IN THE EARLY STAGES of the World Cup, the contentious omission of Dwayne Bravo and Keiron Pollard is better left alone for now, except for one aspect.
It is impossible, of course, to say whether Bravo and Pollard would have made any difference, either with bat or ball, in the West Indies’ heavy defeat by Ireland in Monday’s opening match. They were back in Port-of-Spain representing their club, Queen’s Park, not even depleted Trinidad and Tobago against Barbados at Kensington Oval.
What is certain is that their usual athleticism, enthusiasm and physical fitness would have significantly improved the fielding. Compared to the Irish, what we saw on our television screens was, without putting too fine a point on it, embarrassingly inferior.
Chris Gayle, specialist in the slips, has never been a Usain Bolt in pursuit away from the bat. Marlon Samuels is too cool to break into much more than a gallop. Dwayne Smith is no longer the dynamic patroller with a rocket arm in the deep.
Andre Russell and Lendl Simmons are sharp boundary riders, Darren Sammy a sure-handed close catcher. When Jonathan Carter is at point or in the outer limits, he lifts standards.
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