Category Uncategorized

A lot has been said by key personnel involved in this West Indies tour of England. However the real significance of their comments prior to the squad’s departure last Tuesday lies between the lines.When Mike Findlay, the manager, chooses to emphasise that an insistence on proper conduct is a significant aspect of his role, and that no indiscipline will be tolerated during the next two months on the road, it is a tacit admission that the generally lamentable attitude of contemporary Caribbean cricketers had sunk to a new low during the ultimately disastrous World Cup campaign.When new coach David Moore stresses the need for players to appreciate the value of fitness and proper overall preparation, he is in fact confessing that, at least for much of his tenure as assistant coach to fellow Australian Bennett King over the past two-and-a-half years, the essential work ethic was nothing short of deplorable. Additionally, Moore’s praise of the work of regional colleagues, when questioned about any aspirations of continuing as West Indies coach beyond the England tour, suggests that he senses the tide at the decision-making level has shifted from employing a foreigner.It is a shift that could be reinforced in the coming weeks, although he will probably argue, as Roger Harper and Gus Logie – his counterparts on the last two visits to England – did, that as vital as his function is, it is still only one aspect of a system that deteriorated before our eyes over the past 10 years or so.Harper at least savoured a Test victory, by an innings and 93 runs inside three days at Edgbaston, to get the five-match series in 2000 off to a dream start. Logie, in contrast, had the misfortune of being in charge (that terminology could be hotly debated, given what prevailed during the tour) of the squad in 2004 that was whitewashed in the four-match series, although there was considerable consolation in the Champions Trophy triumph four weeks later before coaching responsibilities were passed on to King and company.That first Test in Birmingham seven years ago remains a significant landmark in the almost uninterrupted slide since then, for it is the last time that the West Indies won a Test away from home against an opponent other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh.Then, Jimmy Adams’s team had three first-class matches leading up to the series opener. In 2004, with Brian Lara at the helm, they reached the final of a tri-nation limited-overs tournament involving the hosts and New Zealand, and then played two first-class fixtures ahead of the first Test at Lord’s. Now, they have a solitary three-day match against Somerset leading into next Thursday’s start of the four-Test series.Of course, with the World Cup having dragged on for almost two months, all international teams are in the same boat. The difference is that West Indies and England are the first to get back into the longer version of the game, and while the members of the home team would have played at least a couple of matches for their respective counties ahead of the Lord’s opener, the tourists will be trying to cram all the preparation they can manage into the next three days.The County Ground at Taunton holds a special place in the hearts of older West Indian fans, for it was there that Viv Richards and Joel Garner played their county cricket for more than a decade until an acrimonious departure in 1986. So it is inevitable that when the diehard fans of Somerset gather on the opening day tomorrow at their favourite venue to see the current crop of West Indians taking on the home boys, there will be more than a little reminiscing about the day “Smokin’ Joe” hit so-and-so out of the ground, or the time when “Big Bird” mowed down so many top-class players in a single spell.Given their genuine admiration for Caribbean cricket, they would certainly like to forget the performance of the last West Indies team that came to Taunton. That was near the end of the 2000 tour, a week after the unbelievably humiliating two-day defeat in the fourth Test at Headingley.

The 269-run loss to a Somerset team that won just two first-class matches all season was almost as dispiriting, and preceded a 158-run defeat in the final Test at The Oval that gave England the series 3-1 and a first hold on the Wisden Trophy since 1969.The only familiar face tomorrow among the tourists, for those who were at The County Ground seven years ago, will be Chris Gayle (Ramnaresh Sarwan had flown home for a friend’s funeral). Gayle was dropped from the Test side after scoring zero in the only innings at Edgbaston and did nothing against Somerset to merit a recall for the series finale. He is remembered, however, for summoning veteran fast bowler Curtly Ambrose from the pavilion, on an overcast day, to bring out his sunglasses, which he promptly placed on top of his head. It didn’t take much perception to recognise then that Gayle, like so many others in the squad, had effectively switched off.If Findlay, Moore, Sarwan and whoever else can get Gayle to focus on batting instead of fashion tomorrow, they will be able to take credit for at least one minor achievement on what is going to be a very difficult tour.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Careless shots and a flurry of wickets aside, South Africa raced to a victory inside three days after successfully chasing down 217 to beat New Zealand in the third and final Test at Johannesburg. In a frenetic final two sessions, South Africa lost six wickets en route to their target and were deeply indebted to their captain’s second fifty in the game to see them home by four wickets.The tone was set just before lunch when, faced with an uncomfortable nine overs and chasing a middling target of 217, Smith and his opening partner Boeta Dippenaar set off like a rocket. Dippenaar was the aggressor, crunching four boundaries to settle South Africa’s nerves who went to lunch on 49 without loss; before this game, only three times had South Africa successfully chased down more than 200 runs in the fourth innings. They were let off by New Zealand’s bowlers, though, who wasted the new ball and handed the momentum – at a key stage of the match – to the batsmen.Smith and Dippenaar continued their confident start after lunch, too. And much as South Africa’s bowlers had suffered with their lengths in the morning, so did New Zealand in the afternoon session. Too often, Martin bowled short allowing the batsmen to rock back and power him through the covers. When he did pitch it up, batting was trickier, as Dippenaar found out when a fuller delivery caught his outside edge and flew to Brendon McCullum to end a 69-run opening partnership.Undaunted, Smith continued to hit boundaries to take the initiative away from New Zealand, powering Scott Styris for a vicious four over midwicket before clobbering James Franklin for two further fours. His fifty – his second of the match – came up with a crunching back-foot drive which rather signalled that the end was nigh for New Zealand.With South Africa settled on 114 for 1, Stephen Fleming turned to Daniel Vettori for a breakthrough who was immediately sent packing; coming down the pitch, Smith lofted him over his head for four, narrowly avoiding long-on, before smashing him for six off the next delivery. Vettori didn’t bowl again in the innings.Smith got carried away, though. After glancing Franklin fine for another four, he got cramped for room attempting the same shot. Hashim Amla, too, paid the price for over-eagerness – anyone would think they had a train to catch. After playing reasonably well for his 28, with the game seemingly in the bag, a lazy flick through midwicket off Kyle Mills saw the ball cannon into his stumps. It was a poor, careless dismissal from a batsman who too frequently flits between the excellent and the dreadful.Mills, bowling with surprising pace and lift, accounted for Jacques Kallis too. And when Franklin bowled AB de Villiers for 8, South Africa’s bullish counterattacking started to look a little foolish, especially considering the amount of time still left in the game. However Ashwell Prince – who is fast becoming South Africa’s second middle-order rock – remained solid, calmly picking up singles to take South Africa home safely with an unbeaten 43.Given the nervy run-chase – this is only the fourth time South Africa have successfully chased over 200 runs in the fourth innings – New Zealand were perhaps only fifty runs short of setting South Africa a truly testing total. With Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori both playing sensibly, seemingly unflustered in the morning session, a target in excess of 250 was within their grasp. Oram misjudged the length from Dale Steyn, though, ballooning a difficult but well-held chance to de Villiers at mid-off to end their 49-run stand.Vettori and Franklin were similarly untroubled for much of the morning; as South Africa’s shoulders dropped, so did the bowler’s lengths. Time and again Vettori was allowed to rock back and hammer fours through the off-side, or glance a fortunate edge down to his favoured third-man region. Curiously, Shaun Pollock was held back from the attack until the 15th over and it was he who broke through Franklin’s thoroughly impressive defence. Andrew Hall then mopped up the rest as New Zealand stumbled, failing to add to their score having sat comfortably on 283 for 7.That South Africa were so keen on finishing the job in double-quick time said much about a side that has, on occasions this season, struggled to take the initiative and close the door on their opponents. Their aggression paid dividends, however, and Smith – who received the Man-of-the-Match award for his two fifties – has ended the season on a winning note and, at last, with runs to his name.

How they were out

South AfricaBoeta Dippenaar c McCullum b Martin 37 (69 for 1)
Graeme Smith b McCullum b Franklin 68 (130 for 2)
Hashim Amla b Mills 28 (156 for 3)
Jacques Kallis c How b Mills 13 (167 for 4)
AB de Villiers b Franklin 5 (180 for 5)
Mark Boucher b Franklin 6 (202 for 6)
New ZealandJacob Oram c Dippenaar b Steyn 27 (239 for 7)
James Franklin b Pollock 19 (283 for 8)
Daniel Vettori c de Villiers b Hall 60 (283 for 9)
Chris Martin c Amla b Hall 0 (283 all out)

The debate over the future location of Lancashire is rumbling on with the news that another new site has been proposed in Wigan. The local council wants Lancashire to move to a purpose-built £30 million stadium on a 17-acre site.A move away from Lancashire’s current home at Old Trafford has been muted for the last two years, with relocation to East Manchester, next to Manchester City football club, the first option suggested. However a significant section of members, who will have to vote on any final decision, have opposed the move and would prefer Old Trafford to be renovated.”Everybody ruled by their heart will want to stay at Old Trafford, but you have to think of every alternative,” Jack Simmons, the Lancashire chairman, told BBC Radio Manchester. “The members will decide where this club goes to and this will probably only get discussed at a committee meeting on Tuesday.”One concern of the proposed site in Wigan would be the distance from central Manchester, which is well connected with transport links. Wigan is a 30 minute train journey from Manchester and would not provide the same services as the current location.”We’ll have to look at every alternative and see what’s going to be the best thing for us. They’ve put another alternative there that’s maybe similar to the one in east Manchester. If everybody thinks it’s too far from Manchester we probably wouldn’t go any further with it. The only problem with Old Trafford is that we need to spend a lot of money to get it up to standard if we want to continue as a Test match ground.”So the choice is to redevelop Old Trafford, move to east Manchester or Wigan and we’ll have to see which works out to be the best way we can go. Old Trafford’s an old ground and there are a lot of things that would need to come down. Redevelopments and new buildings have to be taken into consideration in three-quarters of the ground.”Lancashire have promised to make a decision by the end of the summer.

Darren Sammy, the West Indian allrounder, was the only uncapped player to be named in the 15-man one-day squad to play England and New Zealand in the Natwest Series, which starts on June 24.Sammy, 20, was selected ahead of the more experienced Ryan Hinds after a successful domestic Carib Beer series in 2004. He was the fourth highest scorer for Windward Islands with 261 runs at 26.1, and his total of 22 wickets in the competition was the second highest for the sub-regional team. Should he play, Sammy will become the first player from St Lucia to represent the senior West Indies side, though he was a member of the Young West Indies team that reached the semi-finals of the ICC Youth World Cup in New Zealand in 2001. The selectors choice of Sammy over Hinds will have been influenced by Sammy’s experience of English conditions. He played for Barnes Cricket Club in the Middlesex Premier Cricket League last season, averaging 29.50 with the bat and 25.35 with the ball. He scored his runs at a strike rate over 90, and took 17 wickets in his 10 matches for the side.Neither Merv Dillon nor Corey Collymore has been named in the squad, having made little impression in the one-dayers against England in the Caribbean earlier this month. Dillon took only three wickets at an average of over 69 in the series, while Collymore failed to take a single scalp. Sylvester Joseph, who played against England and Bangladesh, has also been left out.Fidel Edwards and Tino Best, both 22, will lead the West Indies attack in the triangular series. Best recently battered Bangladesh into submission with his aggressive fast bowling, while Edwards has taken 12 wickets at 10.41 in the four one-dayers he has played in, though these were against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Ravi Rampaul and Ian Bradshaw will play the role of back-up seamers. West Indies will arrive with a young and fairly inexperienced one-day side, 11 of whom are under the age of 25.West Indies squad for NatWest Series
Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Devon Smith, Ricardo Powell, Brian Lara (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Smith, Ridley Jacobs (wk),Dwayne Bravo, Carlton Baugh (wk), Ian Bradshaw, Darren Sammy, Tino Best, Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul.

The count down to the final of ICC World Cup 2003 has started after six weeks of hectic cricket. With only the final left to be played, India are strongly fancied to take the World Cup home.

The general perception is that Australia deserve to win the final. Yes, Australia have played some excellent cricket in this World Cup, but one cannot forget the way India have fought back after their dismal performance against the Aussies at Centurion five weeks ago. Their transformation has been remarkable, and purely on the basis of springing back from that debacle, I think the Indians deserve to win the World Cup. Not too many teams in the world have the ability to comeback from such a situation.The remarkable comeback was made possible thanks to the leadership on and off field of Sourav Ganguly. Indian fans were really down after the defeat at Aussie hands and their reaction back home could have completely demoralised any team. The way Ganguly handled the situation with complete confidence and determination speaks volumes for his faith in his team. The players too responded by backing their captain, and they were cool and calm in their approach. The millions of fans back home and worldwide, who were disappointed after the defeat against the Aussies, were made to realise that it was too early to have written their team off after only the second game.

At the fall of each wicket, the idea of all the eleven players huddling in the middle with hands on the shoulders of each other is more evident proof of the positive body language of the captain and team. Because of this each and every fielder is motivated to perform well and this attitude has improved the fielding remarkably. They have saved many runs and have turned half-chances into dismissals of important batsmen. The result is eight consecutive wins, including victories against top one-day cricket teams like Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and England.After the Centurion defeat, without wasting much time, the Indian team management made the necessary adjustment in the opening department of the batting line-up. The strategy they came up with was to open with Sehwag and Tendulkar through this World Cup, while the middle order was left flexible to be adjusted according to the situation in the game.Ganguly has almost perfectly applied the important principle of consistency in the use of team resources. The way he has combined the efforts of the three able frontline pace bowlers, the one leading spinner, with the other part-time bowlers has been virtually faultless.It will be quite unfair if the efforts and sound analysis of coach John Wright are not mentioned. Wright has been the backbone of this outstanding resurgence of Indian team. The recent match against Kiwis was very important to keep the Indian winning streak going and also to boost the self-esteem of players, since Indians recently lost five-two to New Zealand. The strategy of fielding first against New Zealand was an excellent example of the coach and captain putting their heads together and working things out.Wright’s recent interview just before the semi-final sums up what a coach needs to say, especially before important games. “We still have a long way to go and, as is the case against any opposition and in any circumstance, we have to achieve our game plans and play well,” he said. “If we do that the result will take care of itself.”Wright has played a key role in the transformation of Tendulkar’s form in this World Cup. After scoring just 36 against Australia, Tendulkar has gone on to play the most crucial and memorable cricket of his career. His 98 against Pakistan and 97 against Sri Lanka can be rated better than any century he has scored before. Sachin totally surprised Pakistan with the onslaught against Shoaib Akhtar and the two Ws. He is on course to be the Best Player of the Tournament and definitely deserves this distinction. It is his positive approach and almost six hundred runs in just nine games, which has helped India to achieve all these superb wins.Sachin’s positive approach will be the key to negate the efforts of McGrath, Lee and Bichel. India will have to rely on their other batsmen too – Sourav, Dravid, Yuvraj, Kaif and Sehwag have all chipped in with useful scores. Especially Dravid’s fifties against Pakistan and New Zealand helped the slightly turbulent ship to reach a safe haven. His innings reminded me of the fighting abilities shown by Javed Miandad in the 1992 World Cup for Pakistan.Merely batsmen and fielders cannot win cricket matches; one needs good bowlers as well. There has been criticism about the Indians not playing one extra bowler, either Agarkar or Kumble. The superlative performance of the three pacers Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Nehra have made up for all such criticism. They have stuck to an excellent line and length, and have made batsmen earn the runs. Bowling of Srinath and Zaheer Khan was one of the reasons for Pakistan’s defeat, and Nehra single-handedly destroyed the English batting line-up at Durban. Harbhajan Singh too has been effective and efficient.I can clearly hear the “Go India Go” slogans of Indian fans at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, back home and worldwide. What has still to be written into the history books is a win against Australia. Yes, India deserve to achieve that win and lift the prestigious ICC World Cup of 2003.
Feedback

Having allowed Gloucestershire batsmen to gain the upper hand with some ordinary bowling, Middlesex, after losing two wickets with 70 on the board, spent the final session of the third day’s play attempting to consolidate their innings but were reduced to 141 for four at stumps.They began reasonably well, putting up 51 when the first wicket fell, Robin Weston top-edging his sweep behind the stumps in the second over from Martyn Ball, but 19 runs later the off spinner struck again, trapping Andy Strauss lbw on the back foot for 38.Owais Shah and Ben Hutton batted patiently for an hour and a half to add 61 when a needless wild slog from Shah resulted in Ball taking a well judged catch, running back at mid-wicket.Finally, in the last over of the day, Mark Alleyne had David Alleyne lbw, leaving Hutton with 29 not out and Middlesex with a lot to do.Earlier, Gloucestershire were able to declare their first innings on a substantial total of 400 for three with the help of a dominating third-wicket stand, between Matt Windows and Ian Harvey, which was broken just seven short of a double century, half an hour after lunch.This was yet another fine partnership in their innings, the first two yielding 88 and 82 runs on the first day before wet conditions at Lord’s wiped out nearly a day and a half’s play.Showing fine batting form, as indeed he did on the first day when he remained not out with 52, Windows reached his second century of the Cricinfo Championship off 211 balls, 13 of which were hit to the boundary. His first hundred was also against Middlesex, in May, at Bristol where he scored 106 not out.Having lost 148 overs owing to rain, Gloucestershire seemed more intent on building a large first innings total rather than opting for quick runs after resuming their innings on 198 for two.Harvey, who was the more cautious of the two batsmen earlier in the morning session, went on the offensive after reaching his first Championship fifty this season. With powerful strokeplay, which brought him 12 boundaries and a six, he was at ease in facing the Middlesex bowling. Along with Windows, who had less of the strike in the period leading up to lunch, he piled on the runs.Five overs into the second session’s play, Middlesex got the breakthrough that they were urgently seeking. After nearly five hours at the crease, Windows’ innings of 123, off 256 balls, came to an end with Strauss taking a brilliant left-handed diving catch at backward point off Angus Fraser.Harvey, meanwhile, reached his hundred, the second fifty of which came rapidly from only 53 balls. At the declaration he was unbeaten on 130 having hit 16 boundaries and a six in a superb innings.

Fine knocks from Amit Nadkarni and Sarabjit Singh lifted Services to264/8 on the first day of their latest Ranji Trophy North Zone leaguetie against Himachal Pradesh at the Palam Ground in Delhi on Sunday.Both teams came into the match after losing their opening encounterslast week.Hosts Services won the toss but began disastrously as both openersNarender Singh and Harish Bhaskar fell for ducks. Nadkarni andSarabjit joined hands when the third wicket fell at 39 and were onlyseparated after adding 138. Nadkarni fell for 84 (183 balls, 12 fours)and twelve runs later Himachal saw the back of Sarabjit for 79 (153balls, 7 fours).An unbeaten 30 from JP Pandey propped up the lower order as Servicesfinished the 90th over at 264/8. Jaswant Rai was the most successfulbowler with 3/53 while Rahul Panta and Amit Sharma snapped up twowickets apiece.

Ricky Ponting has spoken of Australia’s fears over touring Pakistan next month as the country prepares for its elections on Monday. The Australians did not travel there in 2002 due to security issues and a similar decision is likely due to the current political instability.”Look, there is no doubt at all in our dressing room that there are some concerns,” Ponting told the Australian. “Anybody who would be touring Pakistan at the moment, whether you are a cricketer or just a day-to-day citizen, I think you would have some concerns. I don’t think we are different to anybody else.”A security inspection team is supposed to go to the country before the series, but even that is not certain to happen. Cricket Australia is hopeful of a contest at a neutral venue if Pakistan is not deemed safe and the topic will be discussed when the country’s chief executives meet in Kuala Lumpur next week.”We are being kept in the loop daily,” Ponting said. “Cricket Australia is sending an expert group over there in maybe a week’s time, to check things out, so we’ll know more about Pakistan then.”Paul Marsh, the Australian Cricketers’ Association chief executive, told AAP “everybody is concerned”, but said it was committed to assessing the situation after the elections. Phil Jaques, the Australia opener, is also willing to wait before making a decision on whether he will go on the trip.”It’s not a bad place if the environment is right,” Jaques, who visited with Australia A last year, told the Australian. “We’ll just have to see what the environment is like after the election and move from there. I’m keen as mustard to play if it’s safe to tour – and the players deem it safe.”

Do you regret your decision at the toss?
Not really, there was something in the wicket early on. It was the right decision, we bowled quite well. We did not have luck upfront beat the bats a few times, hit the pads a few times. They played well after that to reach 250.What are your plans for the future?
It’s too early really to think about anything. A lot of hard work has gone into the preparation in the last year and to be knocked out of the tournament so early is a huge disappointment for all of us.How emotional are you at this point?
Like I said, very disappointed.Can you say something about the Irfan Pathan mystery? He is always in the squad but never picked in the XI.
I think we picked the team based on what the best combination is for the day. There is a tour selection committee with a lot of experience and we decide who’s going to play and who’ s not going to play, everyone cannot play in the 15, and some guys miss out. He played against West Indies. He was unfortunately injured against Sri Lanka. He played in the Deodhar Trophy, he was declared fit and he came here. At this point we did not think he was in our three best seamers so he did not play.There was a lot of talk about Vision 2007. Where do we go from here?
It’s really early to collect my thoughts. Really disappointing, a lot of hard work has gone into it over the last year. We did not play well in this tournament and did not deserve to go into the second round.Did you think the target was gettable today?
255 was gettable. I’m disappointed with the top order. Definitely I thought it was a gettable target. I think we had the extra batsman. We lost wickets at regular intervals. We needed one big partnership, we did not get that. We definitely should have made a much better chase of it than we did in the end.Do you have any hope that Bermuda can give a shock result over Bangladesh and help you qualify for the Super Eight?
Not really. Well, anything can happen in cricket. To be honest we have not really played well enough. The things which were in our control we have not done well enough.India had a good build up to the tournament. Where do you think it went wrong?
The lead up to this tournament was pretty good. The confidence was quite high and the boys were playing good cricket. That’s the nature of one-day cricket, we had a bad game against Bangladesh where we did not really bat well upfront. That sort of put pressure on us. Today again we did not play well enough. The way the tournament is structured you have one banana-skin game and you can be out of the tournament quite quickly. We started slowly too but had enough games to pull ourselves us back. This time we did not have that, that’s where we fell I suppose. The first game against Bangladesh we did not play anywhere near our potential.

It’s not happened for the first time, the batsmen crumbling, choking under pressure…
Some of these guys have had success before as well. It’s a question of may be the guys going back and looking at their performances, how they performed in the important games and critical games. Yes, we have not batted anywhere near our potential. We picked what was the best batting line-up in the conditions but I guess we were the best batting line-up in India, but we did not bat well enough in these two games. It is definitely something to think about.Is this the worst defeat of your career?
It’s disappointing. It’s not a nice thing to lose in the early part of the World Cup. We have invested a lot of time and effort in it and it has not gone our way. It’s a big event and you really want to do well. Sports is like that, sometimes your best plans and all your ideas just don’t work.Both Pakistan and India have crashed out despite the conditions being similar to that in the subcontinent…
Both the teams did not play good cricket. I think Pakistan stumbled against Ireland and we stumbled against Bangladesh. In a tournament like it is, you have one bad day and you could be in big trouble and that’s what happened to Pakistan and India. I am sure there is a lot of thinking to do in both the countries.Is it time to look at the entire system?
I have just come out of a game and I have had no time to collect my thoughts and think about these things. But when you lose like this, that is what you should do. When you have a few setbacks, when there are disappointments, or when things like this happen, then it’s time for the people concerned to sit back and look at the whole issue and see how we can go forward and how we can g et better and keep improving, and perform better in the tournaments to come. So, yes it is obviously time for people who make decisions to sit back and reflect, and look at how we can make things better. We have to think about it rationally. I guess there is always a lot of emotions that gets involved in all these things. But it is time to look back rationally and see how we can move forward.Are you worried about security back home?
Not really. I hope the players wouldn’t be under any physical danger. To be honest, I don’t expect that to be the case. I am sure people will be disappointed, and fair enough. They have invested a lot of hope in this team and we haven’t delivered. So, they are entitled to be disappointed. But I just hope that no-one in is in any physical danger.Are you happy with the effort of the players in the tournament?
We put a lot in this game. Definitely against Bangladesh, I was pretty disappointed with just the all-round effort. But today I thought we put in hard in the field. The boys were up for it, they came out really hard and tried their best. I just think we didn’t execute well with the bat. I think 254 was a very gettable score on that wicket. We didn’t execute our plans well with the bat. We just kept losing too many wickets and that’s never a good thing when you are chasing a score like 250 at five runs and over.Do you realise the enormity of this defeat?
Nobody realizes the enormity of the defeat than the players. The players are the one who put in a lot of time. They worked really hard for this. It is an opportunity they get once in four years. It is something that you really look forward to in your career. So no-one understands the enormity of this more than the players. Definitely there is a lot of introspection and disappointment in the dressing room.It’s been difficult for India in the Caribbean…
We have done quite well in the Test matches here. Yes, we haven’t done well in the one-dayers in the last couple of series. It just hasn’t worked out for us. We, as batsmen, have just not been able to adapt to these wickets. The nature of these wickets somehow has been that, as a group, we haven’t been able to adapt to and score the kind of runs that we should.Have some players overstayed their welcome?
It is too early, and it is not for me to say these things. I am just out of a grave game of cricket. I have just lost a game of cricket. I guess there is a month now and obviously the people who make decisions will have to sit down and think about it and see what they feel is the best way to take things forward or how they felt that things should move forward.Shouldn’t some one stand up and take responsibility?
We definitely do take the responsibility. I am not sitting here and trying to shirk responsibility. I am the first one to stand up and say that we should have done better, and it starts with me. I am not trying to put the responsibility on anyone. People are asking me what’s the way forward and what do we do. I haven’t really thought about stuff like that. Till about 24 hours ago, I truly believed that we will still be in this tournament. I didn’t have the time to think what’s ahead of us. But I am not trying to say I don’t take any responsibility. I take full responsibility for the fact that we haven’t progressed to the next round.

Will you continue as captain?
I was appointed captain till the World Cup. So I am not even the captain at this point of time. So it’s not my decision to make.How does it feel for the senior members to never have won a World Cup?
It will always be a disappointment. I have played in three World Cups, and we did well in one of them. So, yeah it’s not an ideal scenario. It’s not something that, if you were writing a fairy tale, you wouldn’t write it this way. But that’s\ what sports is about. Sometimes, you don’t get to choose the way everything works out for you. That is the beauty and cruelty of sport.Can you compare this campaign with the one in 2003?
I just think we probably had a little more breathing space there to regroup there and bounce back. The way the format was in the last World Cup, it guaranteed you five or six games. So it gave you an opportunity to get into a bit form. I thought we batted a lot better in the last World Cup. We got some good scores, we chased down some good scores. I think we just adapted better to those conditions in the last World Cup then we did here, in this first week that happened so quickly for us.The captain and coach keep saying ‘everything is fine, we are going to win.’ Why doesn’t it happen?
I haven’t come across a single captain or coach as yet, who starts before a match saying we are going to lose it. Nobody will come to a press conference and say that we are going to lose the match. That’s not what you do. Definitely, we expect our batsmen and our bowlers and everyone to do well.Where did you lose?
We didn’t play good cricket. Where did we lose? We gave them 254 runs and we didn’t chase it down. We ended up with 180. No one-one feels worse about it than the players. I know you guys feel bad and disappointed about it. The players also feel disappointed. It’s a lot of time invested by the players. It’s a lot of their dreams, a lot of their hopes that go into tournaments like this. When it doesn’t work out for them, they feel it more than anyone else.

West Indies look to close out their limited-overs international series with Zimbabwe when the two sides meet for back-to-back contests on Saturday and Sunday in Guyana. West Indies lead the seven-match series 2-0, after back-to-back victories by five wickets and 98 runs last weekend at the Antigua Recreation Ground.Brian Lara, the West Indies captain, has already indicated his intention not to play all the matches in the series, and this would be a big motivating factor for him to get his troops primed for battle. “We weren’t as convincing as we should have been in the first two ODIs, but don’t take anything away from our guys, to complete a victory is important,” Lara said. “We’ve got to go back in the classroom and work on it. The Zimbabweans, I think they’ve got hope, it’s a situation where it’s unfortunate with the exodus of players, but they have to work with what they have and I’m seeing one or two bright lights.”Lara is, however, worried about his side’s batting which has failed to dominate so far. “The batting is not as solid as we would have hoped,” he said. “I am just a little bit worried about the batting, but I sense that the guys are just getting themselves back in, and that we can expect better as we go on. We know for a fact that if we are going to play against better teams that we’ve got to score a lot more freely and make a lot more runs.”West Indies have fortified their side with an additional three players: Tino Best, the fast bowler, Dave Mohammed, the left-arm chinaman bowler, and Sewnarine Chattergoon, the uncapped left-handed opener, now have raised the squad strength to 14.This follows a policy of rotation that the Caribbean side hopes to adopt over the rest of the year, as they seek to overcome the spate of injuries that have set back the side from time to time and prepare themselves for the 2007 World Cup in their backyard.Zimbabwe did not have the ideal mental preparation for this weekend’s match in a midweek scrimmage with the University of the West Indies Vice Chancellor’s XI in Antigua. Though the visitors’ batting did well to mount a serious target of 325 to the home team, the manner in which the university side approached the target, not to mention achieving it, would further deflate Terrence Duffin’s young and inexperienced side.The Zimbabweans, however, showed great fight in the first two ODIs, with Justice Chibhabha distinguishing himself as a batsman with some promise, Edward Rainsford, the medium-fast bowler, bowling with control, and Prosper Utseya offering plenty of guile with his off-spin.They would need for the others around them – particularly Duffin, Piet Rinke, fellow opener, Brendon Taylor, the wicketkeeper-batsman, and Blessing Mahwire, the fast bowler – to show similar or greater levels of effectiveness if the visitors are to burst Lara’s bubble. Squads: West Indies (from): Brian Lara (capt), Tino Best, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Dave Mohammed, Runako Morton, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor. Zimbabwe (from): Terrence Duffin (capt), Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura, Charles Coventry, Keith Dabengwa, Ryan Higgins, Anthony Ireland, Blessing Mahwire, Keegan Meth, Tawanda Mupariwa, Edward Rainsford, Piet Rinke, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Gregory Strydom, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya. Umpires: Billy Doctrove, Billy Bowden