Tony Becca - FROM THE BOUNDARY THE West Indies ended their three-day match against Derbyshire on Saturday with a comfortable victory.
With wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs finding it difficult to score a run in the Test matches and deputy Carlton Baugh Jnr. hitting an undefeated century, and the bowlers having a hard time even containing England's batsmen and Fidel Edwards picking up five wickets in each innings, they should be in a good mood going into the third Test at Old Trafford.
Unfortunately for the West Indies, neither the victory nor the two individual performances may mean a thing.
In fact, remembering that Derbyshire are down at number nine in Division two of the County Championship and that they used the opportunity to expose some of their young players, including 16-year-old offspinner Chris Paget, that victory and those performances should not impress the selectors especially as Jacobs, after scoring 33 in the first innings to Baugh's five, used the opportunity to score 59 not out while the young man, 150 not out, was enjoying himself.
Although there are those who believe that a century is a century regardless of the opposition, Baugh, it should be remembered, has always looked good and has usually done well as a batsman at this level.
He also, however, has always looked out of place at the higher level, and despite Jacobs' poor run with the bat recently, chances are the West Indies will stick with the veteran and hope that he comes good.
PERFORMED WELL
For Edwards, however, it is a bit different even though his performance was against the same team.
Unlike the little wicket-keeper/batsman, the little fast bowler has performed reasonably well at the higher level, and was one of the bowlers expected to carry the fight to England's batsmen and he was in the team for the first Test.
Apart from picking up 10 wickets in the match, he bowled a good line and a good length, and although by playing him and leaving out one of Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore and Jermaine Lawson, it could well be six of one half-a-dozen of the other, he may well be recalled.
What is in Edward's favour is the hope that something can happen when he is bowling. With his ability to swing the ball, with his pace, he could hand the West Indies an early wicket or two if he pitches a few deliveries on the right spot.
Besides the improvement in their skills, what the West Indies need as they prepare for the Test match is a new attitude and the only thing the match against Derbyshire showed is that when it comes to commitment, to preparation and to application, nothing has changed.
BRAVE FIGHT
After losing the first Test by 210 runs with England smashing their bowlers all over Lord's and with Tino Best stumped half-way down the pitch with Shivnarine Chanderpaul fighting bravely at the other end, after losing the second Test by 256 runs with England smashing their bowlers all over Edgbaston, with seven wickets for 39 runs and then seven wickets for 50 runs, the West Indies, certainly their batsmen, were expected to use the match against Derbyshire to get ready for the third Test.
That, however, was not the case. At least, that did not appear to have been the case.
Although he may have needed a rest, Brian Lara, the captain did not play in the match. Although he, too, may have needed a rest, acting captain Ramnaresh Sarwan batted at number seven in both innings, and to top it all, the batsmen, certainly in the first innings when they lost six wickets in 11 overs in one spell on their way to falling for 223 in 40.1 overs, batted as if they were playing in a "curried goat" match in rural Jamaica.
It was as if the West Indies did not care, and the fact that they hit back to win the match by 315 runs after blasting out the opposition for 188 and 88 was little consolation.
The careless batting by Chris Gayle, Sylvester Joseph, Devon Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith was a pathetic display by an international team and more so by one totally outclassed so far in the Test series and which should be working overtime to improve.
It was three days wasted in Derbyshire, it did nothing but underline one of the big differences between this England team and this West Indies team, and it is this: where one is totally professional, the other, but for a few individuals, is totally amateur.
