I don't know if Ninjaman thinks he's going to take cricketing duds and with the right training and exposure turn them into Australian winners - you must start with very good talent and work from there.

The WI have always had to contend with superior coaching and facilities when playing teams like England and Australia - this is nothing new. Obviously methods will be developed and improved over the years, but in spite of the superior training men like Peter May and Colin Cowdrey received, we were still able to give them a drubbing on a regular basis with our comparatively uncoached, raw players. Desmond Haynes once said to me that his West Indian team would beat the current Aussie team easily. I thought he was being overly optimistic - I personally feel that Lloyd's side would have had a hell of a time beating Ponting's side.

So one cannot entirely blame superior cricketing technology for being almost entirely responsible for the West Indian demise - a close look at the present team reveals serious drawbacks in basic techniques and attitudes which have always been part of the game, science or no science - yet it is true that this disparity with training and facilities is taking its toll on WI cricket. This may be particularly true in revealing and honing new talent in departments of the game far removed from the test environment.

Batsmen like Sarwan and Ganga, when compared to Chanderpaul or Ganguly, for example, reveal startling deficiencies in temperament and mental stamina. The inevitable result of these shortcomings are innings terminated by improper shot selection and general lack of that finely tuned technique absolutely necessary for a successful test batsman. These chaps are great for first class cricket, but lack the ability to build innings on a regular basis against test quality bowling.

I reserve the right to ridicule any player's ability or right to inclusion in a side - these are not personal insults, but directed at a player's cricket and not his dignity as a human being.