Batsman beware! Sabina Park promises pace, bounce and seam

Many arguments have been put forward to justify the reluctance of governing bodies all over the cricketing world to stage five-Test series on a regular basis, one being that they can be one-sided and lacking in interest by half-way through the series. I would be the first to admit that there is a great deal of truth to that sentiment on occasions, but this five-Test series between India and the West Indies has been well-scripted.

Surely, the fourth Test just completed in Antigua, was for the most part unentertaining, but that draw has left the series tied 1-1, with one Test to go. The pitch for the Antigua Test was the most docile prepared for a Test there for years. But that should not be the case here in Jamaica.

Having lived here all my life, played on the Sabina Park pitch both as a schoolboy and an international cricketer, I thought I knew what to expect when I turned up this morning to have a look at the Test strip. From my initial vantage point in the press box at the northern end of the ground, I looked out and saw the usual brown, grassless strip being rolled amongst the other pitches on the square that had a fair covering of grass. It was what I had come to expect and grown up to accept as the norm in the Caribbean, even in my hometown here in Jamaica, where it could not be unreasonable to assume, that the local boy, being a fast bowler, could have expected a bit of bias in his favour.

It wasn't until I was on my way out to the middle to have a closer look that I was made aware that the Test wasn't being played on the brown strip but on the one next to it that was heavily covered with grass. I hadn't even focused on that strip I had become so accustomed to, as my good friend Andy Roberts put it in Antigua, "the desert surrounded by the oasis", that I actually had to touch it to believe it. Indeed, that grassy strip was under preparation and the one I had seen the roller on, was the strip being prepared for the One Day Internationals, scheduled for a few days after the Test.

In all my years of playing and watching cricket here at Sabina Park, I have never, and I mean never, seen a pitch with as much grass as this one has. Not that pitches here at Sabina have never favoured bowlers, as it has had it's occasions where the really fast men have relished the pace and bounce on offer, but this time there will be pace, bounce and seam, so batsmen beware.

As is the custom, both teams got to practice before the Test. The West Indies had first use of the practice pitches in the morning and while there might have been a bit of speculation before the previous matches as to the compilation of the team, it's a foregone conclusion that Ramnarine, the only specialist spinner in the West Indies squad, will be resigned to the drinks trolley yet again.

It may be a different situation with India. It is obvious that in recent years the bowling attack has shifted from it's heavy spin bias to rely a lot more on the faster men but it's almost inconceivable to think of India going into a Test match without a specialist spinner. Harbhajan Singh has not lived up to the reputation earned against Australia in the recent home series when he was dubbed "The Turbanator", but with Kumble unavailable, he should be in the starting line-up come Saturday.

A more pressing matter for skipper Sourav Ganguly will be the toss of the coin. Four times out of four, he has called wrongly, he surely cannot afford to make it five of five, considering the state of the pitch. He said before the third Test, in Barbados, that the poor history of Indian teams on the Kensington Oval pitch would not be a factor in their approach to the game, but watching the performance of the batsmen on day one, gave you the impression that, mentally, they were not prepared for the battle.

Losing a wicket to the first ball of the Test probably did nothing for their mindset either. He himself seemed unaffected and was the lone resistor to the fast bowling quartet, and losing the toss here in Jamaica, being asked to again bat first, could find the situation being repeated. It could be argued that batting second would be just delaying the inevitable. But India have in Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, men capable of also exploiting the seemingly bowler-friendly pitch.

If they do bowl at the West Indies first and bowl them out cheaply, firstly, it should be a great morale booster for the entire team that should surely be transmitted into their batting. And, secondly, it should be a bit easier batting on the pitch later rather than earlier. Barring inclement weather, this is set up to be a fascinating finale.

Earlier Columns:
- India should employ a double-edged spin attack at Antigua
- Kumble should play in the rest of the Tests
- The toss will be vital
- India start favourites

- Gameplan

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