Chairman of the panel, Clyde Butts, yesterday named seven players who will be unavailable for the February 4-23 tour and whose absence appreciably diminishes the team’s strength.
At least, Butts could report that Captain Chris Gayle assured him by telephone on Tuesday that he will be ready. He has missed the last two matches in Australia’s Twenty20 “Big Bash” tournament for Western Australia with a side strain but his omission has been described as “precautionary”.
Top of the injury list are the two most vital middle order batsmen, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, a veteran of 252 ODIs, and Ramnaresh Sarwan, 152 ODIs, both with averages of over 40.
Exciting young Trinidadian batsmen, opener Adrian Barath, 19, and left-hander Darren Bravo, 20, left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn and fast bowlers Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards are others.
Chanderpaul damaged ligaments in his right hand fielding in the second Test in Adelaide last month in the preceding series and has not been able to play since. Butts said his doctor reported that he needed another two to three weeks to fully recover.
A back strain caused Sarwan to withdraw from Guyana’s team for the current regional first-class tournament last week. The time frame for his recovery also eliminates him from a return to Australia.
Barath, who became the first West Indian teenager to score a hundred on Test debut against Australia in Brisbane in November, pulled his right hamstring in the second Test in Adelaide.
His recuperation has been slow and he is not expected to be able to play again for another two to three weeks.
Bravo, younger brother of all-rounder Dwayne, made his international debut in four ODIs against India last year. He is battling to overcome a shoulder strain that put him out of the Trinidad and Tobago team for the start of the current season.
Benn had surgery on his right knee 10 days ago. Edwards has not played since what is reported as a slipped disc in his back kept him out of the Test series in Australia and neither has Taylor since breaking down with back problems after nine overs in the Brisbane Test in November.
“Even individually these injuries would be a serious setback for us,” Butts said. “Together, they effectively mean we have to look for half a new team.”
In the circumstances, he and his fellow selectors, Raphick Jumadeen and Robert Haynes, are likely to seek experienced substitutes.
Travis Dowlin and Narsingh Deonarine capably filled the breach in the Tests in Australia when Sarwan missed the first Test with the same back ailment that has now recurred and Chanderpaul was out of the final Test.
With no young batsmen making a credible case for promotion and other has-beens faltering, the loss, once more, of Sarwan and Chanderpaul, thrusts Runako Morton, 31, and Wavell Hinds, 33, back into consideration.
An unflattering record (average 22 in 15 matches) cost Morton his Test place in 2008. His ODI numbers are better (average 35 in 54 matches) and, opening with captain Chris Gayle, he was the leading scorer in the ODI home series against India last year with 161 runs at an average of 80.5.
His 89 for the Leewards against Barbados in the first match of the new season would have been noted by the selectors.
The left-handed Hinds last played for the West Indies in 2006, in his 114th ODI against Australia. His international career seemed over as he joined the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL) and Derbyshire in the English county championship but he has continued playing for Jamaica.
Like Morton, he presented his case with 95 against the Windwards last week.
Another middle order option is Brendan Nash. A stalwart at No.6 since coming into the Test team just over a year ago, his method may be unsuited to the shorter format. But his knowledge of conditions in Australia, where he played all his early cricket, is an advantage.
Butts and company also need to be wary of placing too much strain on Kemar Roach as their one injury-free, genuinely fast strike bowler.
He is 21, at the start of what should be a lengthy career and has to be handled with care. He needs the support of a bowler of similar pace and the lively Grenadian, Nelon Pascal, is the only one available who fits the bill.
Possible 14: Chris Gayle (captain), Runako Morton, Travis Dowlin, Narsingh Deonarine, Lendl Simmons, Wavell Hinds or Brendan Nash, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Denesh Ramdin, Nikita Miller, Ravi Rampaul, Gavin Tonge, Kemar Roach, Nelon Pascal.
