Thin pace attack bothers Windies

With concern over the availability of opening batsman Philo Wallace for the games in Chatsworth and Pietermaritzburg this week, the tourists very average batting performances so far this tour has exposed a serious weakness in their make up.

More disturbing for the touring team's management, however, is an admission the Windies selectors have seriously misread the strength of the back up fast bowlers and may yet try and find a way to call on the services Vasbert Drakes to boost their thin pace resources.

This has emerged after Nixon McLean and Mervyn Dillon were found wanting on the green top prepared for the second test at St George's Park where the Windies were given a serious bruising by the defeat of 178 runs inside three days.

With Hansie Cronje, the South African captain, already commenting that the pitches at Kingsmead and Newlands are ``likely to give us results at both venues'' the Windies tour management could find themselves in serious trouble as Franklyn Rose has yet to impress in any of the matches where he has turned his arm over.

As it is there is an accusation that Dillon was preferred to Drakes because he came from Trinidad, the team for which Brian Lara leads and plays, while Drakes is a Bajan. According to insiders Drakes was told by the selectors ``on the advice of the captain (Lara)'' not considered for this tour.

As players earn no contract money for playing in their local first-class tournament, still without a sponsor after two years, Drakes accepted the Border contract. Whether the SuperSport Series log leaders are prepared top let him go is another matter. Lara indicated there were ``three reserves in South Africa'' when asked if any replacements were being considered. Drakes and Ottis Gibson (Griqualand West) are two, but just who the third player is could provide an interesting guessing game. Eldine Baptiest (Eastern Province) and Mark Lavine (North West) are the other two.

There has also been criticism of Lara's handling of the replacement issue for Jimmy Adams. It has been argued that all-rounder Keith Arthurton would have provided better cover than Floyd Reifer, whose contribution in the second test at St George's Park was negligible.

As for Wallace's fitness, the coach, Malcolm Marshall, said they would monitor the batsman's illness, said to be a stomach viral infection. He had blood tests yesterday morning and they were awaiting reports before deciding on the next move. But he will not be sent home to recover as the tall, cheerful opener from Barbados, was ``much better'' yesterday when the side was given the day off.

Marshall and team manager Clive Lloyd declined to discuss the possibility that Drakes would be seconded to the side for the third and fourth tests. This is despite Drakes being seen by some members of the touring party as the best support bowler for Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh.

Drakes at least bowls a channel and knows how to put the ball in the right area, which is more than McLean and Dillon could do at St George's Park.

Lara, however, reflecting on the defeat, said the West Indies ``had to play as a team from now on and the batsmen, and that includes me, have to go out there and learn how to ``bat for 150 overs in an innings''.

It was his view that the batsmen had to learn to put ``big totals on the board in the matches before the test matches and there is a serious need to make a much bigger effort to play as a team''.