In Stats: West Indies’ Newbies, Ashwin’s Lack of Form in ODIs

The Quint’s statistician Arun Gopalakrishnan previews the third ODI between India and West Indies through numbers.

India and West Indies will be back in action again – after a four-day break – when the teams take the field at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua. It is not a venue the West Indies have fond memories of; they don’t have a great record at the venue and have lost the last four ODIs they’ve played there.

Questions have been asked previously if this series should be played in the first place; India are ranked third in the ICC ODI rankings, while West Indies are ranked a distant ninth in the twelve-team rankings.

The difference between the two teams was there for all to see, particularly in the second ODI.

India scored 310-5 – in a 43-over contest, and then went on to win by a mammoth margin of 105 runs. To win by such a huge margin, in a shortened game exposes the inadequacies in the West Indies line-up.

The essence of sport is ‘play to win’. What West Indies did in the second ODI – when their intent was to bat out the 43 overs, rather than attempt to chase down the target – was an insult to the fundamentals of sport.

West Indies Need to Be More Positive

There is plenty at stake – mainly for the West Indies. This series presents the West Indies players an opportunity to be tested by one of the top teams in the world, and take confidence from their performances. For that to happen, the players need to be more positive.

West Indies’ coaching staff need to drill into the players’ minds that the only way they can become better cricketers is if they can score big runs, or impact runs, or take bagful of wickets against quality oppositions.

The West Indies selectors have made two changes to the 13-man squad they had named for the first two matches; they have drafted in two uncapped players – Kyle Hope and Sunil Ambris – at the expense of Jonathan Carter and Kieran Powell.

Explaining the selections, the chairman of selectors Courtney Browne, said, “Sunil Ambris and Kyle Hope are two very promising young batsmen who have been selected on the basis of strong performances in our competitions.”

It tells a lot about the depth – rather lack of it – in West Indies cricket that they have had to call up 28-year old Kyle, who averages just under 32 with the bat.

The West Indies selectors see a lot of promise in Ambris on the other hand. The 24-year-old middle-order batsman averages 51.71 in limited overs cricket (average boosted by 5 not outs in 19 innings), though he has scored 8 half-centuries in 19 innings.

With the inclusion of these two uncapped players, the 13-member West Indies squad now has three players yet to play their first ODI, and the combined experience in the squad stands at 168 ODIs. That Jason Holder is the team’s highest run-getter in the West Indies squad illustrates how poor this side is.

New Challenges For Team India

This series provides Virat Kohli and company a new set of challenges. In the first two matches, the Indian players gave an insight on how the camp is approaching this series; not treating the opposition lightly, the players want to use the opportunity to iron out chinks in their armory and add runs or wickets to their respective kitties.

These matches also give the Indian players a chance to add something new to their repertoire, or gain control over a new stroke or a variation.

It also provides the captain and the team management an opportunity to try out a few combinations keeping an eye on the future. The selection committee definitely missed a trick by not sending a second-string team to play this series – for that would have given them an insight into how some of the younger players cope with the demands of international cricket.

There are areas calling for attention; several experts have raised questions about the form and/or fitness of Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni. There is no doubting the ability of both players – but there will come a time shortly when the Indian team management, along with the selectors, will be forced to take a call on whether they can accommodate both players in the eleven.

Averages and strike-rates should not be the parameter used to judge Yuvraj and Dhoni; one should only judge them on the basis of how often they are able to finish off matches for India and how often they fail to complete the job.

Ashwin & Jadeja’s Form in Question

The other question begging the Indian management’s attention is the form of the two spinners – Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Both spinners have won matches for India in the longer version, and there is no doubting their ability. However, one needs to understand that the canvas of limited overs is different; the white ball presents an entirely new challenge, the pitches are often flat and the field restrictions don’t help the bowler’s cause.

Ashwin, in particular, needs to make an honest assessment if he can cope with the demands of the white ball, particularly in the 50-over format. At the moment, it appears Ashwin is low on confidence, is desperate for success, has been influenced by the criticism from various corners, and as a result is stiff in the body and trying out all the variations in his armoury.

The need of the hour for Ashwin is to wind the clock back and revisit how he emerged from the form slump in the five-day format. He needs to believe in himself, start trusting his off-spin a lot more, and use his variations sparingly, and he will reap rewards for sure.

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