October 08 Tuesday 2002
Walsh feels wind of change

LONDON: As the 1970s became the 1980s, Courtney Walsh looked on in awe at a West Indian side that ruled the cricket world.

An aspiring fast bowler, Walsh lionised probably the greatest-ever battery of pacemen and wanted to be like them. "When you looked at the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Croft, it just made you want to be associated them," Walsh told BBC Sport Online. "Even if I didn't make the team, I just wanted to be around them. To actually play on the same team as them was a dream come true."

Walsh tormented batsmen in 132 Tests. Time would reveal Walsh to be more successful than any of his idols, taking 519 wickets in a long and wonderful Test career.

But times have changed, and Walsh, along with his pace partner of the '90s Curtly Ambrose, has swapped whites for the easy life. The last vestiges of bygone era, they left behind a West Indies side lacking a pace attack of true quality. The Jamaican admits he benefited greatly from the experience of his seniors, but the current crop must do it on their own if West Indies are to rise again.

A tour to India offers a stern examination to any bowler, and Carl Hooper's side is widely tipped to struggle against the hosts in the forthcoming three-Test series. But Walsh sees light at the end of the tunnel. "It will be a real test for the West Indies fast bowlers because for some it will be their first tour to India," he said. "If they stick to their guns you could see a star or two being born.

ÒPedro Collins came along in leaps and bounds in the last home series and I'm sure that with a bit of responsibility he could be a real leader. The two youngsters, Darren Powell and Jermaine Lawson, both have promise and I'm saying that not just because they're from Jamaica but because I know a little bit about them.

"Powell has the potential to be very explosive and I think long-term Lawson could prove to be a complete fast bowler."

Walsh captained the Windies to a 1-1 draw in India in 1994-95, taking five wickets in the third Test in Mohali to help force a stalemate. "It was a fun tour for me because it was my first tour away from home as captain and I just wanted to enjoy it.

"You're always going to be under pressure in India with the conditions and the cricket-loving fans they have over there."

But Walsh feels quicks do not have to be at a disadvantage on the dry, slow pitches they invariably face in India. "I had quite good tours to India and Pakistan, so I know if you put a lot in you can get a lot out. "A lot is made of the pitches in India but often the biggest thing for touring sides to overcome is the support; the fans are passionate and if you can silence them you can get to India."

The Windies have struggled since Walsh's retirement last year, winning just three of 14 Tests, but the decline had started before then. Just what went wrong, and why, has puzzled many of the game's thinkers.

Closer to the truth than most, Walsh has his ideas. "Every team goes through a cycle. You see Australia doing now what we were doing back then," Walsh argued. "But what went wrong with us is we didn't pay special attention to what we had at the time, and took it for granted that it would always be like that.

"When you're winning it is easy to rest on your laurels and sit back and enjoy it and that is what we did and we paid for it. Now we are rebuilding and trying to catch up all the ground that we lost."