GEORGETOWN, Reuter: West Indies’ emphatic nine wicket defeat by Pakistan in the first test in Georgetown means their accord since November, 1986, reads three wins, four draws and four defeats.
With New Zealand, India and Pakistan, on two occasions, all registering wins over West Indies in the last 18 months albeit in drawn series — it is possible the era of Caribbean domination of the world cricket has ended.
Even team manager Jacky Hendriks admitted: “We had a heck of a long run of really great fast bowlers, but now we have a new crop.
“At the beginning of that era in the mid 1970s we had to wait a while before we really started to win, maybe now we have to go through a few hiccups like this one in Georgetown,
“Going into this test we had a young inexperienced attack which bowled well for periods, but not consistently ‘well enough. We lost direction, bowled a little too short or bowled down the leg side to often”
Referring to the extraordinary total of 54 no balls bowled by the West Indies in Pakistan’s first innings, Hendricks went on: “It was terribly disappointing and also a great surprise. Thought we had cured that problem.
It was a lot of wasted effort to have Javed Miandad caught off a no ball on 27 and then make a 100”.
Hendricks also felt the one day series between the two sides had not helped the West Indies: “We went into the game with very high hopes and with a lot of confidence. But we were not over confident or complacent despite our 5-0 one day wins.”
Article extracted from this publication >> April 15, 1988
