By IANS,
Melbourne : West Indies bowling legend Joel Garner has fired a salvo at the current pace attack, describing it as “lazy and unfit”.
‘Big Bird’ Garner, part of the feared West Indies battery of fast bowlers, said the present four-man pace attack did not have the “right stuff” for Test cricket and have an attitude problem.
“Fitness is a major part of their problem. If you are physically fit you are mentally fit. They are not,” Garner was quoted as saying in The Australian Wednesday.
“The mental attitude is not right. I would say they are lazy,” said Garner.
The towering Garner was one of the world’s most feared pacemen in the 1980s and remains a respected figure in the West Indies, where he is the president of the Barbados Cricket Association.
His appraisal is sure to cause reverberations around the Caribbean before the third Test against Australia, beginning Thursday.
“The intensity is only there for 1 1/2 sessions and then they go to sleep. They bowl in bursts which is not what is needed.”
“Test cricket can be about performing in 15 sessions and they are no good at that. They should all be fighting to keep their place in the side.”
Garner’s assessment will surprise many.
Fidel Edwards bowled with fire to trouble the Australians in the first Test in Jamaica but lack of consistency has been a problem for the West Indies bowlers.
It is little wonder the selectors are considering unleashing Barbadian Kemar Roach, 19, who has played only four first-class games, in the third Test against Australia.