 Yeah, let's talk cricket, not the cricket. West Indies failed to close out their five-match T20 international series against England at the second time of trying as the Caribbean side suffered a 75-run defeat in the fourth encounter at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Taruba, Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday. After winning the toss and electing to field, West Indies conceded the second highest total by a full member nation in T20 internationals 267 before they were dismissed for 192 and 15.3 overs and skipper Robyn Powell knows exactly where his team went wrong. Intensity at which restart was very low and in a T20 game when you start with such low intensity is very difficult to find a rhythm and I think that cost us that cost us nearly 260 and a very, very big total. Yes, all that means Powell and his men find themselves in a must win situation for the fifth and final game which he sees as an opportunity. Bullets have to come to the party and it's been disappointing for the last few games of all we have executed as bowling group and also to provide an opportunity for us to get that right. All right, joining us via Zoom to put Tuesday's loss into context and where West Indies is chances in the decider is cricket analyst Fazir Mohammed Faiz. It's a pleasure to have you as usual. It seemed done and dusted after the first two games in fact very deep into the third game it seemed done and dusted. It isn't we're at all and Robyn Powell has pointed at the bowling. What say Fazir Mohammed? Good to be on the show once again gentlemen but I'm not particularly bothered by how things are going because remember this is all building up towards a world T20 tournament that is really paramount. I'd actually predicted that the West Indies would win this series 3-2 but if it doesn't find out that way tomorrow, if England win 3-2, if they rack up another huge score, what is more important is whether or not we are seeing the improvements that are required that could concern about the lack of intensity whether or not the West Indies was similarly lacking in intensity and defending a decent total as well in the match in Grenada on Saturday and let's again put it in perspective. Before that match started on Saturday afternoon, it seemed all sweet and light for the West Indies winning the one day series 2-1, 2-0 up in the T20 series but this is what the T20 game is all about. Even that match a couple of days ago well yesterday had to be more precise with Andre Russell at the crease. Even with the last man there given the run rate the West Indies have at the time you couldn't rule out some sort of miraculous chase because again this is what the T20 game gives you but credit to England they've fought back they've fought back extremely well but of course we'll hear that talk about momentum and who's got the form going with them. I don't think any of that really matters too much because each T20 encounter seems to be an event on its own. Yeah first let me start here a couple of things I want to talk about but yes Robin Paul pointed to to the bowling and I know sometimes we get emotional and even one-dimensional in how we assess these things but what would the English say about their bowling as well because the West Indies batsmen have been slamming the English bowling all over the place so has the England bowling been banned as well? And that is precisely the point. Adel Rashid has been their star performer and I think he's now up to number one in the T20 international rankings but because again he is very much a class apart. They've got Ray Ann Ahmed the young leg spinner but also in the aftermath of that disastrous World Cup defense of the 50 over variety in India just over a month ago again like the West Indies like so many other teams like the West Indies will be when they go to Australia for those three T20s after the test series and after the one days it's about getting things right so yes England will also be concerned about their bowling because again it's important that we put into context that these series are being played in the Caribbean because this is where the World Cup will be played apart from the United States of course and it's generally small grounds so again players can get away with an excuse so that puts an increasing premium on the bowlers really hitting their straps from ball one so yes England maybe two all they may be three two after tomorrow but I don't think they'll be entirely satisfied either with what they've seen from their bowlers. Yeah and the point I would like to make is that in T20 cricket fires because batsmen are so focused on hitting big so often good deliverers get smashed over the boundary for six so sometimes a bowler ends up with atrocious looking figures and it may not be completely representative of how the bowler bowled because batsmen are as long as they see the ball and they are they pick up the line of the ball they'll swing and hit good deliverers for boundaries. And that is why I would like to see it's not going to happen obviously because for example even as we're looking at the highlights look at the boundaries they are pulled in almost five meters of where it would be properly so again it seems weighed too heavily in favor of the batters which clearly the fans want but I think there comes a point where a six here six there five sixes seven sixes fifteen sixes twenty sixes it almost doesn't seem to matter anymore and the bowlers are left as cannon fodder where even as you said quite correctly Lance you bowl a beautiful delivery the batter miscues but again because of the bats because of the strength of the player it still carries for six and your your numbers look utterly disastrous when you really haven't bowled badly so and that's why you've got coaches that's why you've got uh when you've got selectors who I'm sure would be looking at these elements and determining whether or not okay he had none for 42 and four overs but did he really bowl badly or someone else had had one for 17 but what were the circumstances can we really see that they were really that good so it's all about really assessing as in these these matches and matches to come leading up to the world to 20 who's really delivering unlikely to deliver when it comes to the world tournament yeah I have to tell you fans and Lance that I still believe that the West Indies have not been very good with the ball in the last two matches and yes um the the surfaces favor batsmen the conditions favor batsmen but I I don't believe in the same way that I saw them bowling to a plan in game one bowling to plans in game two I've not seen that and Robin Paul pointed to the intensity at the start of the fourth T20 as well which I agree was very much missing but first the final game coming up on Thursday a quick comment on what you expect um well someone like a Shane Thomas get an opportunity he's one who can um get early wickets which the West Indies will need um if they want to pick this England batting lineup back that's a good point but again it might sound sacrilegious to see that really winning should not be the priority you want to win you will to really win a series against England you don't get get some some positive feeling positive vibes around the West Indies team but if I'm going to select let's say for example in the case of Ocean Thomas I'm going to select Ocean Thomas it's not specifically to win this match to win the series but because I want to see what he has to offer in a pressure situation if Phil Salt or anyone else just Butler are going up and we're looking to cut him to all parts even with the the raw pace our top edge goes for six is he going to be unsettled that to me is more important to assess his his physical attributes but his mental toughness in an environment where it's so heavily weighted in favor of the butters especially at the Brian Lauer cricket academy where where the ground seems ideal for highest scoring so yes Ocean Thomas or anyone else who plays and again as Lan said on the England side as well if they come away victors I think it's more important for them to assess who has been able to adjust their game to meet the specific requirements of T20 cricket in the Caribbean yeah and definitely from a West Indies standpoint a few keys for me how they go in those first five six overs in terms of the number of wickets they can pick up but also how they ball at the death and who balls at the death for the West Indies as well let's switch gear now fans and and talk about another issue because earlier today cricket West Indies named the test squad to take on Australia down on the in January there's a look at the squad seven uncapped players in there Craig Brathwaite is the captain alzare Joseph elevated device captain Tejna Ryan-Chanda Paul Kurt McKenzie Alec Athanez Kafeem Hodge Justin Graves two of the seven uncapped players Akim Jordan Kevin Sinclair Tevin Imlak Shamar Joseph and Zachary Mokaski Kymar Roach the veteran he's in the lineup as well the spinner Gurakesh Moti is there Joshua the silver as you would expect as the number one wicked keeper in this setup when I get your quick thoughts for Zia Muhammad on this squad also to point out no Jason Holder no Kyle Mears they have decided to prioritize T20 cricket and not specifically T20 franchise cricket now but Jason Holder for example says he wants to give himself the best chance to make the World Cup squad and then seals he is out injured so was not considered for selection your thoughts first up first as you said we're pressed for time but there are so many issues in this regard I mean we could go in many different directions but just on that point a year ago we were in fear of what would happen to the West Indies in Australia in two test matches they're lost by a hundred and change in Perth and then in the second test match they lost by four hundred and change now you've got a team as you mentioned with seven uncapped players I think if you go back to 78 79 with the team that was out the carry packer players you still had cricketers with one or two test matches and you're taking on the might of Australia World Test Champions it really represents and it asks so many questions of our administrators as to whether or not we are playing test match cricket just for playing sake because I don't blame Jason Holder or Kyle Mears or Nicholas Puran for prioritizing T20 these individuals have their own priorities their financial futures World T20 and so on but when you really think about it for this West City State as selected to go to Australia and even be competitive in Adelaide and Brisbane which is a seamless paradise is really stretching the limits of credunity yeah I want to make a couple of points here Farz one would it have been a good time to get back someone like a she hope into the side given the relative inexperience and I don't want to labor the darn braver point but I'm I'm really strong on this one and I'm going to tell you why I had a quick glance today at the top 10 batsmen in test cricket at the moment King Williamson at number one the New Zealander is 33 years old Joe Root is 32 Steve Smith is 34 Uzman Kawaja is 37 years old that's the top four then you have a couple of 29 year olds Babar Azam and Travis head dial Mitchell of New Zealand is 32 Labrashain 29 broke 24 and then Roy Chama is 36 six of the top 10 batsmen in test cricket at the moment are over 30 years old four of them over 32 that does not include Virat Kohli who is 35 years old the point I'm trying to make here Farz is that I think gone are the days where you can tell me that a batsman is finished just because he's over the age of 30 and I think I just personally believe that we're at the stage where we need to start looking beyond the age of individuals and I'm also saying this because it was Desmond Ains and I keep saying it who said earlier this year that he thinks that Darren Bravo still has a lot of quality and he has shown even more quality since Desmond Ains made that statement so I am just really at a loss for us to be honest with you I understand your feeling of being at a loss and I understand your pit bull style biting down on this is related to the age of Darren Bravo and drawing those other comparisons but also be real Darren Bravo when he came back from that exile in that you know big idiot thing with Dave Cameron and so on his test average after that was 12.5 so I take your point I'm not ignoring you brought into the team at a wrong time though Farz maybe brought back too early without being given the time to perform at the regional level which he has now done and for me that's the difference this is a man who was second in run scoring in the last four day tournament and then he's just dominated your 50 over tournament and given the relative inexperience of the players we are sending to Australia why wouldn't a Darren Bravo have been a good option because again these selectors would have looked at that all those factors I would hope and have calculated that look it's better to move forward or look forward than look back because we also have a situation you mentioned Jason Holder Holder has indicated apart from his keenness to play WorldT20 that he wants to play in the three test series in England in in July so let's say in the two test matches coming up a young all-rounder performs superbly and and and even if the rest of these are annihilated that a couple of players perform well enough that raises the question if Holder has to come back into the team should they be put out so so this is the dilemma this is what what we are facing Ricardo and and Lance that we have a situation now where West City's cricket having failed to effectively adequately manage the gathering storm because other nations have been dealing with this issue of player priorities T20 franchises trend bold didn't sign a retainer contract for New Zealand didn't play a couple of test matches he said it was a weird feeling but these are the realities and because again in the Caribbean we seem to have a fundamental problem with having an honest open discussion with people whether they be selector player player selector president whatever we find ourselves in a situation now where two years after he made his test debut with a match winning double hundred calming as a thing that he's prioritizing the T20 again so essentially if it feels like we're casting sheep to the wolves in Australia next month it's only because of our failure to manage the situation and also those young players who are going look at their numbers they've got batting averages in the the 20s the high 20s low 30s what does that tell us about the overall standard of the game and make some mockery of the outgoing president of cricket west indies saying when he left in March of this year that cricket west indies has never done a very strong position well fuzz i tell you what it says a lot of things one of them maybe is that we're not necessarily picking the right players but listen my producer is telling me that we have to go and that will continue this discussion tomorrow i have so much more to say on this issue and i know lance has a lot to say on this issue as well and i know that you're not done yet either fuzz and tell you what maybe we'll never be done because these things keep happening in west indies cricket fuzz it's been a pleasure again we'll chat soon okay people you by doing all right let's take a break we'll be back with more the poor man male winner is going to be dropping by after this