Windies players must learn from their tours

The thrashing that the West Indies received in India and in New Zealand should serve as a cricket lesson to the West Indies players, particularly the younger inexperienced cricketers. Being able to adapt quickly to different conditions is key to the success of any player. West Indies players must learn to develop their cricketing skills quickly. The international arena is very competitive and players must be prepared for the toughness of the sport. Darren Bravo, Kirk Edwards, Tino Best, Jason Holder and Veerasammy Permaul all have to perform much better.

India and New Zealand had home advantages with detailed knowledge of their wickets and fielding conditions. Realising that the home teams had those advantages, the West Indies should have been better prepared to deliver better performances.

India’s players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan Cheteshwar Pujara and Jin Karahan have all blossomed with their talents.

LACK OF SENSITIVE CRICKET KNOWLEDGE!

West Indies batsmen and bowlers are lacking the knowledge and skill on how to play against their tough competitors.

The West Indies batsmen frequently succumb to top bowling and if one or two players make huge scores, it is often insufficient to allow the team to win games. Much more reliable performances are needed. Unlike the West Indies, India, South Africa and Australia have batsmen who can withstand pressure and serve their team well.

EXPLOITING BATSMEN FAULTS

The apparent inability of West Indies bowlers to fully exploiting the mistakes made by batsmen has often prevented them from picking up the necessary wickets to win. Sometimes West Indies bowlers bowl too straight and do not focus on moving the ball away from the batsmen to induce mistakes. Both Australia and South Africa wickets are quick and their bowlers do the trick by exploiting such advantage.

Dale Steyn and Mitchell Johnson, respectively from South Africa and Australia, never allow batsmen to settle in. These fast bowlers take over their turfs leaving top batsmen cornered.

Australian cricket has improved with both batsmen and bowlers performing exceptionally well. A good series matchup would be South Africa vs Australia.

West Indies cricket is in disarray and what is more troubling is that nothing significant is being done to bring about real success. Sometimes talented players come into the team but then there is little improvement in their skills and this leads to their early demise.