the very first time, the members of the International Cricket Council, a body with all the natural flexibility of a whalebone corset, had moved onside, you are all coming to play after all because we are letting your scribblers in.”But The Times‘s Simon Barnes said that rather than blame Morgan, it was the ICC who were at fault. “No one in the ICC is prepared to consider that this is exactly what Mugabe wants of them. Rather worse, no one in the ICC has felt that support for a murderous dictator is not morally sound … and as the ICC politicos assume their posture for the next round of power struggles in the game of cricket, so members of the Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe are murdered. Once again, the ICC is relishing England’s discomfiture. And if a few more Zimbabweans have to wear electrodes on their balls as a result, that’s a small price to pay for pleasure.”Back to The Daily Telegraph where Kate Hoey, the former sports minister who last year visited Zimbabwe under cover, said that she had repeatedly warned the ECB not to be “drawn into a position where they would be used by the master manipulator Mugabe as a pawn in his battle for unfettered power. Now they have ended up looking pathetic with Morgan, in particular, resembling nothing more than a half-dead mouse.”The Independent warned that when England arrive, their visit will attract “considerable anger because it coincides with a controversial bill that critics of the Mugabe regime claim is driving out the aid organisations which have been a last line of defence for a population already threatened by famine and an HIV-Aids epidemic.”Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe the overtly pro-Mugabe Daily Herald merely reported that today’s one-dayer had been postponed because England would be arriving late in Harare. It mentioned in passing that some media had been given accreditation late, but didn’t touch on the real crisis which threatened the series.