By Clinton Swanston

West Indies will go into the fifth and final test match against England knowing that they cannot lose the series and stand a very good chance of winning against a top ranking team.

Chris Gayle and his men have proven that where there is life there is hope. The team that has so many times in the past decade shown little or no backbone when it really mattered has played remarkably well in each of the three matches thus far. They continue to show consistent grit, determination and stamina that have them leading 1-0 with only the Trinidad test match that starts March 6 (today), remaining.

The positives for our team in this series outweigh the negatives, including the abandoned second test at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium in Antigua. Routing England for 51 in the second innings of the first test match in Jamaica was the ideal start for Chris Gayle and his men. Holding on in Antigua to draw the third test was phenomenal and chasing down 600 for 6 declared in Barbados, then going on to amass 749 for 9 declared proved that there was no accident in the two previous encounters.

Yet, the road ahead won’t be easy. Although Ramnaresh Sarwan has played exceptionally well so far, there seems to be a few weak links within. Ryan Hinds, Devon Smith and Daren Powell appear replaceable and the selectors must be thinking of trying someone else for one or more of these players.

The most talked about is Daren Powell and although I like him in the team, the fact that Lionel Baker continues to be consistent, economical and is in the present squad, one hopes that he’ll get his opportunity sooner rather than later.

Devon Smith has stabilized his position by getting 55 in the first innings in the Barbados test and for holding on to some pretty decent catches in the slips. He should have a much longer run in the team despite the fact that Lindell Simmons scored a double hundred against the tourists in the first warm-up match in St. Kitts and is lurking around.

Ryan Hinds who has been doing well at the regional level has been rewarded with being in the final eleven but seems unable to handle the promotion effectively. Will the selectors think about replacing him with a similar all-rounder? And if so, who will that be?

All in all the team seems to have changed direction and is now focusing on playing the game as it should be played. Although Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul have not been consistently carrying the brunt of the batting in this series, good runs are being scored and other batsmen have been occupying the crease for long periods. Special mention of Brendan Nash must also be made for his important contributions. Denesh Ramdim too seems to be getting his act together with a very good 166 in Barbados.

We now look forward to the final test for winning our first series against a top ranking team for a very long time. The 20/20 and 5 ODIs follow and with great optimism, cricket fans hope it will be a journey back to our glory days. The road will be long but West Indies do possess the talents to give hope and aspirations. How they cope with the pressures will be known in due course.

West Indies Captain Chris Gayle is a happy man these days