The new battalion

Chris Gayle (right): A bright hope for the West Indies

West Indies cricket fans like numbers.

Think of two, think Ramadhin and Valentine, Hall and Griffith, Greenidge and Haynes.Three, you have Weekes, Worrell and Walcott. Four, Marshall, Holding, Garner and Croft spring to mind.

The names Hinds, Sarwan and Gayle may not have the same aura as the three Ws, but the selectors are hoping they will develop into another powerful triumvirate to enable West Indies to once again become a team to be feared around the world.

Richards: A West Indian legend

It is a long time since the West Indies have enjoyed the benefits of a settled batting line-up.

During their period of dominance from the mid-70s to the early 90s, the likes of Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, Richardson and Lloyd tormented opposition bowlers.

Booming cover drives, sixes launched over mid-off and hook shots disappearing into the crowd as if fired from a cannon were all part of a batting style which made West Indian batsman a joy to watch for crowds all over the cricketing world.

They were followed into the side by Brian Lara and his record-breaking feats - and subsequent personal problems - have been covered at length by every cricket writer worth his salt.

Current skipper Jimmy Adams and Carl Hooper, the latter prematurely lost to the Test side, have achieved varying degrees of success but there has been a dearth of overall quality in the Caribbean in recent years, a situation which the variable quality of pitches has done nothing to help.

Numerous players were given a chance at Test level as the selectors desperately tried to arrest the team's slump in fortunes, but the vast majority were quickly discarded.

Their statistics make sorry reading; David Joseph 141 runs in seven Test innings, Darren Ganga 75 runs in six innings, Floyd Reifer 63 runs in eight innings, Suruj Ragoonath 13 runs in four innings and Lincoln Roberts out for a duck in his only appearance at the crease.

Hinds: Acknowledges the crowd after his hundred against Glamorgan

Now, however, the West Indies Cricket Board is prepared to be patient with three young players who appear to have the necessary talent to sustain lengthy Test careers.

Jamaicans Wavell Hinds and Chris Gayle and teenage Guyanese Ramnaresh Sarwan all made their Test debuts in the recent home series against Zimbabwe and Pakistan after graduating from the junior representative ranks.

Hinds hammered a magnificent 165 against Pakistan and quickly showed he can adapt to different pitch conditions on arrival in England with a century on a turner at Cardiff.

Gayle was voted Most Valuable Player in the domestic Busta Cup competition after scoring 623 runs in seven matches, but his progress has been less spectacular than that of teammate Hinds.

He is only 20, however, and West Indies are prepared to give him time, especially as his off-spin provides a useful addition to the bowling attack.

But perhaps the most exciting of all is Sarwan, who became the youngest West Indian to appear in first-class cricket when he made his debut for Guyana aged 15 years and 226 days in 1994.

Sarwan: First-class debut at the age of 14

Comparisons have been made between Sarwan, now 19, and the young Rohan Kanhai and one could see why when he made 100 and 111 for the West Indies Board President's XI against Zimbabwe earlier this year.

It earned him a place in the Test squad and his innings of 84 against Pakistan in Barbados left no-one in any doubt that he was ready to make the step up into senior international cricket.

"I did not feel any pressure," he said afterwards.

Such self-assurance is perhaps surprising in one so young and there are plenty of people around, not least Lara, who can advise Sarwan on the potential pitfalls which lie ahead.

But West Indian cricket needs a new batting hero and it will be a big disappointment if he fails to enhance his reputation in England.