Adams' men slump to new low

Having already lost fifteen out of their last seventeen Tests on overseas soil, West Indies' cricketers slumped to a new low today when they were forced to relinquish the world record of eleven consecutive Test victories to Australia at the end of the Second Test at the WACA Ground. It was also the first time the team has lost a Test match at the spiritual home of fast bowling in Perth.

It is a sad state for a team once feared by the entire cricketing world for its ruthlessness. The current crop of West Indians seem only a shadow of the previous teams to have come out of the Caribbean, and captain Jimmy Adams hopes a motivator or sports psychologist can make them snap out of their summer of discontent.

"It's something The Management team has seen a need for," he said.

With renowned West Indians sports psychologist Rudi Webster unavailable for the tour, Adams has called on the board to send a replacement immediately.

Praising Australia's wonderfully professional victory, Adams said his team was faltering because of a lack of consistency, not fitness.

"It's all about getting ten wickets, not four or five or six or seven, it's about getting ten wickets. And we're playing against a team that has people capable of scoring runs almost all the way down (the line-up) and we have to be consistent all the way down. You know, you might have things going your way for a session or two but a day is three sessions and that's the bottom line, you have to keep going for three sessions," he said.

Adams acknowledged some members of the team had produced some good performances, but stressed that they needed to work together in order to make any real impact on a game. He said the team had to begin turning things around in the twelve days before the beginning of the Third Test in Adelaide.

Australian captain Steve Waugh had a few words of encouragement for his embattled counterpart, suggesting a turnaround was possible.

"We were crushed in Kandy (in the Test against Sri Lanka in early 1999) and then we won twelve in a row. It was pretty amazing. This Test was a lot harder to win (than last week's opening match in Brisbane) so that's good. The bowling was tough and it was hard work for us. They're going to get better. They've just got to stay upbeat and believe in themselves," he said.

Meanwhile, experienced Windies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul faces six weeks away from cricket with the stress fracture in his left foot that kept him out of the Second Test. Although a replacement is yet to be named by the West Indian Cricket Board, captain Adams said the new player would arrive in Australia later this week.