Sport

Dujon: Browne is the best 'keeper in the region

West Indies wicketkeeper Courtney Browne bellowing an appeal during the first Test against Pakistan at Kensington Oval in Barbados. The batsman is Pakistan's Danish Kaneria. - Dellmar

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS, CMC

THERE IS A need to develop young wicket keepers in the region, according to the West Indies most successful 'gloveman', Jeff

Dujon.

"I don't think enough work has been done in developing our young wicketkeepers and this is not just now. This was the case from my time when I worked with the board," Dujon said on CMC's CricketPlus during the first Digicel Test against Pakistan at Kensington Oval.

"There are no programmes in place to develop them, to try and get them in place to the kind of level that they need to be at. Another thing is that we don't take second (string) wicketkeepers on tour (nowadays). We always take an extra bowler. So in the area of wicket-keeping there has not been that many opportunities."

Dujon, who celebrated his 49th birthday on Saturday and whose 272 victims (267 catches/5 stumpings) in 81 Tests are the most by a West Indies wicketkeeper, pointed to the fact that keeping wicket was a special area which called for a lot of discipline.

"Wicketkeeping is a very tough job. It takes a lot of training in a lot of areas, not just catching. It takes a certain type of attitude, dedication and discipline. It's not a very glamorous part of the game so there are very few wicketkeepers," asserted Dujon, who also claimed 204 victims (183 catches/21 stumpings) ­ still the most for West Indies - in 169 One-Day Internationals.

Jamaican Dujon was assistant coach of the West Indies team for the home series against Zimbabwe and Pakistan in 2000 before he was surprisingly relieved of the job. He later worked for the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) as a youth coach.

Continuous debate

Speaking against the background of continuous debate over the recall of veteran Barbadian Courtney Browne to the side since last September in preference to a younger player after the then injured Ridley Jacobs was eventually discarded and retired, Dujon reckoned that Browne was "still the best" in the region.

"There are a few young keepers around, not quite up to standard, but I am not hearing that anything is being done to develop them," said Dujon, who is covering the current series as a television commentator.

"Courtney Browne has the best hands of the wicketkeepers that we have had.

He has been a bit inconsistent, it is true, but at this time he is the best of what we have."

Browne, 34, the West Indies vice-captain, has played 19 Tests including five on his return to the side but he has been short of runs and still averages below 20.

There have been calls in some quarters for the inclusion of either 22-year-old Jamaican Carlton Baugh, who has played five Tests and six ODIs,

or the uncapped Trinidadian Denesh Ramdin, who led West Indies to the final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh last year.

Dujon, who was also a key batsman in champion West Indies teams under Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards between 1981 and 1991, and who has scored five Test centuries in amassing 3,322 runs at an average of 31.94, gave his opinion as well on the retirement of Leeward Islander Jacobs at the end of the 2005 West Indies domestic first-class season.

"I think he left when he needed to. He reached a level, not just physically that he was tired I think, but rather I think he reached a certain level of frustration where he didn't see the team going anywhere and the individual that he is, he didn't see the kind of commitment that he, himself, displayed throughout his career.

"I think that may have contributed to his leaving. Generally I think he left on top, his batting was good and his keeping was competent generally," Dujon said.

The 37-year-old Jacobs claimed 219 Test victims (207 catches/12 stumpings) in 65 Tests following his debut on the 1998-99 tour to South Africa. He was good enough to hit three centuries as a left-handed batsman en route to 2,577 runs at an average of 28.31.