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VVS Laxman: India start West Indies series 2016 as favourites

"I was delighted to see that Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja have been among wickets."

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VVS Laxman considers India as favorites in this four-Test series © AFP & Getty Images

Another tour of the West Indies is on, and it is the first time in the Caribbean for a majority in this side. Apart from the skipper, only three others have played Tests in the West Indies previously, but the squad has had more than 10 days to get adjusted to the conditions — the humidity, the bounce and the slowness of the pitches mainly — and it seems evident from their two warm-up matches that their preparations have gone along expected lines. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs West Indies 2016, 1st Test at Antigua

I was an admirer of West Indies cricket before I began to play the sport competitively, and therefore it was with a tremendous sense of anticipation and excitement that I embarked on my first tour there with the Indian team, in 1997. To me as it was to most cricket lovers, West Indian cricket was synonymous with big fast bowlers because Clive Lloyd had based his team’s success around a quality quartet of quickies, with several other equally gifted quick bowlers waiting in the wings.

My preparations heading into that  tour was centred around facing a diet of quality fast bowling on fast surfaces, so imagine my plight when at most places except in Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, we got slow pitches that made for extremely enervating cricket. Indeed, on all my tours to the Caribbean with the Indian Test team, apart from Kensington Oval and Sabina Park (in Kingston), the pitches tended to be slow and low and designed to take the drama away.

For a player like me who thrived on the ball coming on to the bat, lack of pace off the surface was a huge challenge. It meant I had to make technical as well as mindset adjustments. From a batting point of view, you had to play the ball late and work it into gaps; from the mind perspective, it was about settling down for the long haul, waiting for the loose ball, prepared to run a lot. It was a test of skill and character; it was also a test of stamina and endurance.

During my first two visits to the West Indies, in 1997 and then in 2002, I was fortunate to play against some of the true legends of my time. With the bat, there was obviously Brian Lara, as well as Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. On the bowling front, on my first tour, where for the first time I was opening the innings for India, I ran into Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. Despite the slow tracks, they were more than a handful and it was a wonderful experience for a young batsman like me to test myself against some of the best in the business.

However, post the 2002 series, on my two subsequent visits, the West Indies teams were not quite the same force. They did not have the aura of the earlier era, and in many ways, it saddens me to see that they are a long way short of the intimidating, imposing, irresistible force they once used to be.

Through it all, though, the Caribbean fan remained intensely passionate and deeply connected with the game. Even though the stadiums were not always packed, the noise they made, with liberal help from the various musical instruments they brought with them, had to be heard to be believed. The atmosphere used to buzz with electricity; there were always witty but never abusive comments from the knowledgeable fans, each of whom had an opinion and was not afraid to air that opinion publicly and loudly.

Nothing thrilled the fan in the Caribbean more than a bouncer — the paarfum (perfume) ball, as they say. They loved the sight of a fast bowler running in hard and smashing the ball into the surface. If the ball climbed at pace to pose discomfiture to the batsman, then even better. But they did not discriminate against their own batsmen being put the wringer either. They truly loved a good bouncer, of that I have never been in any doubt.

In that sense, I can empathise with a slight disillusionment among the loyal fans of West Indies cricket. From the fiery days of Roy Gilchrist, Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Colin Croft, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh to where West Indies are now as a Test match entity is a big comedown.

There are many reasons for the decline of West Indies cricket. One of the primary factors, of course, is the dramatic change in character of pitches across islands. The encouragement for quicker bowlers in terms of both pace and bounce having disappeared almost across the board, to aspire to be a fast bowler now does not come naturally to most. Fast bowling in the Caribbean has become a thankless, often fruitless proposition, which is why their fast bowling stocks are almost running empty now.

The other aspect, of course, is the domestic cricket structure. I had a first-hand taste of first-class cricket in the Caribbean in 2003 when I led an India A team there to participate in their First-Class competition.

I would rather have been in South Africa playing the World Cup, of course, but that was not my decision. I was disappointed at being overlooked for the World Cup, but when I did arrive in the West Indies and we began our campaign in the Red Stripe Cup, I was even more disappointed with the rudimentary practice facilities at most venues, and a general lack of passion and apathy from the administrators that made me appreciate everything offered by Indian cricket even more.

It is to the credit of the West Indian player that, despite very little financial reward and not top-class infrastructural support, he still has found a way to keep the fire burning. Things are beginning to look up with the inception of Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Not only can the young West Indian player now have a decent bank balance, he also has the priceless experience of playing against and with some of the legends of the modern game.

CPL has exposed the West Indian cricketer to hitherto unexplored possibilities. The title triumphs in Under-19 World Cup and in World T20 (both men’s and women’s) this year will have come as a further shot in the arm for West Indian cricket, but whether that will necessarily translate into gains in the Test match arena remains to be seen.

India go into this four-Test series as favourites, but I not sure if they will have things their own way. I say that not looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the two sides, but purely on the basis of the pitches, and how slow they are, thereby necessitating intelligence but also patience from both the batting and bowling units.

After the short camp in Bengaluru, the Indian lads have had a good run in the Caribbean, and am sure with a plethora of Tests lined up, they will want to kick-start a new era with Anil Kumble as the coach in a stirring fashion. For that, they will need to be patient and industrious.

It is important that the normally free-stroking batsmen rein their attacking instincts in on tracks where it is unlikely that the ball will cascade on to the bat. The new ball, the first 10 overs with it in particular, will be the crucial period from a batting perspective because that is when there will be some help for the bowlers.

Between then and the onset of the reverse-swing — which is almost a given because of the nature of the tracks — is the time to cash in, but that must be done through commonsense batting, not with aggressive strokeplay. The aggression must be in the mind, which will then translate into strike-rotation, and running hard. The last time we were there in 2011, the outfields were particularly slow and there was not too much value for shots. If that trend continues, it will necessitate plenty of sharp running, and that is where the enhanced fitness levels of the Indian players will come in extremely handy.

As evidenced by the practice games, spin will have a big role to play, and I was delighted to see that Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja have been among wickets. If the pitch at the Viv Richards Stadium remains brown and dry as initial reports indicate, I would be tempted to play all three spinners, especially because all of them are more than handy with the bat.

The last time out in the Caribbean, Ishant Sharma bowled beautifully and was the man of the series, and it is nice to see that both he and Mohammed Shami have struck good rhythm. Both are not just good with the new ball, they are also excellent exponents of reverse-swing which, alongside spin, will likely be decisive factors.

India wear a nice, balanced, well-rounded look about them, and will be energised by the prospect of a second overseas series win in as many attempts, after their come-from-behind 2-1 triumph in Sri Lanka last August-September.

West Indies have plenty to play for, not least to win back the trust, confidence and affection of their followers. They will be aware that limited-overs success does not guarantee similar results in the longer format, and while they do have a fairly competent batting line-up headlined by Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels, I am not sure if their bowling attack will give the Indians sleepless nights. If they do not find wickets coming in a clutch, I am pretty certain they will pack one side of the wicket and bowl outside off, but they tend to lapse in their discipline from time to time.

Devendra Bishoo arrived with plenty of promise but he has not exactly lived up to expectations. He is a pretty good option to have as a wrist-spinner, but he has a tendency to bowl at least one bad delivery per over. Indian batsmen need not always go looking to manufacture strokes. They just need to be patient and aware, and having played and succeeded in different parts of the world in the last two-and-a-half years, I am sure they will adapt rapidly to the challenges the Caribbean wickets will throw up.

(VVS Laxman, CricketCountry’s Chief Cricket Mentor, remains one of the finest and most elegant batsmen in history. He was part of the iconic Indian middle-order for over a decade and a half and played 134 Tests and 86 ODIs. He tweets at @vvslaxman281)

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