‘Spinners need a chance', says Gibbs

Omari Banks: considered a bright prospect, he hasn't played a Test since July 2004 © Getty Images

Lance Gibbs, the former West Indies spinner, has asked the team management not to ignore the spinners in the region and to give them a chance.

"Chris Gayle was the leading wicket-taker against South Africa and here [in Barbados] against Pakistan," Gibbs was quoted as saying in The Nation. "He was also one of our best bowlers in the one-day matches. There are better spinners than Gayle, and they must be given the chance."

Gibbs, who was the first spinner to pass 300 wickets, pointed out that the spinners have dominated the domestic cricket in the Caribbean. "There is a little spinner from Jamaica named [Nikita] Miller and he has been doing well. If you look at the history of our [regional] cricket it has always been the spinners who have taken the most wickets, but they have not been given the chance. What the spinners need is a chance. They need to be played and trusted."

Bennett King, the West Indies coach, was quoted on digicelcricket.com website that there was dearth of quality spinners in the region, and they needed to use the domestic competition as a tool to work out their technique instead of doing so at the international level. "There are steps we need to create from regional cricket so that we can help initiate those spinners, then move them into international cricket."

However, Gibbs argued, "I certainly believe the spinners have merited selection. I don't care what the coaches say that they are bowling the wrong line and stuff like that. The line can improve and the bowlers can improve once they are handled properly.

"Don't use the bad line as an excuse. Yes, the lads might bowl a few bad balls, but you have to work with them, the fast bowlers bowl a few bad balls too. For example, Stuart MacGill bowls four and five bad balls an over, but he still plays for Australia. He has been given an opportunity. The nonsense about not being good enough and not playing spinners is absurd."

West Indies have selected several spinners in recent times including Omari Banks and Dave Mohammad, who have been dropped due to inconsistent form.

Advising the emerging spinners, Gibbs said, "If you are going to play against an individual you must know his strengths and his weakness. That's all you have to remember. Once you know strengths and weaknesses you know where to and not to bowl.

"You have got to be able to work it out. All the talk about analysts and other techniques will mean nothing if you can't remember strengths and weaknesses. If you can't remember what's important, you have no right out there. It's big boys' stuff."