The real Test begins on Friday

HOW GOOD IS the current West Indies team?

That's the question on the lips of many regional cricket supporters following the West Indies' comprehensive 4-1 victory over fifth-ranked India in the recent one-day series.

The general consensus, following the emphatic demolition of lowly Zimbabwe, was that India, with a formidable batting line-up including captain Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, would prove to be too strong for the West Indies who are ranked at eight in one-day international.

The West Indies, however, surprised the doubting Thomases and pulled off a thrilling series win.

Congratulations are in order for the entire team. Captain Brian Lara, batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan and coach Bennett King are worthy of special mention.

Lara appears to be taking a more mature approach to his job this time around. I must say that I am not one of those who were fully in support of his reappointment. In retrospect it is perhaps the right move with the World Cup coming up next year as he is the only real drawing card on the team just now.

The Trinidadian is the role model for many of the young batsmen in the current team and he is surely now making a serious attempt to mould the team into one which can give consistent performances in both Test and one-day internationals.

Sarwan who is expected to be named Lara's deputy before too long is also batting with much more maturity and he was rightly named man-of-the-series for his performances against India. The Guyanese middle-order batsman ended the series with an excellent average of 91.00 after scoring his highest one-day score of 115 not out in the third match in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Not much has been said of coach King in recent weeks but it is my view that it is his methods which are now bearing fruit. The change has come about because the players are now much fitter, batsmen are taking a more responsible approach to shot making and bowlers are following instructions and are, for the most part, keeping the ball on one side of the wicket. When the team performed badly the coach got much of the blame. He should therefore be applauded when the team does well.

The real test for the team will come when the five-day 'Tests' start in Antigua on Friday. The West Indies batsmen have tended to be rather impatient in recent years while the pacemen have lacked the stamina to bowl long spells without breaking down. Spearheads Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor have all been troubled by injuries in recent months. If King's methods are really working we should see more patient batting by the top order come Friday and long, decisive spells by the fast bowlers.

I would prefer to adopt a wait-and-see approach before saying that the West Indies have started to turn the corner. Turning the corner means consistency over a long period in both Tests and one-day internationals against the best teams. As captain Lara said earlier this week, players will also have to begin to perform well abroad in unfamiliar conditions

The current series gives the Caribbean team the ideal platform on which to begin this consistency.