In the townships, where West Indian cricketers are considered heroes, there is great, pain. Our friends who head amateur cricket at the United Cricket Board of South Africa feel very much let down and they are hoping for a turnaround. They are even reporting that our side's poor performance has put a real serious dent in the development programme in the townships.

During the apartheid era, there was no television in any of the homes in these sections of South Africa. So many of the people listened to cricket on their radios and were happy to know the West Indians were showing that black people could rule the world.

For many in the townships, the current series should have confirmed it. This was supposed to be their ``breaking-out party'' and to see such a lacklustre performance has left them deeply saddened.

Clearly, our side is not playing up to its full potential. In eight matches, the have lost four times, including the first two Tests.

On Saturday (Dec 19) they started their final practice match before the third and, for them, crucial Test starting in Durban on Boxing Day.

We are encouraged that they won the limited-overs match against Natal earlier in the week. However, the goal should be to win this four-day contest against South Africa ``A''. Since success breeds success, victory should lift their spirits.

Winning the series is not impossible, but highly improbable. Most fans in the Caribbean, and elsewhere, might settle for a 2-2 series result. But it is going to be very difficult and it is always difficult to come back from 0-2 down in a five-Test series.

A superhuman effort is going to be needed, but with West Indies pride involved, it can be accomplished. Now more than ever, the team needs to come together and become a unit.

They need to play like a team on the field. And they must live like a family off it.

Our strike bowlers, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, are a formidable pair. Even though they lack the support, the South African batting is a little suspect up front and these two outstanding fast bowlers should be able to mow them down. However, our batting must come right.

Sparked by the batting reshuffle in the second innings of the second Test, there is bound to be debate about which position captain Brian Lara should occupy. He batted at three in the first innings, but then appeared at five.

Tactically, number four is a better position for him. Right now, Lara is being exposed to the new ball too quickly. When he enters, the new-ball bowlers are still fresh and the score too low. At four, he should have a little bit more time to see what is going on.

Many people believe if he is a good batsman, he should be able to bat anywhere. They should recall though, West Indian captains dropping down the order is nothing new.

They all believe batting lower down gave them more of a chance to steer the ship out of rough seas. Hopefully, when they arrived they expected the ball to be softer, the pitch easier and the bowlers weary, even if the score is not palatable.

For Lara and his men, it's not going to be easy coming back against a competitive side like South Africa. Let's hope though, the team shows their pride in wearing West Indies' colours, because cricket is not just for us in the Caribbean just a game, it's part of our nationhood.

Sir Conrad Hunte is a former Barbados opening batsman and former West Indies vice-captain. He has been working on cricket development in S. Africa. He was recently awarded the Knight of St. Andrew. The WICB extends to Sir Conrad its congratulations.

Across the Board is the column of the West Indies Cricket Board. Questions can be directed to:

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