'Light At The End Of The Tunnel'

Sachin Tendulkar halted and rolled back our advance in the third and finalTest at Kolkata, but V.V.S. Laxman too deserves a lot of credit for playing theperfect foil.

We had an improved performance at the majestic Eden Gardens but obviously awin would have been a win. Still, we were able to come back convincingly. Therewere marked gains in the batting and bowling areas and there is light at the endof the tunnel.

Tendulkar was very positive from the start. There was no conscious effort tohold himself back and be a touch negative. He might have been trying to reinhimself in lately, wanting to stay put at the crease for long hours to help theteam's and his own cause consistently.

I have watched him quite a few times this year and I must say he seemedconscious to play a few more shots in his first hundred. He was a bit morepositive. It was a good innings to watch and it was a major difference in thisgame.

For his good, Laxman played the perfect foil. He was calm and assured. Hegrinded out long hours and helped Tendulkar carve an innings which had the finalsay on this Test.

Despite India's fightback, I was very impressed with our two new fast bowlersJermaine Lawson and Darren Powell. They were hungry and willing and were keen tobowl for long periods. They gave a hundred per cent every time and it wasrefreshing. I have followed their progress in regional competition keenlybecause they have always looked special to me.

We decided to go for  an all-pace attack in this Test because historyshows our 8-10 wins or near-wins in India have come because of our fast bowlers.

On this tour we decided to include two specialist spinners, Gareth Breese andMahendra Nagamootoo, and hoped they would come of age. I am not overlooking thefact they could never bowl with the cushion of a 500-run total. Also a lot ofcatches were popped around. Still, they need to go back and work on their game.West Indies cricket needs to address this area where a top class spinner mustput his hand up and perform for team's good.

We ignored history and decided to include spinners in the early part of thetour because the wickets in the first two Tests looked a lot drier. We wanted aspinner around in the team. But in the end, the bulk of wickets were still takenby fast bowlers.

As for batting, Marlon Samuels was a big plus. There were no collapses, as intwo previous Tests, because Samuels played so well at number six. He adapted sowell in his first Test innings in alien Indian conditions. Along withShivnaraine Chanderpaul, who once again showed his immense value for the team,Samuels revived our innings.

I was in retirement in Australia when Samuels started out his Test careerDown Under. He then toured Sri Lanka and had a couple of games against SouthAfrica. He is good, laid back and relaxed. It was his first first-class hundredand I don't think he has ever managed it for Jamaica.

Chris Gayle too adapted himself perfectly to conditions. He is slowlylearning it is not always possible to thrash the bowling around. Sometimes youneed to adapt and play according to the conditions. He showed it here.

Samuels, Gayle and Wavell Hinds hold good for the future of West Indiescricket. As long as they continue to learn that a batsman has to be flexible inhis approach. A number of young players are coming through and it will beinteresting to see how they respond to the responsibility which will now surelycome their way.

PTI