'Revival' In the camp

Michael Findlay detected "a kind of fighting spirit that only be good for West Indies cricket" in the just-concluded Test series against South Africa.

"In all the Test matches, we were often in a precarious position and were able to recover and to compete with South Africa," the chairman of selectors said yesterday.

"In the last Test that we won, there were moments when it looked as if things were turning against the West Indies, but they stuck to their guns and came bouncing right back," he added. "I am seeing a revived spirit that says the players recognise that success is important and that winning is important."

Findlay identified inexperience as the factor that hindered the West Indies most against opponents rated second only to Australia in the international game at present.

Yet he took encouragement from the talented young players in the team.

"When you look at the core of the team, we have young batsmen with the potential to develop into outstanding international cricketers," he said. "A series against a such tough team as South Africa should them do them good, but a lot will depend on how we nuture and mould them from here on."

Five of the batsmen who played in the series - Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Leon Garrick - were under the age of 25 and had played fewer than 15 Tests.

"What we're beginning to see coming through is the kind of talent we've been looking for all the time, especially with the batting," he said.

But he acknowledged that the "worrying thing" is the fast bowling, especially not that Courtney Walsh had retired.

"Courtney has been a truly great bowler and a great influence in the team," Findlay said. "When you realise he took 25 wickets in the series and that was more than anyone, and you add his experience to that, you realise what we're losing."

"But it"s a chance for the others to lift their game," he added.

The chairman noted that most observers had tipped "a total whitewash" for South Africa given the 5-0 drubbing the West Indies received in Australia. Instead, even though South Africa took the Sir Viv Richards Trophy, it had been a hard-fought series.

In his opinion, South Africa won the second and fourth Tests - and almost the third because they had "greater depth in batting, consistently bowled a superior line and length and fielded superbly".

The West Indies paid for their mistakes.

"For too much of the time, too many of our batsmen lost their wickets to loose shots, mostly outside off-stump," he said. "Our bowling lacked consistency and our fielding was not up to international standards."

In winning the last Test, the West Indies finally put things together.

Whether there are positives effects from that result would hinge mainly on how the young players "come to grips with and demonstrate the high professionalism that is required at the international level of the game", Findlay added.

"It's very easy for young people to have distractions, so we have to be careful. The programmes planned by the board [West Indies Cricket Board], good support services in the individual territories, the coaching staff, family and friends, everyone has to play a role."

The proposed retainer contracts that would place players on the WICB's books on a full-time basis were, in his view, "essential".

"It's something the board has been addressing over the past year and it would certainly be beneficial when is finalised since it would help to get the young players to focus on the game all year round," Findlay said.