da winzada777： The decision not to immediately name a replacement for theinjured Wavell Hinds in the West Indies’ touring team to SriLanka is a calculated gamble
da stake casino： Tony Cozier01-Nov-2001The decision not to immediately name a replacement for theinjured Wavell Hinds in the West Indies’ touring team to SriLanka is a calculated gamble.The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has said the selectorswould only determine whether Hinds goes or not afterreceiving a medical report following surgery on his brokennose, to be performed tomorrow.The damage was caused when the left-hander topedged a ballfrom former Test fast bowler and current selector, JoelGarner, into his face during the annual Melbourne ClubFestival match in Kingston last Sunday. Dr Askhai Mansingh,the specialist in charge of the openers, has reported Hindswill be able to travel to Colombo to join the team onMonday.It means he would not arrive until next Wednesday,eliminating him from the first tour match, over three daysagainst Sri Lanka A in Colombo that starts on Saturday. Hewould then have only one day in Sri Lanka to prepare for thesecond match, also against the A team over three days in thesouthern town of Matara. After that, the three Tests followback-to-back.Since there is no way of precisely knowing what the effectsof the injury are until Hinds gets into the middle again, itreduces the middle-order options for the Test team.Roland Holder was in a similar situation on the 1994 tour ofIndia. He sliced his mouth badly shaving a few days beforedeparture but was carried all the same. He could not playuntil a month into the tour, limiting him to one first-classmatch and virtually putting him out of contention for thethree Tests.It is understandable that the selectors should keep faithwith Hinds, who was drafted into the original squad of 16for Brian Lara but eventually came in after ShivnarineChanderpaul was eliminated with back pain. He is a talentedplayer with 18 Tests but has had lean times after anencouraging start to his career.Chairman Mike Findlay said yesterday replacements for thetour had been chosen but he declined to name them. He wouldhave done well to identify credible middle-order battingalternatives.The only ones left behind with Test experience are, in orderof seniority, Sherwin Campbell, Stuart Williams, JuniorMurray, Floyd Reifer, Dave Joseph, Lincoln Roberts andRicardo Powell.Two stronger candidates would be the unrelated Hinds, Ryan,the 20-year-old left-handed Barbados all-rounder, and TravisDowlin, the 24-year-old right-handed Guyanese.In spite of his age, Hinds has been long since groomed forupward movement through West Indies Under-15, Under-19 and Ateams. He is one of the future and, on the evidence of therecent Red Stripe Bowl, should at least come into thereckoning later in the tour for the triangular One-Dayseries also involving Zimbabwe.Over the past two seasons, in which he has averaged over 40an innings, Dowlin has looked a competent, well-organisedbatsman with an excellent temperament.The cupboard is not entirely bare but its contents aredemonstrably scant at the moment.
