The 5th ODI started with a spectacular 73 by Kieron Powell. The man dominated every ball, looked stylish as hell, used his feet, juggled singles and boundries effortlessly and had a mask of intensity on his face. Unfortunately, as has become a cliche, Powell threw it all away with a totally needless sweep shot when he reached into the 70s. The video replays show that he was not out, but still, there was no need for that shot. Why does Powell, like Lendl Simmons, throw away his wicket in the 60s/70s? And why does he often do it with a sweep?
Still, Powell laid a foundation which allowed Edwards to take his time and play himself in. Which, of course, Edwards did.
Meanwhile, unlike Powell, Johnson Charles looked a mess. Charles is constantly mistiming off and cover drives, looks clumsy, dabs and misses everything outside his stump, looks uncomfortable, has no footwork and is only confident when lofting big on-side sixes. Did his two previous low scores affect his play? Was he trying to play slow and careful? Did this tactic backfire? At least he wasnt bowled or LBWed; Charles was out with a run out.
The question remains, though: are Charles and Powell good enough to be our ODI openers? Is Powell good enough to be our Test opener? Who else do we have on the horizon? Do we stick with them?
Everyone I was watching the game with critizied Kirk Edwards' first 90 minutes of batting. Kirk's was poking balls for singles, looked slow, unsure, and seemed only to be able to convert flicks off the hip into occasional boundries. With respect to his mother, the man looked ugly.
But then, when he reached 44 or so, Kirk asked for a heavier bat. Suddenly a new man emerged. He brought up his 50 with a purposeful, calculated six. Suddenly you become away that he wasn't "batting slowly" and "uncomfortably"; he was pacing his innings and knew exactly what he was doing. Kirk was exhibiting the kind of match control you associate with a Virat Kohli, a man who has mastered the art of making/pacing ODI centuries. Kirk's next 50 came at more than a run a ball, and included some truly aggressive, fabulous boundries. It's the best ODI WI knock of the year.
Then came Dwayne "laterz Sammy" Bravo. Bravo's last 3 ODI innings have been excellent. In this game, he accelerated from the get-go, battering balls and taking advantage of the power play. Bravo hit 3 sixes and 12 fours in his century (Kirk hit 4 sixes, 12 fours), but more importantly, worked the ball around the field and picked up many singles. I have been watching Bravo for years; I have never seen him find gaps before. The man literally usually useless.
Narine didn't bother the NZ batsmen at all this game. Perhaps they have been watching replays of his bowling all week.
What did trouble them was Nikita Miller. Who is Miller? The man is 31 years old and he now making the team? Where he come from? Miller picked up 4 wickets, 3 of them big big batsmen. He looked dominating.....but is 31 too old for a bowler to be on the team? We cant affort to keep mix and matching bowlers. Either stick with Miller alongside some young fast bowlers, or drop him. Stop building and destroying bowling units. We need consistency and stability.
Holder took out 2 top order batsmen again, but was a bit expensive (seven runs conceded an over).
Bravo, who I hate as a bowler, picked up NZ's opener and only conceded 2 runs an over, which is impressive. He had the team's best economy rate.
Andre Russell bowled 4 overs, picked up 2 wickets and went for seven an over. Jury is still out on whether or not he can bowl. I have never warmed to Russell and Bravo's bowling. I suspect they are crap and only pick up wickets because crap confuses good batsmen.
Regardless, this ODI game has been the first game in which WI dominated a side in almost a year. It feels good.
Marlon Samuels has no place on this team. Gayle, Darren Bravo and Pollard might be able to squeeze in, but for who? Answer me that. Ramdin and Rampaul might have to be dropped from the ODI squad.
This is our ODI pool:
Powell - we still dont know if he can bat
Gayle - might be washed up
Kirk Edwards - we still dont know if he can bat
Darren Bravo - seems to be able to bat
Dwayne Bravo - seems to be in form
J. Charles - we still dont know if he can bat
Lendl Simmons - in form
Andre Russell - in form
Pollard - gives you ducks or sixes
Narine - good bowler
Miller - we dont know if he can bowl
Holder - seems our future
Roach - our best bowler
Rampaul - might be too fat for physical activities
Santokie - we still dont know if he can handle international cricket
Badree - seems reliable
Some other fast bowler - hope to find him
Notice that we are still clueless as to the potentials and current capabilities of most of these guys.
