Former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop says that West Indies captain Darren Sammy is growing in his role and bowled a lot better than he expected during the three-Test series against India which ended on Saturday.Commenting on the 2-0 series loss, Bishop said Sammy would have to work on improving his batting but had demonstrated during the series that he is quite capable of holding his place on the team due to his bowling.
Sammy took nine wickets and was his team's leading bowler but made only 110 runs.Bishop noted that Sammy had brought about some calmness to the team and had injected some confidence."He bowls well, better than I expected and he is learning about captaincy. There is a calmness and confidence to the team and he is growing. His batting has not come along, so he will have to improve on that."
Bishop paid tribute to coach Otis Gibson and pointed out that a number of young players were clearly moving in the right direction."It was nice to see young talent emerging. Kirk Edwards, Bravo, Powell and Brathwaite although I think that one more senior player might have given the team better balance. The young players showed they are mentally tough. They have shown enough to suggest they have tools and there is work ethic that promises a lot. I like how Kirk Edwards builds his innings. He has a good head.
Darren Bravo, I am certain will go a long way in test and world cricket. He has the mindset and desire to be a success. There are a few technical things for Brathwaite to work on but he has a good head and is a great learner. They are sure to gain a lot from having the current group of people around them."
Bishop was impressed with the showing from the bowlers, particularly pacer Ravi Rampaul."Rampaul, Bishoo and Samuel showed a lot of promise and Rampaul was impressive. He showed great stamina and led the attack instead of Fidel (Edwards). He is almost a 'go to' man for Sammy. That says a lot for his growth. I think the coach should take a lot of credit for this."
Commenting on the absence of Chris Gayle, Bishop stated that he did not know the details on Gayle's relationship with the WICB but pointed out that even with Gayle on the team, it had lost."There is no doubt that his cricketing skills are important but cricket is more than skills. Fitting into the character of a team is also important."
He believes West Indies let things slip during the series by not being consistent. "They batted good in one innings and could not repeat in the next and when you lead a team by 100 runs, it should be difficult for them to get back. "They missed out at crucial moments and if you have to look back at the series, you would have to conclude that those moments caused them to lose the series."
