We are missing Gayle: Sarwan

PORT OF SPAIN: West Indies are missing Chris Gayle and it's just that the board - even though it understands the importance of having the Jamaican in the squad - is yet to come to terms with the issue on hand.

It is clear now that should the hosts have any chance of giving India a tough fight in this series, Gayle will have to be back in the squad, if not as skipper then as a player alone for he - the West Indies cricketers feel - has it in him to provide the necessary inspiration.

"Yeah, we miss Gayle," admitted Ramnaresh Sarwan after Monday's loss to India at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain.

Sarwan feels that the West Indian players have been trying to help each other and looking to improve. However, the team certainly requires an individual right now - desperately rather - to stick around and show them the way.

"We have not started the way we would have liked, against India," says Sarwan, not going into the little details of how the team's batting misfired on Monday.

The wicket played very slow and it wasn't easy for batsmen to get runs out there in testing temperatures. But the manner in which the top and middle-order - with the exception of Sarwan and Marlon Samuels - lost their wickets to rash strokes, was appalling.

Horrendously mistimed pull shots, going for lofted drives when the need of the hour was to stay put and save wickets, absolute lack of patience and no plan in place to build an innings, all cost West Indies the game. That India chased the target with just four wickets to spare was the result of some good bowling by leg-spinners Anthony Martin and Devendra Bishoo.

"It was pretty tough early up, but once we got set, it became a bit easy to bat," says Sarwan, talking about very hot and humid conditions.

"Marlon and I got the start, but we did not quite carry on. I was looking to get a much bigger score for the team and set a bigger target," he says.

Sarwan, the most experienced of the lot, is still trying to find his feet out there in the middle and admits his batting hasn't been upto his expectations yet.

"I'm still not my fluent self, but I will go back to the nets tomorrow. I have a few things I have to work on and be ready for the match on Wednesday. From here on I will be looking to improve even more and do better for the team," he says.

West Indies have to come up with something far better than what they did on Monday, if they have to give this young Indian side any trouble. It is also the need of the hour in the Caribbean for these men to get a grasp of the depleting situation.

"There's no humiliation if you go down fighting to a better team," say former cricketers here. "But learn from the mistakes and try not to repeat them."

TOI

Tests in the Caribbean will be tough: Laxman

HYDERABAD: VVS Laxman has come a long way since his first visit to the Caribbean in 1997. From opening for the country then to becoming India's vice-captain a second time, he has been there and done that. Still, he finds the latest tour to the West Indies alluring.

"The 1997 series was a great learning experience for me. Opening the innings for the first time against Walsh, Ambrose, Bishop and Franklyn Rose was a great experience. I'm quite happy with my performance in the West Indies. In fact, West Indies is one of my favourite place because of its cricket culture, for the kind of people who come and watch the game. It's a great place to tour and I'm looking forward to one more visit," said Laxman on Tuesday after a stint at the Gymkhana nets. The Test specialists leave on June 12.

Laxman has played 16 Tests against the Calypso Kings - 13 away (903 runs) - and aggregates 1174 runs at an average of 52.36. The World No. 1 Test team will not have Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in its ranks. But Laxman hoped to repeat his 2002 show, when in five matches he totalled 474 runs at 79, and the team its 2006 performance when they won a Test series in the West Indies after 35 years.

"We will definitely miss the services of Sachin, Viru and Gautam. That said, even when they were there I always performed to the best of my ability. This time will be no different. Their replacements Murali Vijay, Abhinav Mukund and Virat Kohli are up and coming youngsters. If we play to our potential we'll definitely win. We won the Test series there last time and we hope to repeat the feat."

Not just the team, there is a change in support staff too, including new coach Duncan Fletcher. "We will miss Gary (Kirsten) without doubt and I'm sure Duncan Fletcher will continue what Gary has done because he has done well with the countries he was associated with. We are looking to continue the good work done by Gary and I'm sure the Indian team will prosper under the guidance of Duncan Fletcher," Laxman said.

The appointment couldn't have come at a better time as India head to England after the Windies tour. "Playing England in England will be definitely the toughest challenge because England have done very well the last few seasons. Personally, I've never got a hundred but a lot of 50s. It would be a dream Test match if I get a 100 at Lord's and we win the Test. That will be really special!"

India's first Test on their latest Caribbean sojourn begins in Jamaica on June 20 and Laxman reckons the series will not be easy.

"West Indies in West Indies is very tough competition. They have good match-winners, so it will be a good contest. How you meet the challenge is very important. I've always given a lot of importance to my performance overseas."

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We take great pride in being world champions: Rohit

PORT OF SPAIN: An old Trini, who says he doesn't quite remember his own age and adds that he must have been born at around the same time as Charlie Davis, his favourite cricketer, is usually found hanging around the main entrance to the Queen's Park Oval. He won't look at you, won't even say "hello". At best, he'll ask you for a cigarette, and then leave without thanking you.

On Monday, though, there was a surprise in store. He startled even the security guards and made his way to the Team India bus just as it was preparing to leave the venue. He walked up to the players and asked them a question any journalist would've been proud of: "You boys, how long you think you go on as world champions?" And then he rattled off, "It's a great responsibility. Are you proud enough to handle that?"

Most of the cricketers didn't even look at him. Those who did, smiled and were gone. Agitated, the old man walked back to his usual hangout outside the gate.

On the eve of the second one-dayer, which gives the team opportunity to stamp their class on the home team, one was left wondering if the players gave his question a thought as they drove away. Were they proud of the tag that Team India carries today, that of world beaters? Do they have an idea of the responsibility it entails?

"Being world champions is not a joke. It is a great responsibility for all of us and we're conscious of it. We take great pride in it but we have to move on and keep winning. We have to keep the focus," India's middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma had said minutes after his half-century helped the team win the first one-dayer.

Had the old man heard it, he would have perhaps belted out a couple more questions. There's no better example than the West Indies to illustrate what can happen to a champion side if they don't plan for the future. They dominated the game for 20 years but where are they now?

Sharma agreed that this could be the most important phase in his career and that of his young teammates.

Virat Kohli, a few years younger to Sharma and member of the World Cup winning squad, said, "It is for us now to shoulder that responsibility. The seniors guided us till here and we have to take this momentum forward."

Rohit cited Monday's example, when he walked in to bat with India struggling a little at 61/3. "It wasn't an easy track; it was very slow and turning a bit. You needed a lot of time to keep the innings going. Till the first 35 deliveries, I didn't score a single boundary," he says.

The youngsters want to make the most of the opportunity available and Sharma in particular, who missed the World Cup, is aware of what he lost out on.

"These guys are very motivated and each of them has his own reason," says Suresh Raina.

That will be music to the ears of those who want India to build on the World Cup winning platform. Unless India manages to continue their reign at the top for the next 10-odd years, the effort that went into becoming Number One will have been wasted.

TOI