"Oh, it's dead, man. Fully dead." Ramnaresh Sarwan is returning home with the rest of his just-crowned Busta Cup-winning Guyana team, and is talking about the pitch at Bourda where the Test series between India and West Indies kicks off on Thursday. The square is an ungainly brown spread - like some chapatti being rolled. A chap called Kuldip has been making it for six years now. He is just Kuldip: a surname exists, but Kuldip is what newspapers refer to him as and that is the way Kuldip wants it. Too many club games, he mutters reluctantly, has sapped the life out of the surface. There is some grass on the strip to be used on Thursday, but it is a lighter shade of straw yellow.

The ground itself is rather like a square with rounded edges. The picture of Rohan Kanhai (with an inset of him famously falling while sweeping) towers from a stand and opposite him, messrs Clive Lloyd and Lance Gibbs have their spaces. Thin boys with big dreadlocks sort out some construction on the stands and the television crew gets all wired up. The Georgetown Cricket Club Bar appears prepared for some romping business over the weekend and there is an area marked out for the musicians to spice up what is predicted to be slow proceedings. Palm trees hang loose in the background.

Up in the press box, former (very) fast bowler, Ian Bishop sits and thinks of all the matches he never enjoyed playing here. "It doesn't help fast bowlers, it doesn't help spin bowlers, it doesn't help seamers - only batsmen." Fifteen of 27 matches here have been draws, the lowest result percentage from any of the major centers in the Caribbean. When India comes here, it rains on an average of three days out of five.

At the Police Grounds, about ten minutes away, the West Indies cricket team practice in front of some 80 locals. Brian Lara doesn't arrive with the rest of the team, because of an airplane cock-up at Trinidad. Some eyes are on Adam Sanford, born in Dominica and now a cricketer for the Leeward Islands, and who, with 41 wickets, was the best fast bowler in the Busta Cup. He looks strong, bowls with a strong action and is likely to take the new ball with Mervyn Dillon. Bishop doesn't rate Sanford as express, but as "awkward", mainly because he can get the odd one to really take off after a series of less threatening deliveries. But he's not likely to have much luck on that flat Bourda track. "Your batsmen aren't going to go to bed afraid, I can tell you that."

Stuart Williams is another who has made it on the strength of his Busta Cup performance. He scored 974 runs at a symmetrical average of 97.40. Bishop feels that Williams became a superior performer ever since the moment he reconciled himself to the fact that he wouldn't be picked for West Indies again. He became less tense, more mature and a better selector of shots. Now he will have to reconcile to the fact that he is back.

Guyana have a fair representation in the team. Mahendra Nagamootoo, the most successful bowler this domestic season with 50 wickets, is expected to claim a place ahead of batting allrounder Ryan Hinds. Moreover, Guyana own the West Indian middle order, barring Lara. Shivnarine Chanderpaul is expected to take guard at No. 3, captain Carl Hooper (in magnificent touch) at No. 5, and Sarwan at No. 6.

The hanger-ons revel in their country's status but when a supporter points to an enormous West Indian flag and yells, "this is more important than Guyana maan," he is greeted with only cheers.

West Indies XI (probable)
1 Chris Gayle, 2 Stuart Williams, 3 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 4 Brian Lara, 5 Carl Hooper (capt), 6 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 7 Junior Murray (wk), 8 Mahendra Nagamootoo, 9 Cameron Cuffy, 10 Mervyn Dillon, 11 Adam Sanford.

Rahul Bhattacharya is a staff writer with Wisden.com India. His reports will appear here throughout the Test series.

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