Geography through Cricket – something on Dominica : the venue for India Vs WI - Third Test

The Third Test between India and West Indies begins today [6^th July 2011]  at Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica – guess the debutant…..

It is the ground at Windsor Park that is set to become Test cricket's 106th venue.  Apart from the weather there are some other concerns for the Indians.  Ishant reportedly was involved in a minor collision while playing football in a training session, but  should be fit to play.  Dhoni has not been making runs but on the selection front will he retain Abhimanyu Mithun or turn to Amit Mishra especially when Harbhajan is not at his peak.

India is 1 up and if the weather plays true might add one more to its kitty.  The tour has exposed some and placed back reliance on the old fortress of Dravid and Laxman with the exception of Raina; Munaf continues to drop dead playing injury yet he continues to be in the team.   Praveen bowled well in the First and Ishant spit fire in the second; Harbhajan is close to 400 wicket milestone but is not bowling all that well.  Amit Mishra did bowl very well but the tracks are not meant for him over there..  The man on comeback trail  Fidel Edwards is bowling fast and Ravi Rampaul thought not express pace is amongst wickets.  Devendra Bishoo has tested the Indians.

Dhoni continues to be an enigma – perhaps hastened the retirement of Harper, has not been electric behind the wickets and has not been scoring runs at all in this series; - with couple of woeful decisions against him.   He is faced with a peculiar problem caused by the selectors..  This has been happening regularly. India next plays England in a Test match at Lords on 21st July.    Why is the Team for the next tour announced in the midst of a series ?    Now will Dhoni retain M Vijay & Virat Kohli for this match and will they have any motivation when they have already lost their spots to England.  The possible replacements Parthiv Patel and S Badrinath, who might be fresh and eager to prove a point aren’t part of the squad either. Anyway Parthiv Patel never inspires confidence with his limited strokes with not so good a performance to back that up.  

The new venue of  Windsor Park at Roseau, Dominica hosted one dayers sometime back and should have been tailored to offer some good bounce.  Will continue to do badly on the first day remains to be seen !!   It is long since we won a major away Test Series after beating Pakistan in 2004

Dominica officially the Commonwealth of Dominica,  anisland nation in the Caribbean Sea. Its size is 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of 1,447 metres (4,747 ft). The Commonwealth of Dominica has an estimated population of 72,500. The capital is Roseau.  This island is  nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its unspoiled natural beauty. It is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles.   

The Sisserou Parrot (also known as the Imperial Amazon, Dominican Amazon, August Amazon, or Sisserou), the island's national bird, is featured on the national flag.  The small population of 150 to 250 mature individuals is threatened by ongoing habitat loss, illegal trapping for the pet trade, deforestation, encroachment.

Christopher Columbus named the island after the day of the week on which he spotted it, a Sunday (dominica in Latin), November 3, 1493. The country has had some political upheavals and in  1981 Dominica was threatened with a takeover by mercenaries.  

Dominica is part of the Windward islands so called  because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands.  This island along with Martinique, ST Lucia, St Vincent, Grenadines and Grenada  are the chain of islands forming  part of the easternmost boundary of the Caribbean Sea.  Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago do not consider themselves part of the Windward Islands but are sometimes included due to proximity and the fact that they are windward relative to other Caribbean isles.

The present Captain a 6 feet 4 inch tall   Darren Julius Garvey Sammy hails from St. Lucia and that way is a native.  A famous fast bowler who hailed from Dominica was Daffy.  Phillip Anthony Jason " DeFreitas who actually played for England.   

With regards – S. Sampathkumar