Roddy Estwick

The comparison between the all-rounders, ranked one and two in the world, has come to the fore as they go head-to-head in the ongoing Test series.  Despite a strong performance from Holder, who claimed seven wickets in a win for the West Indies in the first Test, it is Stokes who has had the edge. 

In the second Test, the England utility player scored a blistering 176 in the first innings, and 78 in the second, to play a crucial role in a big series-leveling win for England.  In addition, Stokes claimed six wickets in the first Test, combined with innings of 43 and 46.  For the series so far, Stokes has scored a total of 343 runs, claiming 9 wickets.  Holder has claimed 8 wickets and scored 56 runs.  It was the West Indian who started the series as the number one ranked all-rounder in the world but he has now been bumped into two by the Englishman.  According to Estwick, however, in addition to having more responsibility as a bowler, Holder also has to focus on duties as a captain.

"Jason is a big player for us.  He made a double hundred back in the Caribbean, he just needs people around him.  Jason knows that once he can find partnerships and find some kind of rhythm he can be just as disruptive as Ben Stokes," Estwick told members of the media via a Zoom press conference.

"Also, remember the workload that Jason puts in as a bowler, Ben doesn’t put in.  Ben will go through 15 overs a day, Jason will probably go through 20, 25 and then he is captain as well.  So, mentally it not as easy as people think it is because he is one of our number one bowlers and we depend on him for his bowling as well.  Ben will bowl a lot less so he can bat a little higher than Jason has.”

In total, Holder has bowled 78 overs in the Test match so far, compared to Stokes’ 51.2.  Holder has registered among the team’s top three bowlers in deliveries so far this series, while Stokes is closer to the bottom.

Following a meeting of the Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) Board of Directors on Monday, December 19, CWI announced that Coley will oversee the two-Test tour of Zimbabwe from January 28 to February 16, as well as the multi-format tour of South Africa, which includes two Tests, three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20 Internationals (T20Is) from February 21 to arch 28.

Coley said he was honoured to be considered for the task.

“To be asked to oversee the West Indies team on the upcoming tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa is a special honour,” he said. “West Indies cricket holds a special place in my heart. The upcoming assignment will be challenging as we will come up against two teams in their home conditions. We will need to ensure that our planning and preparation are appropriate, and demonstrate consistency in the execution of these plans, to give ourselves the best opportunity to achieve positive results.”

Coley said he is confident the players are eager to achieve success on tour.

“The players, I’m sure, are enthusiastic about the opportunities that both series should offer and are eager to contribute to our team’s success,” he said.

“I look forward to the tours ahead and the opportunity to make a tangible and meaningful contribution to the growth of West Indies cricket.”

Meanwhile, Jimmy Adams, CWI Director of Cricket Coley’s experience should serve him well on this assignment that CWI has entrusted him with.

“We welcome Andre back to the West Indies dressing room and with his wealth of knowledge of the game, player-management skills, dedication and hard work, as well as attention to detail, we know he is well equipped,” Adams said.

“He is a highly experienced coach who has functioned at every level within the CWI High-Performance Pathway. This has prepared him for the job at hand and we expect he will again approach this new role with the same vigor and zeal which have characterized his time in the CWI coaching system and has earned the respect of players and everyone who he has interacted with.”

Coley, a former Jamaica wicket-keeper/batter, is currently Head Coach of the CWI Academy programme.

While Andre Coley fulfils the interim role, CWI’s High-Performance Manager Graeme West will oversee the West Indies Academy programme and who will be supported by  Adams to ensure there are no disruptions to the Academy programme during the period.

Coley previously served as the Assistant Academy Head Coach and Interim Academy Head Coach when the Sagicor Academy was launched in 2010. He was also Head Coach of the West Indies U19 Team; Assistant Coach of the West Indies Men’s and Women’s Teams, as well as Head Coach of Jamaica Scorpions and Windward Islands Volcanoes, who were the 2018 Super50 Cup Champions.

 In 2016, he was Assistant Coach of the West Indies Men’s Team which won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and earlier this year he was Assistant Coach of Jamaica Tallawahs when they captured the Caribbean Premier League title.

CWI also confirmed that the contracts of Assistant Coaches Roddy Estwick and Monty Desai had ended.

“I’d like to thank Roddy and Monty for their hard work and dedication in supporting the team over the last few years and wish them the very best in the future,” Adams said.

TOUR SCHEDULES

 West Indies in Zimbabwe

 28 to 31 January: four-day warm-up at Bulawayo Athletic Sports Club

 4 to 8 February: 1st Test at Queens Sports Club

 12 to 16 February: 2nd Test at Queens Sports Club

 West Indies in South Africa

 21 to 24 February: vs South Africa Invitational XI at Willowmoore Park, Benoni

 28 February to 4 March: 1st Test at SuperSport Park, Centurion

 8-12 March: 2nd Test at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

 16 March: 1st ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)

 18 March: 2nd ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)

 21 March: 3rd ODI at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom

 25 March: 1st T20Is at SuperSport Park, Centurion

 26 March: 2nd T20I at SuperSport Park, Centurion

 28 March: 3rd T20I at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg (night)

Sri Lanka ended the day on 113-1 from the 34.4 overs that were possible after rain washed out the entire first two sessions.

Pathum Nissanka and Oshada Fernando are the batsmen at the crease on 61 and two, respectively, while Roston Chase has so far taken 1-33 from 7.4 overs.

The West Indies made two changes to the team from the first test in the bowling department with Veerasammy Permaul and Kemar Roach playing instead of Rakheem Cornwall and Shannon Gabriel.

Estwick says the presence of a number of right-handers in the Sri Lankan batting line-up was the reason why Permaul, a left-arm spinner, came into the side at the expense of Cornwall, who bowls off-spin.

“When you look at the Sri Lankan batting line-up, they’re packed with right-handers. We felt that with Roston already bowling off-spin, it would be wiser to go with two left-arm spinners,” he said.

Meanwhile, according to Estwick Roach replacing Gabriel was due to the short turnaround between matches.

“You now have to manage your bowlers with the short turnaround. Before, you had eight or nine days between Test matches and that is a thing of the past. There’s three days between Test matches plus there’s been a lot of rain around Galle so the field is a bit heavy and that can be very taxing on the fast bowler’s body. Kemar didn’t play in the first test and that was planned to keep him fresh for this one,” he said.

Overall, Estwick was, for the most part, pleased with the bowling of his left arm spinners on the day.

“I thought Jomel Warrican, in the few overs he bowled this evening, looked threatening. He went past the bat a lot. Permaul, obviously coming back from being out of Test cricket for a while, I thought he looked good initially but then a change in (the) field, meant he went a little bit too wide. He needed to be on the stumps a bit more challenging both the outside and inside edges.,” he said.

He was also generally pleased with how the Caribbean side executed their plans on the day, especially to Sri Lankan captain, Dimuth Karunaratne, who got scores of 147 and 83 in the first test but who made 42 Monday.

“Obviously, their captain is in good form. I think we stuck to our plans well. We wanted to take the stumps out of the equation and make him hit the ball through the offside. I think we achieved that. If you look at it, he scored 42 off 90 balls so I thought that, all in all, we bowled well,” said Estwick.

Looking at what lies ahead in the match, Estwick emphasised cutting down on loose deliveries and being flexible with their tactics.

“We could have been better with maybe a little bit; too many boundary balls. We’ll come tomorrow and work hard, make sure we keep reviewing our plans and then try to go and execute them,” he said.

Day 2 begins at 11:30 pm.

The Windies are currently preparing for a return to international cricket with the upcoming tour of England, after a globally enforced break due to the coronavirus pandemic.  Ahead of the series, the regional team is likely to be encouraged by the fact that it once again has a full complement of first choice strike bowlers. The likes of Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel, and Alzarri Joseph are all available having recovered from injury.  The regional team’s bowling attack has on occasion shown that they can be a handful for even top batting line-ups.  Against England, in the Caribbean last year, Roach and Holder both claimed four-wicket hauls, with Gabriel and Joseph getting among the wickets as well.  Estwick believes a major difference that has boosted the team's bowling performance in recent years is its level of fitness.

“What we’ve done is to improve our fitness,  now we can sustain pressure,” Estwick said via a news conference.

“If you look back in the 80s, that’s one thing the fast bowlers had, it’s fitness.  Another thing is that they (current players) are now understanding fast bowling.  They have got to that age, Kemar and Shannon they are leading the charge and they are very experienced,” he added.

 “Jason Holder has become a much better Test match bowler in the last two years and Alzarri Joseph is now beginning to show his potential.  So were have four fast bowlers where we can challenge any team in the world.”

The 24-year-old Paul has been included in a 15-man Test squad to face New Zealand this month.  The player was previously invited for the team’s tour of England but along with Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer, declined to participate for health reasons.

His selection has not been entirely without controversy, with some believing the player to be too inconsistent to play Test cricket, particularly with the way he bowls.  Estwick believes, however, that a few of those inefficiencies come down to not playing the format enough.

“Keemo is very talented player, obviously he hasn’t played first-class cricket for a while because he has been with the West Indies and on the T20 circuit.  It’s good to have him back to see where he is at.  We have two first class games coming up to see where he is at,” Estwick told members of the media.

“We know the talent of Keemo Paul there is no doubt about that, a wonderful talent player.  He reminds me of someone like the late Keith Boyce from Barbados who represented the West Indies. Very athletic fielder, good mover, excellent timer of the ball,” he added.

“Remember Keemo is only 24 so it’s about how hard you work and how much preparation you put in.  Once Keemo can do that and he can get first class cricket under his belt, there is no doubt about his talent.  The last time he played a full first-class season he got 40-odd first-class wickets.”

The West Indies have travelled with two squads that will play three T20 Internationals and two Test matches during the three-week tour.

The contingent that arrived in Auckland on Thursday travelled to Christchurch where they will be in quarantine before they begin preparing for the series against the Black Caps and Estwick believes the players need to seize the moment.

“I think we’ve got to win series now. We win the odd Test match – you can look at all the teams we’ve played in the last two years – we’ve won one Test match, but we haven’t won the series,” Estwick said.

“I think it’s big for us now that we start winning series. If we want to move up, we’ve got to win series. It’s important that we put two or three performances together, not one good performance and we tend to fade away. We’ve got to win series and there’s no doubt about that, and we’ve got to start here in New Zealand by trying to win this series by playing good, positive, hard disciplined cricket.”

Notwithstanding, the coach is aware of how difficult it will be playing against New Zealand on home soil.

“New Zealand is a very, very difficult side playing at home. We’ve got to be up and we’ve got to execute properly. We’ve got to sit down, and we’ve got to plan,” he said.

“We know what it was like last time and we’ve got to make sure we’re ready because nobody goes to New Zealand and wins easily. You’ve got to be prepared to scrap. Sometimes they can be very patient and you’ve got to match that patience as well. We’ve got to leave no stone unturned to make sure we can combat New Zealand.”

Six reserve players have traveled with the Test squad to prepare and ensure replacements are available in case of any injury and, along with other members of the T20I squad, will form an ‘A’ Team to play two four-day matches concurrently with the Test team.

All members of the squads passed first health test in on arrival and officials were very impressed and highly complimentary with the adherence to protocols.

After a measure of some success when the team’s faced off in the Caribbean, the 23-year-old had also been expected to have a solid performance on the team’s tour of England earlier this year.  Those hopes failed to materialise, however, as the bowler toiled but only managed to pick up three wickets in the first two Tests.  He was dropped for spinner Rahkeem Cornwall for the third and final game.

Estwick, who was quick to point out that he has constantly encouraged the young bowler to seize the moment, expects a much better showing this time around, along with the usual suspects Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, and Kemar Roach.  

“I have high expectations of Alzarri Joseph for this tour.  He has been around for a while and I’ve been trying to get him to realise that it’s time now that he really stands up and puts in big performances,” Estwick told members of the media from the team’s training facility in New Zealand on Monday.

“Those four will be very important to us, as you know the pitches in New Zealand are not spin-friendly.  So, the spinners might have to play more of a containing role while the fast bowlers are the key wicket-takers.

Since making his debut against India in 2016, Joseph has claimed 28 wickets in 11 matches.

The West Indies, holders of the Wisden Trophy, are locked at 1-1 with the hosts who are trying to regain the trophy they relinquished when they went down to the West Indies in the Caribbean in early 2019.

This, Estwick believes, makes the occasion one of significant magnitude.

“Obviously this a big, big Test match not only for the people who are here in England, there are a lot of people tuned and we’ve got to be really up for it, Estwick said.

He believes the West Indies are more than capable of winning the series.

“The key thing is if you look at the first innings [of the first Test] we got early wickets. When we won in Southampton we got off to a decent start in the first innings with the bat so for me those are two key areas,” he said.

“If we can blunt that new ball and stop England from getting early wickets and also get early wickets ourselves, that could put us in a position to control the game and try and put them under some added pressure.”

Estwick said the coaching staff has been trying to get the players to be aware of the piece of history that can write if they win. West Indies last won a Test series in 1988 before any member of the present team was born.

“We’re constantly reminding them they have the chance to change something that hasn’t happened in 32 years,” he said.

“We played them over the last two or three years and we’ve won the odd Test matches. We’ve obviously won in the Caribbean – we want to go one step better here in England. We really want to win that Test match.

“We have to be up for it. Obviously England is going to be up for it because it’s a final – when you look at this game it is a final for both teams and whoever puts in a big performance also will win the game.”

West Indies last won a Test series in 1988 before any member of the present team was born.

Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Justin Greaves as well as Assistant Coach Roddy Estwick and team physician Dr Akshai Mansingh all returned positive results and will now undergo a period of self-isolation. Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, and Kyle Mayers had tested positive prior to the start of the series are also in isolation.

With a total of six players now ruled out of the tour due to COVID-19 and a finger injury to Devon Thomas (sustained in the 1st T20I), CWI and PCB Officials met Thursday morning, after all members of the touring party were tested again, to determine whether the tour can continue.

According to sources, it was decided that the final T20 will be played but the ODI series could be called off if there is a further outbreak among the West Indies players.

The West Indies trail 0-2 in the T20 having lost the first match on December 13 by 63 runs and the second on December 14, by nine runs.

Conventional wisdom has at times suggested that a team’s best chance of doing well in the format is for batsmen to spend as much time out in the middle as possible.  With ball change rules, shorter boundaries, better bats, and more attacking-minded batsmen ODI scores in the last decade and a half have risen steadily.  Scores in the region of 350 have become more commonplace.  In fact, the top five highest scores in ODI cricket have all come in the last 14 years.

As such, Estwick points out that just occupying the crease will not be enough and the team must find a way to score runs.

“It’s hard to say you are going to bat time, you still need to make sure you get around 300 runs.  We can’t just say we will sit back and bat time,” Estwick told members of the media via a Zoom press conference call on Tuesday.

“We got to come up with better game plans, we have to execute better.  You know that you have a certain strike rate and certain runs per over to go at in ODI cricket,” he added.

“To be safe these days you have to make around 340, 350.  It might not be that much in this series but remember we are preparing for 2023 that is when the World Cup is.”

The West Indies were defeated by an innings and 134 runs last weekend at Hamilton in a match that ended early on the fourth day.

Speaking on the eve of the match, Estwick said the team had honest and frank discussions but the time had come for the players to back themselves to deliver when it matters.

“The talking has to stop. We have to go out and stay in the contest, stay in the fight,” he said.

“We have got to be ready. The game in Hamilton is gone, we have to look forward to this one in Wellington. We are representing eight million people back in the Caribbean. They want to see us fight and we have to be prepared to fight.

“We can’t just roll over and say New Zealand is a good side and we are not going to fight and we’re going to lay down an let them run all over us. Once we can stay in the contest we have a chance.”

In the first Test, the West Indies replying to New Zealand’s 519 for 7, got off to a solid start at 49 without loss but as has seemingly become the norm, collapsed to 138 for 9. Shane Dowrich was unable to bat because of a reported hand injury.

Following on, the team collapsed again to 89 for 6 before Jermaine Blackwood scored 104 and Alzarri Joseph, a career best 86, in a 155-run seventh wicket partnership that took the West Indies to a more respectable 247.

Estwick said the team had to improve in all areas when play begins in Wellington.

“We have to be prepared to work hard. The bowlers have to be prepared to bowl long spells, a lot of overs, the batsmen have to be prepared to bat for a very long time. This is Test cricket, this is one of the better teams in the world and you have got to be prepared to do those things,” Estwick said.

“If you’re not prepared to do these things then you’re going to play T20 cricket but you have to be prepared to scrap and fight and battle and really represent. Put a price on your wicket, put a price on every ball you bowl, put a price on every ball you field, put a price on every ball you catch.

“There is no other way, there is no hiding place in Test cricket.”

In the latest weekly update to the men’s rankings, which considers performances in the last three matches of the series, Hosein moved up 15 places to 18th position after a haul of 4-30 that helped him finish with six wickets in three matches.

“It’s not something I pay close attention to. However, when I play or train, it’s always about aiming to become the best,” Hosein said while speaking with CWI Media.

“It’s about having that mindset of wanting to improve and wanting to be at the top, so definitely it is an aspiration of mine to be the number one bowler in the world someday. Therefore, this move means a lot to me. It shows that my hard work is paying off and that I will be rewarded if I perform well. It’s definitely a good feeling.”

Holder was the star performer with the unique feat of grabbing four wickets in four balls in front of his home crowd. He finished with figures of 5-27 – the best in a T20I at the historic venue. This took his tally to nine wickets in those three matches, as he advanced three places to 23rd with a massive gain of 20 rating points. Overall, he took 15 wickets in the five matches, a new record for the most in a bilateral series, and was named the Player-of-the-Series.

Left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell (up 10 places to 31st) is another West Indies bowler to move up in Wednesday’s update while England spinner Moeen Ali (up three places to 32nd) and Liam Livingston (up 33 places to 68th) have also advanced.

In the ranking for batters, Nicholas Pooran is up eight places to 18th after scoring 113 runs in the three matches including a knock of 70, while opener Brandon King (up 25 places to 58th) and West Indies captain Kieron Pollard (up 15 places to 60th) have also advanced. King made a stylish 52 not out in the first match as West Indies won easily, while Pollard had a crucial 41 not out off 25 balls in the final match.

“This definitely means a lot to me, because I put a lot of work into my craft. I work day in and day out, so moving up the rankings is important. The ultimate goal is to be the best. I do pay attention to it (the rankings) because it is a good way to track your growth,” Pooran said.

Rovman Powell made the most of his return to the team with a brilliant 107 in the third matchmaking him the third West Indian to record a century in this format. He followed up with 35 not out off 17 balls in the last game.

Speaking at the end of the enthralling series, West Indies assistant coach Roddy Estwick said the improvement shown was extremely pleasing.

“After the last couple of months that we’ve had, it’s really pleasing that we’ve won a series. Improvement for me is actually more important than winning the series because you’ve got to focus on getting to the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 and doing a lot better than we did in the last one,” he said.

“The crowds coming back to the stadium is very important. The players were a lot freer this time around. The bubble was still there but a lot more relaxed and you could see the players responding to it so credit to the medical staff of the Cricket West Indies.

“Akeal Hosein was really brilliant for us when the chips were down along with Fabian Allen. They turned the tide, put England under pressure, continued to get wickets and that’s all we can ask, that people put their hands up when they need to and lead and fight and battle.”

The West Indies will take on the Netherlands in three ODIs on May 31, June 2 and 4. The team will then travel to Pakistan for three more ODIs on June 8, 10 and 12.

Estwick was speaking at a media conference late last week when he addressed the Hetmyer situation. Hetmyer recently withdrew from Rajasthan Royals in the IPL to travel back to Guyana for the birth of his first child.

Mere days later, he returned to the Royals which will play the Gujarat Titans on Tuesday, May 24 in the first IPL qualifier. However, the explosive Guyanese batsman has not made himself unavailable for the West Indies tours.

Estwick said the West Indies will miss his talents.

"If someone like Hetmyer's not playing, you're obviously going to miss his talent. He's having an outstanding season for Rajasthan Royals. He's doing very, very well. He's playing well,” Estwick said.

“He will be missed, but at the end of the day, he's not there. He's asked not to be selected for this tour so we have to get on without him and we hope that he will make himself available for future tours."

Notwithstanding Hetmyer’s absence, Estwick said he expects the West Indies to win the three ODI series against the Netherlands.

"Our expectation is to win all three ODIs [in the Netherlands] but it's not going to be easy," Estwick said. "Remember, a lot of the players won't have played in conditions like the ones we'll encounter in the Netherlands.

"It's about how quickly we adjust to conditions. We've only got a couple of days' practice before we go into the first ODI so it's all about adjusting and getting used to the conditions and then executing plans as well as possible."