The 24-year-old Joseph has spent a little over a month representing Worcestershire, where he made his debut following the West Indies home series against Sri Lanka. As per the arrangement, the player is now back in the Caribbean for the team’s upcoming series against South Africa.
In his six matches there, Joseph did make some impression, claiming 15 wickets, the second most in the team and adding 148 runs, with a high score of 61. In addition, he claimed an innings best of 2 for 22 and match best of 4 for 106.
The English championships is typically lauded as a good place for young cricketers to develop, not only due to the difficult and different conditions, but also the volume of cricket played in a short period of time. During the West Indies spell as the top cricketing nation, several of the players took part in the competition.
“He spent some time in England which everyone feels like that is the bedrock for development because of the amount of cricket that you play, but gone are the days when you use to play seven days or sometimes, 12 to 14 days in a row, and if you can’t develop from that system then you can’t develop,” Roberts, who represented Hampshire and Leicestershire, told the Antigua Observer.
“I am just hoping that he spent most of his time in the nets learning to hone his craft because there is no point to playing County cricket and you don’t learn nothing from playing County cricket. For years I’ve been saying the same thing over and over like the record is stuck; personal development is the key to success.”
The 35-year-old Bulli was one of the standout bowlers for the tournament and claimed an impressive 14 wickets in 6 matches, with an economy rate of 4.76. Despite playing two fewer matches, the spinner was just one wicket off the top spot occupied by Shannon Gabriel (15), Odean Smith (15), and Nicholas Gordon (15).
In Saturday’s final, the left-arm spinner's mesmerizing skills were on full display when he left Trinidad and Tobago Red Force batsman Darren Bravo bamboozled all ends up, to take the crucial wicket of the dangerous batsman and end with figures of 1 for 44.
With a tournament best of 4 for 32, against the West Indies Academy, Bulli, who has not always managed to find consistency, was one of the key reasons the team was able to win the first Super50 title in 10 years.
“I’ve had times but I never got a good enough chance to express myself but this has been one of those times,” Bulli said of his performances this season.
“The first time I really got a chance to express myself was in 2019 and I did well. I got called up for the President’s XI team and got injured, got picked for the CPL, and got covid. So this is another opportunity and a good time for me to show what I can do.”
Then the best team in the world, the all-conquering West Indies squad had previously claimed back-to-back World Cup titles in 1975 and 79. It looked set to be a golden ODI debut year of sorts for Davis who was called to a 1983 squad who were heavily favoured to claim the third title in a row. In a side already chockfull of fast bowling talent he made an impact as well. Davis was included in the side for the second group match against Australia at Headingley and splashed his name across the headlines by taking 7-51, at that time a world record return in ODIs.
He was kept in the squad for the other four group matches but could not replicate his early success after taking just one more wicket. He was dropped for the semifinals against Pakistan with the team opting for the A-List strike squad that included Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts, and Malcolm Marshall. The team posted an easy eight-wicket win over Pakistan in the penultimate match and booked a match-up with an India team that they had previously beaten by 66 runs in the preliminary round. Despite the tag of prohibitive favorites, however, it was India who secured a stunning 43 runs win over the West Indies, registering one of the biggest upsets in cricket history.
“In 1983 West Indies came to England and were overwhelming favourites to win that World Cup, it would have to go down as one of my most disappointing times with the West Indies because there was no obvious reason that we should have lost that match and we still lost," Davis told the Mason and Guest Radio show.
“It brought us down low, that was difficult, I saw big men cry in the dressing room because it hurt. We got over it and we went over to India and beat them pretty badly.”
The 26-year-old Chanderpaul, the son of legendary West Indies player Shivnarine Chanderpaul, earned plenty of plaudits after beginning his senior career against top Test team Australia last month.
On debut against the Aussies, Chanderpaul scored 160 runs, which was the second most behind the in-form Brathwaite, and had a top score of 51. In addition to his scoring, however, the player's relative comfort against top-class bowling on a good pitch was also of note.
“I think he’s world class, when you even look at a thing like the ‘leave alone’ that he has,” Brathwaite told member of the media, ahead of the team's tour of Southern Africa.
“...I think he will be a world class Test batsman, obviously he has the patience and you can see he has still the shots also. On some good Australian pitches his strike rate was higher than normal, so I really think he has a bright future,” he added.
“He is a very focussed player and very determined, so for sure he will make many West Indian’s proud.”
Brathwaite and Chanderpaul will look to lead from the front, as the team looks to bounce back from a poor showing in Australia last month.
The 42-year-old competed in his final World Cup match on Thursday, his third appearance overall at the premier T20 competition. Unlike the other two appearances, which had resulted in the West Indies lifting the trophy, however, this one ended in disappointment with the team limping to the line in second to last place and being eliminated at the group stages.
Nor was Gayle’s performance particularly statistically significant. In five matches, Gayle tottered to 45 runs with a high score of 15 and an average of 9. In fact, even before the tournament, the player's inclusion had divided opinion around the Caribbean region with many insisting that the batsman, no longer at the top of his game, should have stepped aside for younger talent. He admits it was not the fairytale ending.
“It was a very disappointing World Cup, disappointing for me as well. This is probably my worst World Cup, but these things happen and it's just sad that it came at the back end of my career,” Gayle told ICC Cricket media.
“We still have a lot to go in West Indies cricket, we have some great talent coming up right now, so all I can do is play my supporting role with them and wish West Indies Cricket the best.
“I’d love to play one more World Cup, but I don’t think they would allow me,” a laughing Gayle added.
“I haven’t announced any retirement because they have given me one more game in Jamaica, in front of my home crowd then I can saw alright, thanks, guys. So, let’s see. If it wasn’t for that I would have announced it a long time ago with DJ Bravo.”
Gayle has been one of the most dominant players in the sport of T20 cricket, with over 14,000 runs scored. Internationally, he has scored the most runs for the West Indies with 1899.
Ahead of the start of the West Indies England tour, doubts have repeatedly been raised of not just the team’s top order, but the overall unit as well, as they prepare to stand up to an experienced English bowling line-up. Since a 2-1 defeat to England, on their last tour in 2017, West Indies have a batting average of 23.59 across 19 Tests. Nor can the team take comfort in some of the showings during the recent intra-squad matches, which served as preparation for the series. In the final warm-up, a top-five of Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Shamarh Brooks, Shai Hope, and Roston Chase found themselves reduced to 9 for 3 and 49 for 5.
“The runs don’t have to only come from the top order. I think we are putting a lot of emphasis on the top order. Yes, they probably haven’t lived up to the expectations but in general, it’s a team sport and we just have to put runs on the board,” Holder told members of the media during a Zoom press conference on Tuesday.
“Personally, I don’t care, it’s just for us to put runs on the board and give our bowlers something to work with.”
The CPL is slated to get under way in August of this year but there is a lot of uncertainty, not just regarding its staging, but also the format it will take as well. One of the ideas being floated around suggests a ‘social distancing’ version of the tournament, which would be held at Barbados' Kensington Oval.
While some players have claimed an empty stadium could be awkward, Walsh, who is a part of the defending champion Barbados Tridents, has insisted it would be business as usual. Unlike the massive crowds associated with the CPL, the regional competitions do struggle at times to attract any significant crowd following.
“We still have quite some time to try and get ready while we are waiting for the tournament to come around. We see some progress with the region recovering from the virus, and probably at the start, it may affect the tournament where the social distancing is concerned, and it might not, but I am used to playing in front of an empty stadium in regional cricket where pretty much no one comes sometimes, so I guess it would be business as usual,” Walsh told the Antigua Observer.
Walsh, the tournament’s top wicket-taker last season, was one of nine Barbados Tridents retained. The list also includes captain Jason Holder, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope and Raymon Reifer, Ashley Nurse and Johnathan Carter.
In recent days, both violent and peaceful protests have swept across the United States as citizens demand justice for the killing of George Floyd. Floyd, an African American male in his 40s, died after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, was recorded kneeling on his neck while he was pinned to the floor for several minutes during an arrest.
According to reports, police had been called to the scene after a convenience store clerk alerted the authorities regarding what he suspected to be a counterfeit $20 bill used by Floyd to purchase a pack of cigarettes. Chauvin has since been arrested and charged with third-degree murder but protests have continued to boil over as the issue has sparked a larger debate regarding the deep-seated issue of racial injustice.
Many athletes around the world, spanning several generations, have not been shy in making their thoughts known on the issue. The long list includes NBA greats Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lebron James, and rising tennis star Coco Gauff. In the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho and Achraf Hakimi displayed “Justice for George Floyd messages” scrawled on t-shirts hidden beneath their jerseys after scoring. Schalke’s 21-year-old American midfielder Weston McKennie and Borussia Monchengladbach’s 22-year-old French forward Marcus Thuram also displayed support for the movement.
Closer home the ICC T20 World Cup-winning captain believes things have been too quiet and called on officials to add their voices to the mix.
“@ICC and all other boards are you guys not seeing what’s happening to people like me? Are you not gonna speak against the social injustice against my kind…” Sammy said in a series of tweets.
“Now is not the time to be silent. I wanna hear u.”
Joining Sammy in speaking out was West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle who also posted a message on social media that advocated for black lives to be considered as important as any other life.
“Black life matters just as any other life,” Gayle’s statement read.
“Even within teams as a Black man, I get the end of the stick.”
The West Indies, leading England by 99 runs at the Ageas Bowl at the beginning of Saturday, were pushed back, as openers Rory Burns, 42, and Dom Sibley, 50, whittled down that lead.
After lunch, things got worse for the West Indies, who had to remain patient as Zak Crawley, 76, and stand-in skipper Ben Stokes, 46, threatened to take the game away from them, pushing England’s lead in the match to 135 before the latter was removed by a fine piece of bowling from Jason Holder.
England then lost five wickets for 35 runs, as Shannon Gabriel, 3-62, and Alzarri Joseph, 2-40, reduced England to 284-8, a lead of 170.
With just two wickets needed on tomorrow’s final day, the West Indies are hoping not to have to chase too many and to be given the time to do it.
“All you can do is get the remaining wickets for as little runs as possible and then bat normally,” said Simmons at the end of day four.
“If we bat for five hours tomorrow to chase 180-190 then it is a normal batting day,” he said.
Simmons is wary of what it may be like batting on a final-day Ageas Bowl pitch though.
All the batsmen have called the pitch ‘dry’, which could make it particularly difficult on the final day of a Test match.
“It’s not a chase where you have to go at the bowling. We hope that in the morning, whatever roller is used, will flatten out the wicket so we can get a good start,” said Simmons.
According to the former West Indies opening batsman-turned-allrounder, the West Indies can take heart from the way they batted in the first innings and that it should give them confidence headed into the final day.
“I think the confidence from the way we batted, the attitude towards batting in the first innings, is going to be a huge plus for us, batting in the second innings. Whether it be 170 or 190 it is going to be the same attitude that you will need to chase it.”
The 75-year-old Lloyd has been respected for generations, not just for his cricketing ability but steady and inspiring leadership, which saw the West Indies lift back-to-back ICC World Cup titles in 1975 and 1979.
With the team currently a long way from those heady days of success, several former players have pointed to the issue of mentorship as a missing element in the current team’s success and have been quick to offer their assistance to rectify the problem. Not so fast, says Lloyd.
“We have to find out how strong they are in certain departments. You can’t just say this guy is going to be this when he isn’t suited for that role. You have to find out what strengths he or she has,” Lloyd told the Mason and Guest Radio program.
“I’m talking about players that have done extremely well, have been through the mill, and can pass the knowledge on," he added.
"Not every great player can be a teacher but there are certain aspects and things that they are strong at, and that is what we have to search for, so that when we have a player coming through and they get to Test level they are not learning on the job they have already qualified.”
Former West Indies and Barbados batsman, Philo Wallace, believes the combative leadership style of former CWI president Dave Cameron means he will never get the support of the current board, in his bid for ICC Chairman.
The addition of the name of the former legendary batsman to the speculative list of potential replacement for Phil Simmons has garnered mixed reactions. In opposition, some have pointed to Chanderpaul’s relative lack of experience, while others believe he would be more suited to a role in administration.
For Radford, who is well acquainted with the former player, there is no doubting the quality he would be able to bring to the role.
“I’m a big fan, I’ve often talked about Shiv and what he brought to the game as a player. He was a very hard worker and meticulous in preparation, a lot of the things I think he would instil as coach for the younger players,” Radford told the Mason and Guest show.
“He has been there and done it. He was number one in the world for a period of time, a top Test player in the world. He has played all round the world. I think he would bring a huge amount to it,” he added.
“He is new to coaching and still finding his feet but he is having relative success and I think he would bring a lot to it,” he added.
Radford, however, believes the former batsman would have to be supported by a very capable team, which is always the case for head coaches as opposed to specialist coaches. Chanderpaul, who retired from the sport six years ago, has already experienced some success as a coach, having led the Jamaica Tallawahs to the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title last year.
The regional team has endured a particularly wretched run of form across all formats in recent months. A poor showing at the T20 World Cup saw the two-time champions embarrassingly eliminated in the first round of the competition after loses to Scotland and Ireland.
In the aftermath, Simmons, and, then later team captain Nicholas Pooran, resigned their positions. The Test team then traveled to Australia to face the home team in a two-match series where they were badly outplayed. In the second Test, for instance, the team lost by a massive 419 runs after being bowled out for 77.
In light of such performances, Murray believes there needs to be many more changes at the broader management level than just Simmons, if the team is to truly start moving forward.
“I want to commend Phil Simmons he has done the honourable thing.
He was responsible for the team when we did not qualify for the T20 World cup and he did the hourrable thing,” Murray told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“We should not assume for one minute, however, that one man, Philip Simmons, is responsible for the decline, for the losses of West Indies cricket," he added.
“I keep looking to see others follow suite but nothing like that has happened…”
Murray went on to state that he believed the entire government system surrounding the sport in the region needed to change.
The swashbuckling 31-year-old was in fine form for the Windies during their recent tour of Sri Lanka, picking up man-of-the-series honours in a 2-0 win over the home team. In fact, with a T20 strike rate of 171.29, the signature of Russell has become one of the most coveted on contracts all over the globe. His development has impressed the Trinidadian all-rounder, who knows a thing or two about high-quality performances himself.
“It’s the same thing I used to say about Chris Gayle, we are happy to have someone like Gayle representing us, we don’t have to come up and bowl against him in an international match. I think it’s the same with Andre Russell. Andre Russell now is our Chris Gayle, is our Brian Lara in the T20 format. He is a superstar, he’s the best player and we are happy,” Bravo told local Trinidad-based radio station I955 FM.
“He’s the best in the world and we’re happy to have him in our team.”
Russell has claimed a number of titles with various franchises, including five in eight months in 2016. He was named in the team of the tournament at the T20 World Cup that same year.
For some, the West Indies' recent and consistent failure on the international stage, in recent years, is in large part due to regional players being unable to attain the competitive standard required for international cricket, after taking part in a substandard regional competition.
In several instances, players that have dominated the regional season have gone on to struggle against international opponents, once called up for the West Indies. Blackwood, who heaped up 768 runs in 15 innings for Jamaica, including a double hundred against the Leeward Islands in the tournament's last match, however, has gone on to register a dominant performance against England. He believes things are changing.
“To be honest I don’t pay too much attention to who is taking this or that, everyone has their opinion,” Blackwood told members of the media via a Zoom press conference on Tuesday.
“For me, personally, things are heading in the right direction in the Caribbean. I think I put in a lot of work to score some runs in the regional 4-dayers and definitely you can see it in my body language and approach to Test cricket now. So, it has helped me to become the player I am now, and you can see the growth in my batting.”
The 22-year-old made his debut under difficult conditions in New Zealand, earlier this month, performing creditably despite a heavy loss for the West Indies. Holder ended with figures of 2 for 110, with one maiden, but often providing some testing deliveries despite not claiming more wickets.
For next month's tour, despite 12 first-team players opting not to take part in the series, there is no space in the Bangladesh Test squad for Holder. One of the players missing is West Indies captain Jason Holder, who typically makes up part of a pace bowling quartet alongside Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach, and Alzarri Joseph.
Some believe Holder would have proved a suitable replacement for his namesake, but Cricket West Indies chief of selectors Roger Harper pointed out that the player had been excluded for a spinner, considering the spin-friendly nature of pitches in Asia.
Ambrose, however, does not agree and pointed out that it is crucial the young fast bowler, having shown promise, be given the opportunity to excel in all kinds of conditions.
“That to me is utter nonsense. I can’t support that. If you want to be a top-class international cricketer, you have to be able to bowl on all surfaces, in all conditions anywhere you go,” Ambrose said.
“To me, that type of reason does not hold any water, it is disappointing. Having made his debut in New Zealand and done fairly well on his debut, he is full of confidence, he is one of the guys for the future in my view. To be left out of the Test squad to me was a big surprise…Don’t tell me because it’s a spin-friendly environment that you are going to, you want to walk with 10 spinners, that to me makes no sense.”
Despite a relatively solid year in the red ball format, the Windies will start as massive underdogs against the top-ranked Australians on Sunday. In addition to the fact that West Indies has not secured a win against Australia at home since 1993 the team has won just games in the last 8 Test series.
Having managed solid wins against England and Bangladesh in their last two series, however, Brathwaite will be hoping to spring a surprise. For that, keeping focus will be crucial.
“We have 10 days of hard Test cricket to play. We know Australia are a very, very good team, especially at home. So, the main thing for us is to focus on our discipline,” Brathwaite of the media on Tuesday.
“When we are batting, we want to bat 100 overs plus, when we are bowling, we are looking to get 20 wickets. So that obviously is to help the team win a game. We know Australia is a superior team. We have to play 10 days of hard cricket that’s the focus.”
The West Indies will play Australia in two Test matches. The first will bowl off in Perth on December 4th, followed by a trip to Adelaide from December 7th-12th.
The West Indies and England are expected to mark a return to international cricket action, with a three-Test series, which will be held in the UK, in July. Due to ongoing fears concerning the Coronavirus, the matches will be played without fans and in a sterile environment. Small, insists, however, that he does not expect or want to see a competitively sterile series.
Archer, who is himself another Barbadian-born national turned Englishman and former West Indies youth representative, is expected to capture a good deal of the spotlight. The bowler who began his career in promising fashion, took 22 wickets in his first four matches at an average of just over 20. Some of his 95-per-hour thunderbolts, often had batsmen on the ropes, unsettling even the best of them. During the Ashes, Archer delivered frightening deliveries that struck Australian batsman Steve Smith on the arm and then around the neck area before he could react to the ball. The bowler has struggled to reproduce such form since and has been hampered by injury. With the hiatus from sport granting him some recovery time and being recently declared fit for the series, Small is hoping to see that fire return.
“He had a great first year in the international game. He came back from South Africa with an injury and didn’t play the last couple of Test matches. Hopefully the time off has allowed his injuries to heal and he can come back charging and hitting guys on the helmet as he did in that series last summer,” Small told the Mason and Guest Radio program.
"I think the term fast bowler gets offered around loosely, especially in the modern game but this guy is genuinely quick and he makes it looks so easy...it’s good to see batsmen hopping around the crease."
Pollard was captain of the team at the previous edition of the tournament, which ended in a similarly disastrous fashion. On that occasion, however, the team, which consisted of veteran 30-somethings Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Andre Russell, and 40-something-year-old Chris Gayle, was criticized for being too old.
Pollard, who retired from international cricket earlier this year, however, believes the sub-par display at this year’s tournament should also serve as a cautionary tale for selecting teams with too little experience.
“We have a young captain, we have young players, guys who have played only a handful of T20 cricket and now they are in the World Cup. When I look back at it, I sit back and I have a smile on my face because I remember some of the things that we said around last year this time when some individuals weren’t selected,” Pollard told Trinidad and Tobago radio.
“I just had to remind these people that there was a World Cup we were going to and another bilateral series. Now some of these individuals get a chance to play in the World Cup and again look what has happened. It's no fault of theirs,” Pollard added.
"When we tried to protect them and let people understand they were not ready and for that we were lambasted. There were a lot of things that were said that we are very derogatory at times. It’s a sad day for West Indies cricket and all of us.”
Following a difficult 4-1 series loss to top team India, the team narrowly lost its opening match against the Kiwis by 13 runs, thanks in large part to the late-innings heroics of Romario Shepherd and Odean Smith.
Chasing a decent total of 185, the West Indies lost wickets in clusters in the middle overs but Shepherd and Smith added 58 for the seventh wicket. Having cracked a score of 150 just once in the previous series, Pooran found some encouragement in the team’s opener, despite the result.
“I’m happy we are starting to find our template. We know scores above 175, 180 can be tricky for us but we can see that we are actually starting to bat deep,” Pooran said, following the match.
“Guys are actually starting to play the situation a bit smarter. Today Jason was in that position with Shamarh Brooks. I thought both of them batted really well, they just never got that big over that was required, having said that, I think the template is coming nicely,” he added.
The West Indies and New Zealand will play the second match of the series on Friday.
