West Indies vs Pakistan - The Series That Wasn't

It was almost as if it never happened. The Pakistani's quietly took away a 3-2 victory over the West Indies, and with a minimum of fuss and exposure, we will move on to the test series soon. Blink and you'd have missed it, particularly since cricket headlines have been surrounded with "Gayle Smashes Unbelievable Ton!" and the like.

But lets wonder for a minute, what if both the West Indies and Pakistan had picked the absolute best teams available to them? What if the cricket world was free of injuries, the IPL, spot fixing, and dodgy selections?

And the odd spontaneous trip to London. © Associated Press

The Real Pakistan

1. Salman Butt (c)

2. Mohammad Hafeez

3. Ahmed Shahzad

4. Mohammad Yousuf

5. Misbah Ul-Haq

6. Shahid Afridi

7. Abdul Razzaq

8. Zulqarnain Haider (w)

9. Mohammad Aamir

10. Umar Gul

11. Mohammad Asif

Unlucky: Saeed Ajmal, very good backup at least.

Unwanted: The trigger happy Akmals and Younis Khan, who looks more and more weary all the time.

Look at that bowling line-up, easily the best in the world in fact if they fielded that squad. Afridi is a little over animated (if there is such a thing) as captain, and would prefer Butt to take the reins.

The Real West Indies


1. Chris Gayle (c)

2. Adrian Barath

3. Darren Bravo

4. Ramnaresh Sarwan

5. Shiv Chanderpaul

6. Kieron Pollard

7. Dwayne Bravo

8. Devon Thomas (w)

9. Kemar Roach

10. Jerome Taylor

11. Devendra Bishoo


Unlucky: Darren Sammy. I like the guy, but he just doesn't quite contribute enough, more like a poor man's Vettori at this stage. Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul and Andre Russell wait in the wings as adequate backup. I like Dwayne Smith, he could slot in as a backup Pollard, who I don't like but admit has talent.


Unwanted: Suliemann Benn, full marks for attitude, but not much for impact. 

No extra points for tossing players around either. © Getty

Who would win that series? It doesn't matter! Look at those line-ups, and even if Pakistan came away 3-2 just like it transpired, the matches would have been infinitely more interesting than what looked like a Pakistan A tour of West Indies A. We would have the dream bowling attack versus the most colorful and explosive batting line-up.

Of the teams listed, only four from either side were in the current teams. In a perfect world the players would be free of politics, greed and corruption, and we would be treated to cricket at its highest quality.


Too bad then that we don't live in a perfect world.

Meet The New West Indies

Otis Gibson wasn't kidding around when he said it was time to clean out the attic.

The latest news is that the three big names of West Indies cricket have got the chop in the upcoming series against Pakistan. Thats right, no Gayle, no Sarwan, no Chanderpaul. Interesting move, bold move. Ripping out the West Indian spine will do one of two things, either form a new backbone, or collapse into a mush.  Is it fair to blame these three for the woes of the 00's and the sorry world cup run?

No Gayle
Easily the most influential and dynamic player of the team for such a long time. He is the big name, the draw card, the one who captains talk up the toss. He had a poor world cup, but find me a West Indian batsman who didn't. Of the three, I find this the most bitter pill to swallow, the man looks lazy, but he most certainly isn't. It was him to told Suliemann Benn to get lost when he refused to listen to him remember?

No Sarwan
This I agree with. The man looked as scratchy as ever and is completely stuck in the mud. A real shame given that he was promised to succeed Lara as the next big thing, he might well have too if he steered clear of injuries and politics. But for now, he is a dead anchor in the team and there may be a chance we'll never see him again.

No Chanderpaul
This is sad but probably correct move. He has been a barnacle in the side, clutching on and fighting manfully against the waves of mediocrity around him. I for one was a big fan of the Gayle-Chanderpaul opening combination, but nobody else was it seems. Now it has become a bit of an identity crisis, is he a Gilchrist? a Mark Richardson? a Michael Bevan? He had shades of all, but at the moment he is neither, and with another world cup looking pretty unlikely, the walls are closing in on one of the real street fighters of the game.

The end of the road? © Associated Press

Adding to this....

No Pollard
The man has Mumbai Indians commitments folks. Get this quote: "It was mutually determined that Pollard would be best served by being allowed to hone his T20 skills in the Indian Premier League, which will bring future benefit to West Indies cricket..." . What a load of trash. Michael Holding once said he doesn't regard Pollard as a cricketer. I will correct him, he is not a West Indian cricketer. Sadly it won't be long before others follow his lead and play his selfish card, to send the West Indies into further decline.

The only thing being "honed" here is the Pollard bank balance.

Marlon Samuels!
On the positive side, after copping a ban for involvement with bookmakers, the man who once bashed Warne around and earned Steve Waugh's respect is back in the fame. If their upcoming opponents had to deal with corruption bans, it would be an empty plane flying into the Carribean.

It was Pakistan who embarrassed the West Indies in a ridiculous defeat in the quarter final. Who will prevail in what can be termed a revenge match? Depends if Pakistan turn up, and thats a whole different story altogether.