Chanderpaul urges patience for West Indian batsmen

MELBOURNE (Australia)—Captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul has called on his West Indies team to curb their batting flamboyance ahead of the second cricket Test against Australia, starting in Hobart on Thursday.
Chanderpaul batted for four-and-a-half hours for 59 in Sunday’s drawn three-day tour match against Victoria and urged his batsmen to follow his lead and put their impetuous shots away.
The skipper is looking for more caution to avert the batting calamities the tourists endured during the 379-run first Brisbane Test drubbing.
Chanderpaul’s half-century, along with a good showing from all-rounder Dwayne Smith, were the few highlights for the hapless tourists over two matches in three days at the Junction Oval here. “We came off a one-day tournament (before this tour) and you have to get the balance right and put your head down and bat instead of playing all these shots that can get you out,” Chanderpaul said.
“They can get you runs also, but a Test match is five days, a long game, and you want to be showing some patience out there.
“We’ve played two games, one before the Test match and the Test match, and not much happened for me and some of the other guys, and this is one of those games where you want to spend time in the middle and it has done some good for us.”
Chanderpaul’s innings followed his failures of two and seven at the Gabba. Once Victoria bowled the tourists out for 302 to secure a 269-run innings lead, the tour match was declared a draw and a Twenty-20 clash was hastily arranged.
The Windies also came off second best in the short game, as Victoria passed their total of 172 with three balls to spare.
Chanderpaul said the tourists wanted to exploit the inexperience of Australia’s Test side, which could contain debutant Brad Hodge, Mike Hussey (one Test), Andrew Symonds (two) and Nathan Bracken (four).
“They have ... inexperienced guys who haven’t played much at international level,” he said.
“They’re looking to make their names for themselves and they (don’t) have as much experience as the other guys, and they’re probably a bit shaky at the beginning, so hopefully we can get it right early come next game and sort these things out early.”
But flying in the face of Chanderpaul’s comments was Hodge’s pulverising 177 off 178 balls in the tour match on Friday.
Smith took 3-50 and made 40 in the first-class match and blasted 81 not out from 40 balls in the Twenty-20 game to press his claims for selection in Hobart, most likely at the expense of paceman Jermaine Lawson who is struggling with soreness.
In heartening news for the tourists, left-hander Wavell Hinds batted in the short game after breaking a finger early in the tour.—Agencies