A team which pulled out of a major bilateral tour only four months ago, against India of all
opposition, continues to be the subject of murmurings of further discontent.
Their public pronouncements of unity and 'the team' are sounding increasingly hollow.
West Indies haven't realized that pace and bouncers do not bother modern batsmen. Indeed, these things assist good batsmen, especially with ODI fielding restrictions.
West Indies went in with 3 dedicated pacemen: Roach, Taylor and Holder.
Holder did okay to keep the runs down, but Roach and Taylor were never threatening. They bowled short, got no movement and their lines and lengths were just inept. These are supposedly the best fast bowlers in the Caribbean right now.
We are seriously hampered by no Sunil Peltnarine. A bowling unit of Peltnarine, Badree, and even guys like Deo and Perms will work well down under. It will slow the run-rate and produce fluke, stress-related wickets.
Nobody takes our fast and medium pace bowlers seriously, especially on the kinds of pitches we've seen so-far in the competition. Yes, as we move to bigger grounds the wickets will change and our bowlers will become a bit more effective, but you have to make it that far into the tournament first.
I would drop Dwayne Smith, let Ramdin or Holder open and play a spinner. I would also drop either Roach or Taylor and play a second spinner.
Holder looks like he is becoming West Indies' newest free-passenger.