Antigua Observer article.
St John's, Antigua - Former West Indies captain Sir Vivian Richards believes that a lack of strategic aggression from Captain Denesh Ramdin has often worked against the home team throughout the current Test series against England.
The tourists lead the three Test series 1-0 following a nine-wicket victory at the Grenada National Stadium on Saturday in the second Test. The first Test ended in a draw here at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.
Sir Viv said the young skipper, although showing his prowess with the bat in the first Test, needs to develop a killer instinct.
“There are times when I think he is positive and there are times when I think, sometimes, where the falling asleep syndrome sort of comes into play. You can see from the outside … when England were 40 something for three there could have been some much more aggressive attitude in terms of getting Root and Bell out,†he said
“It’s been found wanting at times but there are times when he played very well like here in Antigua in that second innings and it was unfortunate for him to get out at that particular time but that to me was pretty responsible but as I said, the judges are still out and there is still room for improvement, room for some aggressiveness I guess,†he added.
Sir Viv, who made his Test debut on November 22, 1974, and made 8,540 runs before his last Test on August 8, 1991, dispelled the notion that the regional squad suffers from a “lack of talentâ€.
“I guess what’s lacking at present is the application in terms of how we would like to get things done. When you look at the situation like in Grenada — a situation where we couldn’t win the match, but it was another opportunity to try and save it and show those skills; and we were found wanting. We have to work hard at that level in order for us to try and overcome that hurdle because we are good enough, but we are just not applying ourselves well enough to cope with situations,†he said.
Commenting on the team’s nine-wicket defeat to England in the second Test, the Antiguan said it was a game they should not have lost.
“One has got to remember also that if you cannot win the match you should not lose. It wasn’t a devil as a wicket, but we still got out and especially from good positions … it’s all about maybe, playing as hard as you can knowing you are behind and the only thing you have left now is basically for you to try and draw the series. We haven’t totally been outplayed, so at least there is a chance,†the former captain said.
Sir Viv is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time and was voted one of five Cricketers of the Century by a 100-member panel of experts in 2000.
As a captain, Sir Viv won 27 of 50 Test matches and lost only eight. He also scored nearly 7,000 runs in One Day Internationals and more than 36,000 in first-class cricket.
