Recent Test series between England and the West Indies

Dear Editor,
After the euphoria of winning the first Test against England, that lifted the spirits of all West Indian fans, the West Indies team only flattered to deceive in the remaining two Tests to meekly surrender the Wisden Trophy to the Englishmen.
To say it was a pathetic performance by the West Indies team would be an understatement. It was more like a no-contest from the time Broad and Root entered the second Test. It was painful to watch the Englishmen outplay them in every department.
Editor, how on earth after winning the toss in the second and third Tests West Indies chose not to bat first knowing the nature of the Old Trafford wicket and also will be batting last on a fourth and fifth day wicket. It boggles the mind. The Englishmen would have been laughing their heads off at those two decisions.
Poor decision making. Next, the West Indies catching and fielding were extremely poor, especially the catching where the misses proved costly and batsmen went on to score big runs. That’s an area we have not improved over the years, that has cost us dearly in many Test matches.
Finally, I come to our batting that can only be described as atrocious, mediocre and substandard. Watching some of our batsmen getting out the same way over and over tells me that our batsmen who score runs in our regional tournament do not face quality bowling like Broad.
Anderson, Stokes, Archer, Woakes and the others who dished it out to them and they are found wanting at Test level. Most of them have too many technical flaws and no wonder our batting is our biggest problem for the longest while now, and as Roger Harper said recently, our batsmen average around the thirties in regional cricket and make the West Indies team.
Small wonder, no batsman scored a century in the whole series. John Campbell does not know where his off stump is, he either gets caught in the slips or is bowled. Brathwaite’s awkward stance where the bowlers turn him around, gets LBW or bowled most times.
After the first Test, Dowrich’s technique was cruelly exposed by his inability to handle short-pitched bowling. I cringed when I saw him ducking and taking his eyes off the ball even when it was pitched on a good length. Shai Hope should have been dropped after the second Test.
He needs to go back to the drawing board, clear his head and look back at how he had scored all those runs in one day cricket. He too was jumping in his crease to short-pitched bowling. Even Jason Holder, it seems like the pressure was taking a toll on him. His batting has fallen away also.
And lastly, it is clear Shannon Gabriel has serious fitness and stamina problems. He can only play one Test and rest the next.And Rakheem Cornwall should not be playing any international cricket, period!!! I say no more.

Yours faithfully,
Imtiaz Baccus