West Indies Head coach Andre Coley has emphasized unwavering focus on the upcoming two-match Test series against Pakistan, setting aside thoughts of his tenure ending after the series.
Coley, whose time at the helm will conclude with this tour, insists his primary goal is to guide the regional side to better performances in their first series of 2025.
In 2019, when the teams last met in the Caribbean, the hosts secured a 2-1 series win and West Indies head coach Phil Simmons wants his team to keep the trend alive.
“We’re looking to play the cricket that we know will put us in a position to win the series. We’re trying to make sure we’re ready for everything England can throw at us,” the Trinidadian head coach said during a pre-match press conference on Monday while indicating that it will critical for the hosts to build strong opening partnerships when they bat.
In that series, Captain Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell shared opening stands of 53, 52, 70, 17 not out, 57 and five and they will once again be entrusted with the responsibility.
“The last time we beat England here, the opening pair was Kraigg and John Campbell. Let’s hope that’s a good omen for us because they gave the team some good starts. We’ve been talking about getting a good start and making sure that the top four put things together and not leave it for the middle and lower order,” Simmons said.
“That’s been the focus of our camp leading up to this series. We need batsmen to bat long so the bowlers can have something to work with and I think the camp went well so I expect good things from them.”
The absence of James Anderson and Stuart Broad from the England team has been a big talking point ever since their squad was announced, but Simmons says he is more interested in who they do have.
“We keep harping on no Broad and Anderson but when you don’t have the experience, you have young players who are hungry to make their name and that is something that you have to guard against too. They have quality bowlers who we still have to bat well against,” he said.
Simmons also spoke about the importance of having one specialist spinner in their squad, Veerasammy Permaul.
“Your spinner, at least in the first couple of days, will always play that holding role. Permaul has been bowling really well so, hopefully, by the time we get to the fourth day he will come into play and possibly be a match-winner for us,” Simmons said.
Simmons also mentioned the conditions he expects at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
“It looks like it’s going to be a good wicket. We’re going to have to work hard for our runs but also work hard for our wickets,” he said.
At the conclusion of the Test match, the teams move on to the Kensington Oval in Barbados for the second Test set to start on March 16. The final Test is scheduled to be played at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada beginning on March 24.
The two sides battled to the two-Test stalemate in which some batsmen filled their boots but more often than not the bowlers struggled to get 20 wickets. In the first of the Test matches played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Sri Lanka failed to get 20 wickets in the match as the West Indies had scores of 271 and 236-4.
The local bowlers had early success bowling Sri Lanka out for 169 only to toil as the visitors scored a mammoth 476 in the second innings. In the second Test, West Indies made 354 and 280-4 while Sri Lanka had scores of 258 and 193 for 2.
In both matches, batting became much easier for both teams while the bowlers struggled.
The trend was not lost on the West Indies head coach.
“I think we from a country standpoint need to get better wickets where we can have Test matches that will create a result,” he said.
“Even if we lost a Test match after it’s gone to the fifth day, you will still think that we’ve done well to get to the fifth day and were in with a chance of winning the Test match, so I think that’s an important part of it.”
Notwithstanding the struggles of his bowling attack, Simmons said he was comfortable with what he has now.
“We had the bowlers there who we wanted to be in the Test team,” he said.
“Everybody else is still work in progress and still looking to put themselves in contention so right now these five bowlers are our main bowlers.”
Recent reports had suggested that the Caribbean was ready to accept a switch in series hosting duties, as most sporting events have faced major scheduling disruptions.
With the virus also now beginning to more heavily impact the Caribbean, Grave admitted that he did not see how the West Indies would be in a better position to host the series if England could not.
"I have not had any discussions with England over whether we can host,” Grave told BBC Sport.
“It would be strange that England can't have cricket but the Caribbean can,” he added.
"Realistically, without knowing anything about pandemics, if England can't hold cricket then it almost certainly means the rest of the world can't hold cricket either. I think it is an unrealistic option."
The official added that the regional cricket governing body has tried to remain as ‘flexible as possible’ but options were yet to be discussed.
"I have been in contact with [England and Wales Cricket board chief executive] Tom Harrison a few times over the last week," Grave said.
"The only discussions we have had are, in principle, having flexibility over warm-up games, when the series would start and how many rest days.
"We have given the ECB assurances that we will be as flexible as we can. We have not had any discussion about not playing them in June.”
The first Test was scheduled to begin in London on June 4, followed by matches at Edgbaston and Lord's starting on 12 and 25 June respectively.
The wicket-keeper-batter hit an impressive 95 off 109 balls, falling just shy of his maiden century in only his third Test.
Chasing the Windies' first-innings total of 282, England made a nervy start with the early wickets of Ollie Pope (10) and Harry Brook (two) leaving them at 54-5.
Joe Root (87) and Ben Stokes (54) settled the hosts down with a 115-run stand, while Smith's near-century and 62 from Chris Woakes helped them to a total of 376, a 94-run advantage.
West Indies' response was immediately halted as Woakes claimed skipper Kraigg Braithwaite for a duck in the first over.
Kirk McKenzie (eight) then fell to Gus Atkinson, while opener Mikyle Louis was fortunate to see Stokes drop a simple catch as the visitors reached stumps on 33-2.
Louis, on 18, and Alick Athanaze, on five, will resume batting on Sunday's third day with the Caribbean side 61 runs behind, and eight wickets intact to possibly make a fight of it.
Data Debrief: Root roars past Lara
Root delivered another impressive batting display for England. Although he was fortunate not to be dismissed in the second over, as replays showed he would have been given out had the Windies reviewed an lbw appeal.
Nevertheless, he fully capitalised with his 87 taking him past 12,000 Test runs, making him only the second England player to do so after Alastair Cook.
Although a 33rd Test century narrowly eluded him, Root did leapfrog Brian Lara into seventh place on the all-time leading Test run-scorers list.
Now the attention switches the “big show” – the first Test against Zimbabwe, and the location moves to the Queens Sports Club, where the two teams will meet.
“We are confident that the areas that we wanted to address and spend some time on, we were able to do so. The facilities have generally been good and offered us enough to get through what we needed to,” Coley said.
He also expressed pleasure at the way the players have been responding to the training, noting that they have been putting in extra work in the nets and on fitness.
Regarding getting ahead and eventually winning the series, he is looking for consistency in all areas.
Wary that Zimbabwe are highly competitive at home, the West Indies will be eager to start the year right, having enjoyed some success in the longest format over the past 18 months and a series in South Africa to follow.
The first Test will begin on Saturday, February 4. First ball is 10am (4am Eastern Caribbean/3am Jamaica).
Squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood (vice-captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Tagnarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Devon Thomas and Jomel Warrican
The Caribbean team dominated the sport for the better part of 20-years, during that time routinely beating some of the world’s top teams was commonplace. In recent times, however, the Windies have found it difficult to even remain competitive when facing the likes of Australia, England, and India. One major reason suggested for the decline is the level of investment in the sport, particularly as it relates to youth development and infrastructure. According to Dehring, the harsh reality was laid bare after working in South Africa during the cricket World Cup.
“I always knew the Australias, the Englands of this World had incredible facilities and such an incredible professional cricket structure that I knew the days were numbered. But when I went to South Africa and saw what they had in place, even their high schools, your heart sank,” Dehring said recently on the Mason and Guest radio program.
Currently, the West Indies are ranked 8th in the world in Test cricket, the same in One Day Internationals, and despite claiming two T20 World titles, are 9th in that format, on the back of a disastrous showing at this year’s World Cup.
“We have some talented youngsters in the Caribbean, but we just do not have the professional structure to develop it, own it and churn it out year after year,” he added.
“You see the fruit of that vine now, it’s very inconsistent…there’s no West Indies team that when they step out on the field they don’t look like the athletes of the day. That’s just from a visual aesthetic perspective, we were the athletes…We were the athletic reservoir people would pay to come and see.”
Despite, the introduction of the Yo-Yo Intermittent Test a few years ago, questions have constantly been asked regarding the team’s level of fitness, with some players notably overweight.
Along with his outstanding cricket credentials, Haynes was recently honoured by the University of the West Indies with an Honorary Doctorate Degree and is a former Senator in the Parliament of Barbados.
He was confirmed as the new Men’s Team Lead Selector during a meeting of the CWI Board of Directors earlier today and CWI President, Ricky Skerritt, reacted to the appointment.
“I am delighted to confirm that the Most Hon. Dr. Desmond Haynes has agreed to re-join the CWI cricket system as the Lead Selector. His cricket knowledge and experience are second to none, and I am confident that Desmond is the right man for the right job, at the right time,” he said.
“On behalf of our Board of Directors and all stakeholders, I wish Desmond every success as he commences his important Lead role, which starts immediately. I want to also take this opportunity to thank Roger Harper and Miles Bascombe for their commitment and integrity whilst they served on the panel over the past two years,” Skerritt added.
Haynes was grateful to the board for the opportunity to serve West Indies cricket again.
“I would like to thank President Skerritt and the CWI Board of Directors for giving me the opportunity to serve West Indies cricket once again. Being a selector is a thankless task, but a critical role in our cricket system and I am honoured to be appointed. I have always indicated that I would assist West Indies cricket in any way possible and I see this as an opportunity to do just that. I pledge to carry out my duties in a fair and professional manner,” he said.
Haynes will lead the West Indies Men’s Selection Panel until June 30, 2024, a period that includes four ICC Global Events, two T20 World Cups (2022 & 2024), the Cricket World Cup (2023) and the World Test Championship Final (2023).
He played 116 Test matches, four as captain, and 238 One-Day Internationals for the West Indies between 1978 and 1994.
He scored 7487 runs in Tests, including 18 centuries, and 8648 runs in ODIs, including 17 centuries.
He was a member of the West Indies team which won the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 1979 and was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in June 2021.
Politically, with the West Indies operating as several separate countries, it would not be possible to have a national anthem. Currently, the song ‘Rally Round the West Indies’ by Calypsonian David Rudder, however, serves that purpose. The song was released in 1987 – before being officially adopted as the team’s ‘national’ anthem by the then West Indies Cricket Board 12 years later.
Lloyd, however, believes the song possibly lacks the feel, power, and emotional depth of some of the national anthems of member nations that comprise the regional team. The former skipper made note of a memorable experience, while on tour of Australia.
“When I was manager, in Australia they play the anthem from both teams. The president came to me and said Clyde we would like to play the anthem from your country because you are the manager. I said, ‘No sir you would have to play the anthem of Mr. Walsh, he is the captain,” Lloyd recalled recently, on the Mason and Guest radio program.
“It was performed by an opera singer. When they sang the Jamaica national anthem, it has some drums and so on, hair grew on parts of my body that I didn’t think I had hair. It was so powerful. There was a guy there that was married to a Jamaican woman and tears came to his eyes. I told Walsh, 'if you do not bowl this Australia side out, after listening to this anthem, something must be wrong with you guys'. It was the most powerful thing,” he added.
“We have great anthems around the islands. Let us come together and get one anthem that is powerful. When you listen to all the other anthems, they make you feel proud, they make you feel like doing extraordinary things. I think this is the time we should have that and one flag.”
The absence of the likes of Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, for example, two of the team’s most explosive players, from the unit for the last year has been a sore point. Despite the fact that they have continued to play in lucrative T20 leagues around the world, both players have been unavailable for the regional team.
Russell has not played for the team since last year’s World Cup while Narine has not appeared since 2017. Another player, opener Evin Lewis, remains out of the team after opting out of fitness tests. Recently West Indies coach Phil Simmons expressed frustration with the issue. Richards believes a lot of the issues could come down to communication.
“Guys sometimes try and make that particular decision in terms of what they want to do because they don’t feel that they are represented well enough on the left, and that’s why they will move to the right so it is pretty much troublesome knowing and hearing that from the coach, which means there are issues where these matters are concerned,” Richards told the Antigua Observer.
“There has got to be a meeting of all the individuals who participate and that’s the board and all the individuals they may believe to be in that particular lane where they do not want to play,” he added.
“That’s always your first aim, for you to represent your country as a sports person and then, if you can move further up-field like representing the region, which is obviously the West Indies cricket team, and then expand elsewhere because if that’s what you’re looking for, then that’s the opportunity you’re looking for,” he said.
“Also, there are times when we should look at the lighter side of things where one has got to remember that it was the West Indies platform that obviously gave you an opportunity for you to expand yourself.”
With the talented middle-order batsmen Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo opting out of taking part in series, Ragoonath believes the regional team could struggle to put runs on the board, particularly in humid conditions.
“It going to be tough if you look at the players on the tour, from a batting standpoint. Shamarh Brooks averages just under 35 in his very short tenure, next to him is Jason Holder and Kraigg Brathwaite, each around 33," Ragoonath pointed out to the Mason and Guest radio program.
If you add up our batsmen’s averages, whatever combination you play, you will have an average score that is less than 250, which is not going to complete against England. Especially if the atmosphere is such that the ball is moving around, you re going to be in real trouble,” he added.
"The fast bowling aspect is exciting and I think that’s where our one element of surprise is, but a lot will depend on the weather conditions."
Ragoonath believes the Windies may still be able to do well if the conditions are hot and dry, but once typical English weather conditions prevail, a battery of quality England swing bowler could make runs scoring an impossible task.
The series, which will take place from November 21 to 25 and November 29 to December 3, will be part of the 2021-2023 ICC World Test Championship. In preparation for the series, the West Indies team is currently taking part in the Best vs Best intra-squad matches and Brathwaite insists the team is brimming with confidence and ready for the challenge.
“Sri Lanka is a very strong team, especially at home and as a team, we are looking forward to the challenge,” Brathwaite said.
“We know it won’t be easy. The last time we went down there we did ok, it was a couple of years ago and we look forward to the challenge,” he added.
The team last travelled to Sri Lanka in 2016 where they lost 2-0. Brathwaite did, however, claim six wickets.
“I think we have had a good year so far and it would be good to finish the season strong for the fans.”
The West Indies began the year with a win over Bangladesh, followed by a draw against Sri Lanka, a loss to South Africa, and a draw against Pakistan.
The West Indies successfully negotiated the fifth and final day on the back of a patient 113 undefeated from the bat of Nkrumah Bonner. After being dismissed for 169 in the first innings a massive 476 piled up in the second innings would have been a massive concern. The Sri Lankans were led by 103 from Pathum Nissanka and 96 from Niroshan Dickwella. The pair frustrating and blunting the Windies bowling attack.
For large periods of the second innings, it seemed the hosts had lost their way, with a series of poor displays in the field and poor choices to review. Simmons believes if the team is to win a second straight Test series, the errors must be cleaned up.
“I think our discipline when we are bowling has to improve,” Simmons told Windiescricket.
“The few hours in the field that we allow runs to just slip by us, because of the discipline, that definitely has to tighten up, and then we just have to bat in the second innings like we batted in the first innings,” he added.
The Bangladesh team has not played a Test since February when they faced Zimbabwe at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium. The West Indies has in the meantime, played two-Test series against England and then New Zealand.
Relying on that statistic would, however, be slightly misleading as several of the West Indies' first-team players opted out of the tour, leaving the unit to rely on more inexperienced players for the tour. In such circumstances and Bangladesh’s home record, Simmons is skeptical of there being any advantage but hopes the team will be able to captilise once there is.
“There could be a little bit of vulnerability early in the Test because they haven’t played any international Test cricket for a year now and getting back into it might expose some vulnerability early on," Simmons told members of the media.
“I’m sure that, that would be taken care of because they have a fairly experienced team, with the likes of Tamim and Shakib. The experience is there so it might not last too long, but if it does happen, we have to take that opportunity and seize on it,” he added.
“Bangladesh will always have the edge no matter who they are playing at home. They are a very strong side when they play at home. So, they will always have the edge even when they haven’t played any cricket for a year.”
Bangladesh won the previous series, which consisted of three ODI matches, against the West Indies 3-0.
World cricket powerhouses India recently earned plenty of plaudits for a stunning win over Australia, with a squad full of mostly inexperienced developing players.
The West Indies on the other hand, once the world’s best cricket team, have suffered lopsided defeats at the hands of England, New Zealand, and most recently Bangladesh. The defeats have led to renewed criticism of the regional team in some quarters, but Ricardson insists the world’s top team are simply reaping the fruit of their labour, which took the form of talent development.
“It’s a correlation that the boards that have the luxury of having more coaches employed, more facilities, more players on contracts, more A team tours, more money invested in development, are the countries that have been doing well,” Richardson told Grenada’s Talksports program.
“Case in point, India has an academy just for fast bowling,” he added.
“In the 80s, not to knock anything from the Lloyd and Viv Richards era, we had awesome talent. During that time, if you check the history, most teams were setting up their academies to improve their game. We didn’t set up our academy until around 2000. So, they have been reaping the success of what they have put in.”
Richardson insisted that the region still has the talent and pointed to the team’s performances in the youth competitions to stress the point. The West Indies won the U-19 World Cup in 2016 and were runners up in 2004.
Since the team's successful tour of Bangladesh in February three players, John Campbell, Shai Hope, and Kieran Powell have been paired at the top of the innings with West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite.
To date, the pairing with the Brathwaite has not bred much success. Campbell has averaged 18.5 in eight innings, Powell 14.57 in seven innings, and Hope 15 in the one match played so far. The results have often left the team well short of a solid start that has not been a feature of its play in recent times.
“I still think we need to find another opener, we are still looking for an opener and one more top-class batsman in the middle,” Dujon told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“Right now we are not getting the results, we need good open partnerships and we have not been getting that,” he added.
Dujon believes that so far, the openers paired with Brathwaite have been plagued by shortcomings with playing the new ball.
“I just don’t get the feeling that he is playing down the right line, as an opening batsman playing a moving ball, I don’t think he gets down the wicket far enough,” he said of Powell.
Having only recently returned to the team, Hope has also been tried in the position. While he certainly believes that Hope should have a spot in the team, Dujon is convinced it is not at the top of the innings.
“He’s a very good player but he is not an opener. His style of play to open the batting in limited over cricket is fine. He should be in this batting line-up but somewhere around four or so.”
The Caribbean team, who are the defending champions, was routed by England in the first match where they lost by six wickets after being bowled out for 55. In the second encounter against South Africa, on Tuesday. after a promising start the team was dismissed for a subpar 143, which the Proteas easily chased down to win by 8 wickets.
The loss leave the West Indies rooted at the bottom of the six-team table, with a net run rate of -2.550. With only the top two teams set to advance to the final four, the Windies are already facing an uphill battle to move on to the next round.
“Well, we just have to do what it takes,” a dejected Pollard said following the team’s loss to South Africa.
“We have to dig deeper as a team. We have to dig deeper as a batting unit,” he added.
“We have to get wins on the board now. We’ve put ourselves in a position whereas from a run rate perspective that’s pretty low, and from a win percentage we haven’t won any games.
“So we have to win the next three games. We just have to take it one at a time and try to improve each and every time.”
The West Indies will next face Bangladesh on Friday at 5:00 am.
On the back of a brisk 95 off 47 balls, which included an explosive eight 6s, the Irish posted 208 for 7. The Windies, led by Evin Lewis’ 53 and a decent all-round team batting performance, made a good chase of the target before running out of enough balls to get there.
In analyzing the match, Pollard commended the bowlers for recovering from a poor start and the batsmen for making a competitive chase of the target. He, however, believes the team could have done more running between the crease.
“When we were batting we did not have the urgency running between the wickets. We know we are a good power-hitting team but when the singles are there and the twos are there we need to run hard between the wickets,” Pollard said.
“When Ireland were batting they hit the ball to our fieldsmen and they ran and that is something we did not do,” he added.
In their total, the Windies amassed 142 boundaries with 55 singles as compared to Ireland’s 124 boundary runs and 74 singles.
After losing the opening match, the Kiwis came roaring back into the series with a dominant 50-run (DLS) win over the Windies on Friday. The team would have taken plenty of encouragement after bowling out New Zealand for 212, led by Kevin Sinclair’s industrious 4 for 41.
In their turn at the crease, however, the Windies batsmen could not come to grips with the duo of Trent Boult and Tim Southee. Together, the two combined for a relentless opening spell that left the home team six wickets down in the 10th over.
Overall, the duo finished with seven wickets and ended the Windies response before it began. Southee finished with 4 for 22 and Boult 3 for 18.
Cariah, however, did play his part in making a contest of things. He provided the majority of the little resistance getting his maiden half-century in an 85-run partnership with Alzarri Joseph. With the series and possibly an automatic spot at the ICC World Cup on the line the bowler knows the team can’t afford a repeat performance at the crease.
“We need to find a way to bat the first 10 overs from Southee and Boult, keep them out of the game in the wickets column and we will be fine,” Cariah said ahead of Sunday’s decider.
“I just think with the new ball is we had faced some balls and bat some overs and get ourselves in it would have been easier for us,” he added.
The Windies great, formerly the all-time record run-scorer in Tests, believes his countrymen will struggle if matches go the full five-day distance.
But he sees West Indies as having the players who can impose themselves on their hosts, with the behind-closed-doors series starting in Southampton on Wednesday.
"They have to hit the road running and stamp their authority on England," Lara said in quotes published by the BBC.
"I don't think they can last five days, so they have to take these games in four days. They have to establish a lead and keep it."
Lara still holds the highest individual score in Tests - the 400 not out he scored against England in Antigua in 2004.
He knows what it takes to pick apart an England bowling attack, and West Indies' 2-1 series victory over the same opponents last year suggests the current breed can also more than hold their own.
Whether West Indies can be as competitive in English conditions as they were in the Caribbean remains to be seen.
"They have to be able to pounce immediately," said Lara. "England are not beaten very easily at home and are overwhelming favourites."
According to the 51-year-old Trinidadian, the tone for the series could be set on day one.
Lara said: "If they play good cricket on the first day of the Test series, show they have the mettle to perform against England, that's the key."