West Indies Should Persist With Youth

In light of West Indies crashing to a chastening nine-wicket defeat inside three days in the opening Test against Australia, veteran sport writer and commentator Tony Cozier has called on former West Indies cricket captain now selector Clive Lloyd to persist with the young lads under his charge.

He writes thus:

Clive Lloyd’s brave new world of youth, alternatively the post-Chanderpaul era, is off to a rocky start.

Realising from his previous six Test matches that Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the most experienced, most dependable and, significantly, oldest of modern-day batsmen, had come to the end of his remarkable 21-year career, West Indies’ chief selector Lloyd, with head coach Phil Simmons by his side, set out the plan for the future leading into the two Tests against Australia.

“Our aim is to continue to play our young players to give them exposure, and you can’t get better exposure than playing against one of the best teams in the world,” he said. “They will be tested and that is what it’s all about.”

As Australia completed their victory in Dominica by nine wickets before the end of the third day on Friday, Lloyd could identify his newest selection, the 23-year-old debutant Shane Dowrich, as an example of his expectations. Dowrich’s level-headed defiance for 70, stretched over four hours as West Indies battled to remain in contention, was a model to others, already seasoned in the demands of Test cricket, who didn’t measure up.