da imperador bet： A Lack of funds and foresight will leave the West Indiesunderprepared for their forthcoming series in Pakistan,wherever it is staged
da apostebet： Tony Cozier04-Jan-2002A Lack of funds and foresight will leave the West Indiesunderprepared for their forthcoming series in Pakistan,wherever it is staged.A late start to the Busta Cup tournament on January 25, theday the team is scheduled to leave, means the selectors haveto name the squad of 15 and judge form and fitness withoutany first-class cricket since the end of the series in SriLanka on December 21.The itinerary gives the West Indies only one three-day warmup match against a President’s XI, scheduled for January28-30, prior to the three back-to-back Tests and three One-Day internationals.It compounds the uncertainty over where the tour will takeplace following the stated position of the West IndiesCricket Board (WICB) that it be moved to a neutral venuebecause of uncertainty over the military action across theborders in Afghanistan to the west and India to the east.The usual week-long pre-tour camp has been planned forTrinidad prior to the team’s departure, but a moremeaningful alternative would have been two four-day trialmatches over the next two weekends after which the squadwould be chosen.In the event, such matches merited first-class status tofurther ensure their competitiveness. The seven omitted fromthe original 22 would have been stand-bys, a crucialconsideration in light of the several withdrawals fromrecent tours.Both WICB president Reverend Wes Hall and chairman ofselectors Mike Findlay have acknowledged that this scenariohad not been considered and, even if it had been, it wouldhave been too costly at a time when the WICB’s finances werestretched.Although most of those under consideration have beeninvolved in Busta trials for their individual territories,these lack the intensity necessary to properly guide theWest Indies selectors or to prepare the players for thechallenge of a series against strong opposition.The Pakistanis have not played Test cricket since last Junein England as a result of New Zealand’s cancellation oftheir series there in September in the aftermath of theterrorists attacks in the United States.They have been engaged in their domestic Quaid-e-Azam Trophyfirst-class tournament and will have two Tests against lowlyBangladesh in Bangladesh over the next two weeks to sharpenup for the West Indies.
