The regional team ending up beating Sri Lanka in the first T20 by a fairly comfortable margin, in the end, but things did not always look so straightforward. Overall, a few of the players did not have the expected impact straight out of the gate for the Windies. This was particularly the case with the batting line-up where three players, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran and Fabian Allen were dismissed for ducks.
In pursuit of the modest target of 131 for 9, the Windies were rocked in the third over by an Akila Dananjaya spell, which saw the dismissal of Evin Lewis, Gayle, and Pooran. Gayle was batting in the unfamiliar third spot, which worked well during this season’s IPL campaign.
Pollard is adamant he is, however, in no hurry to change things around, particularly after one game. In fact, he believes the practice is one that has hurt the team in the past.
“If we are honest with ourselves, that’s one of the problems that has plagued us over the years, the constant chopping and changing when things don’t go right after one or two games,” Pollard told members of the media via a Zoom press conference on Thursday.
“We don’t expect miracles from people. Sometimes you have to give them a chance and opportunities to fulfil what they are trying to achieve and after a period of time you can make a judgment call,” he added.
“After one game I don’t think we are even thinking of doing any changes or anything like that. We need to get away from the fact that if a guy doesn’t perform, not exclusively using Chris for example, but any individual that has played one or two games, thinking they are not good enough and just be looking to discard them."
The issue comes to the for on the back of a tough, lopsided loss to South Africa, where the batsmen, in particular, struggled to deal with the guile and pace of the opposition bowlers. Many, however, will point to the team’s proclivity to succumb to batting collapses as a chronic illness. From his perspective, the situation has left the former batsman to ponder about the amount of work and investment being put in by individual players behind the scenes.
He, however, admitted that the overall issue was a complicated and difficult one to assess.
“Is it that heading into a Test series we aren’t preparing well enough technically and mentally, or is it that when players have their own downtime they are not targeting key areas that are critical,” Adams asked on the Mason and Guest radio program.
“Any successful player, at the international level or the elite level, who stays there for any period of time, would have spent all of that time doing remedial work because the cycle never ends,” he added.
“If you get exposed, you cover that gap. When you think you have that gap covered you get exposed somewhere else. You talk to any of them, the Laras the Ricky Pontings, the Sachins, they can confirm that they spent all their careers doing remedial work.”
Against the South Africans, the Windies batsmen were floored for 97 in the first innings and never managed to make 200 in any of the four innings against the visitors.
“I would throw it out for consideration, do we have that mindset amongst our quote and quote elite players? I’m not talking about just international players; I’m talking about first-class cricketers as well. Are they attacking themselves enough?
“Not just batsmen, bowlers, and wicketkeepers as well. The one thing that you can guarantee at the international level is you will know where your weaknesses are. If you are deaf and blind, then the rest of the world will know. The critical question is am I as a player embracing that? I am taking ownership in a way that as soon as I have my spare time I am attacking myself, I am getting at my weaknesses because the opposition already has it.”
The 1993 winner-takes-all showdown between the teams was decided by Ambrose’s magical 32 ball spell - from 85 for 2, the Australians tumbled to 119 all out. West Indies closed the first day on 135 for 1, and that was effectively that. The match was over by lunch on the third day.
In recently reflecting on the match itself, however, the bowler explained that the almost perfect circumstances for fast bowling was one reason the spell did not rank at the top of his list.
“When people ask me about some of my top spells, I will include that, because seven wickets for one run in 32 deliveries is unheard of but I’ve never had it at the top of the tree,” Ambrose told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“It was the best spell, yes, but when you looked at the game itself, the first morning of a Test match, the pitch was ripe for fast bowling. Everything was there for a fast bowler. I was not under any pressure or anything, that is why I never rated it as my best spell,” he added.
Interestingly, the WACA groundsman was subsequently dismissed for preparing such a home away from home pitch for Ambrose and the other Windies bowlers.
“The spell against South Africa, I would put it ahead because of the nature of the game. Our backs were against the wall. When we bowled England out in Trinidad for 46, I would have that spell ahead of it as well because of the nature of the game. The 8 for 45 against England in Barbados is the same thing. The situations were all different but that 7 for 1, I was not under any pressure on the first morning with a good pitch.”
The 41-year-old big-hitter had been tipped to return to the line-up last week but instead ended up in the hospital after a bout of food poisoning. It seems, Gayle, the record T20 runs scorer will finally step on to the pitch to face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Thursday.
"To all the fans out there, the wait is over. The Universe Boss is back. I know you all have been waiting for such a long time and the wait is over," Gayle said in a video posted on KXIP's official Twitter handle.
It will be difficult circumstances that will great the player, with Kings XI having lost six of its first seven games. The results leave them firmly rooted to the bottom of the table, with very little hopes of making it to the playoffs. Gayle, however, encouraged fans to have hope.
"Unless something drastic happens to the Universe Boss again, which I hope not. You know it's still possible. I know we are at the bottom of the table but it is still possible," he added.
"Seven games to go, we believe we can win all seven it is still possible. I urge each and every one of the guys to still have that self-belief as I said, the only way we can go is up is only up from here. So, we gonna do it, we can do it.”
With a line-up that included the likes of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, and Colin Croft, the West Indies team of that era became a nightmare for opposing batsmen. The four-pronged bowling attack was relentless but also possessed some skill to go along with sustained aggression.
Despite initially being known for producing top-class spinners, India has in recent years produced a fearsome pace bowling attack of their own. The likes of Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, have proved capable of rattling even the best batting line-ups around the globe.
Bumrah has arguably been the pick of the pack and has developed a reputation for terrorizing opposing batsmen with pace and movement, despite a relatively short run-up. Ironically, it was the West Indies that were rocked back by the bowler last year when he put on an outstanding display during a series between the teams, particularly during a Test match at Jamaica’s Sabina Park. Bumrah returned outstanding figures of 6-16 from 9.1 overs - including just the third Test hat-trick by an India bowler.
“When you have three fast bowlers, sometimes four and an excellent spinner, it takes my mind back to the West Indies pace quartet before my generation, the Marshalls, the Holdings, the Garners, the Roberts – I’ll stick Colin Croft in there,” Bishop told Cricbuzz in Conversation.
“There is no release point, two come out, two come on. There is no flow of runs and there is always a threat of penetration and physical harm to a lesser extent. That is one of the things that makes this group of fast bowlers excellent.”
On the back of a responsible 95 from Windies batsman Jermaine Blackwood, and a 9-wicket haul from pace bowler Shannon Gabriel, the regional team claimed a 1-0 lead after a 4-wicket win in Southampton, on Sunday. With the omission of veteran fast bowler Stuart Broad from the first Test, however, former England captain Nasser Hussain suggested the hosts may have underestimated the West Indies. England instead, opted for a line-up that included Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and James Anderson.
"Hats off to West Indies for a super performance, but I'd like to ask England one question. If this had been the first game of the Ashes, would they have left out Stuart Broad?" Hussain asked in his post-match analysis.
Simmons has, however, refuted any suggestions of underestimation.
“I don’t think so. England is a professional unit and I would not expect that from them. I think they thought on the day they needed to bat first. Maybe they looked at how the match would end, the wicket and how dry it was at the time,” Simmons told members of the media via a Zoom press conference.
“There are many factors why they could have batted first. I don’t want to speculate but I don’t think they took us for granted,” he added.
“I think there is a choice between five quality bowlers, so one had to sit out. It came to Broad that day but there are three back-to-back Test matches and England has maybe five or six Test matches, so sometimes we think that’s the way we have to go.”
The West Indies and England have had competitive outings in the last two Test match series between the teams. The West Indies also won a Test match, in England, in 2017, before claiming the Wisden Trophy with a 2-1 win over England in the Caribbean last year.
For decades, the region was the producer of fearsome fast bowling talent, which often left opposition batsmen with plenty to think about. The likes of Roberts, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Wes Hall, and Michael Holding are only a few of the names who could leave opponents with plenty to dread once they strode to the crease.
Many will point to the pace-bowling lineage being broken with the end of twin towers Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, with no bowler since managing to come close to consistency matching that once fearsome legacy.
“I don’t think that these guys are prepared for the hard work that fast bowling entails,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest program.
“If you look at it, most players now prefer to play T20s, it's only four overs. I must say that fast bowling is hard work, I would say donkey work, but I just believe they are not prepared,” he added.
In recent times, some have blamed poor preparation of the region’s pitches for suffocation of the Caribbean’s fast bowling talent, Roberts, however, does not agree.
“A lot of people blame the pitches, but I always ask, Pakistan is supposed to have some of the slowest pitches in the world, yet still they produce some of the fastest bowlers in the world. How do they do it and we can’t,” Roberts said.
“People believe that during the 60s, 70s, and 80s we used to have really fast pitches, that is far from the truth. We used to have Kensington Oval, the ball used to swing around and move off the seam on the first day, but after that, it became one of the best batting pitches in the region. It has nothing to do with pitches, it has a lot to do with the work ethics of the young cricketers, they don’t want to work hard.”
The topic of player fitness has been a hot-button issue in recent years, with a few cricketers failing fitness tests and others on occasions noticeably overweight. The issue is back in the spotlight following the recently concluded Women's T20 Blaze where Jamaica were crowned champions.
Some critics have pointed to the lack of a regulatory fitness program for the regional, players but Perry insists it must also be an issue of personal responsibility.
“I don’t think enough work is being put into our cricketers and our cricketers are not properly monitoring themselves. They eat anything they want, they eat KFC, they eat Burger King, they eat Chinese, they don’t have a proper program,” Perry told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“A part of the program is nutrition. You have to be eating properly to be a top-class cricketer because your body is going to need it, because, it brings the best out of your body. Rehydration, you go to the beach, you swim, you do all of these things, you follow a specific program,” he added.
“Players aren’t following that, they go on their phones and they go and sit in the dressing room and do nothing and then they go home and put on weight. How can you be a professional cricketer and a be putting on weight? You are not supposed to be putting on weight.”
The omission of promising pace bowler Chemar Holder raised more than a few eyebrows when the squad was named last week, especially on the back of a promising debut in New Zealand. The Test squad at current features four spinners in Rahkeem Cornwall, Kavem Hodge, Veerasammy Permaul, and Jomel Warrican along with the regular fast bowling trio of Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) chief of selectors, Roger Harper, went on to explain that Holder’s exclusion for additional spin bowling was based on the fact that the team was eager to take advantage of Bangladesh’s spin-friendly pitches.
Radford, who was part of a successful tour of the region in 2012, is unsure if that was the best approach.
“I’ve been listening to what people have been saying. We have gone heavy with a lot of spin. You expect the pitches to be slow and turn out there. Whether they need as many spinners as they are taking, I’m not too sure,” Radford told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“In fact, when we won in 2012 it was done with good batting, posting big scores and having pace, actually, guys who could get it down in the high 80s, 90 miles and hour, not just assuming that because it’s slow pitches spinners are going to do the work. I’m actually working for Bangladesh at the moment, I spent 6 weeks out there, they play spin very well, they’re brought up playing that kind of bowling.”
Following the promising start but a disastrous end to the tour of England, a lot of discussions surrounding how to improve the team’s performance focused on increased technological infrastructure around the region.
The typically fiery former pace bowler was, however, quick to point out that such investment is unlikely to make a difference if the attitude and work ethics of the batsmen do not improve.
“Infrastructure will not make you a better player. You have to make yourself a better player and I don’t think the commitment is there from a lot of West Indies players,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“It’s not just the Test players but a lot of people who play cricket in the West Indies, I don’t think they commit themselves enough. If you did, you would not be averaging 30 in first-class cricket and that is what we are getting.”
In the recently concluded series, it was Jermaine Blackwood that averaged the most for the team with 35.17 but he was the only one to get to 30. Overall, for the series, the team averaged closer to 20. In fact, the team’s highest batting average in a Test series consisting of at least two matches since 2017 is 34.66 and that was against Zimbabwe in 2017.
“You can’t beat any quality team with that type of average. So, our guys first have to stand up in front of the mirror and think what am I doing to improve myself, because, until our players improve their batting we are not going to score runs against a strong team.”
The omission of the likes of Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Shamarh Brooks, Shane Dowrich, Sheldon Cottrell, Rovman Powell, and Oshane Thomas from the international retainer contracts lists, for the upcoming year, has rubbed a few supporters the wrong way. Particularly, based on the fact that fewer contracts were handed out this year.
However, according to Harper, some players did not meet the minimum criteria for selection or simply did not display the quality need.
“We have to accept that these are performance-based contracts. So, the contracts are awarded based on performance during the evaluation period, as well as the selection panel must feel that the players must play a major role or form the nucleus of the team going forward,” Harper told members of the media on Thursday.
“The players who were not awarded contracts their performances over the period did not meet the necessary criteria as well as you had new players who came to fore and performed, so they were offered contracts,” he added.
“Going forward as a culture, if we want to see our team progress, if we want to see our team compete with the best in the world. We have to be more conscious of the fact that we have to earn our stripes and we have to perform consistently. I think our retainer contracts are given on that basis.”
In addition to playing at least 50 percent of the games during the evaluation period, to be considered, batsmen must average at least 30 in Test and ODI cricket. For T20Is players the player’s batting average and strike rate combined must be a minimum 150.
The giant West Indian rocketed to fame after swatting away four straight sixes off England’s Ben Stokes, to lift the Caribbean team to the 2016 T20 World Cup title. Those types of exploits were of course very much like another big West Indian's, Chris Gayle, who has often thrilled IPL crowds with his match-winning, big-hitting exploits in India.
“Cricket is a religion in India. I remember I was filming Chris (Gayle) being mobbed at the airport. But after the World Cup when I came to play for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), the same thing was happening to me,” the 31-year old said in a recent Delhi radio show.
Brathwaite has not quite followed up on the promise of those big heaves over the boundary, in recent years, losing both the captaincy of the West Indies and dropped from the squad. He was also not selected during the 2020 IPL auctions held late last year, but still hopes to play some part in the tournament.
“Hopefully I will be in IPL in some capacity maybe replacement player or in commentary,” he added.
Due to ongoing global fight with the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was, however, postponed until further notice.
The 24-year-old pace bowler was once considered one of the hottest prospects in regional cricket after bursting on the scene with fiery spells for Caribbean Premier League (CPL) team Jamaica Tallawahs during the 2016 season.
However, despite going on to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the last two seasons and 17 T20 international matches for the West Indies, Thomas is yet to quite hit the heights his talent promised early on.
In-between indifferent spells of forms and fitness issues, the player has taken 19 wickets for the team. Thomas has, however, looked lively in the CPL this season taking 4 wickets in six games. The player’s rejuvenated look has been enough to attract the attention of the selectors and Harper hopes the decision pays rich dividends come next month.
“Oshane brings that sort of x-factor to the team, we know when Oshane is at his best he is a real force,” Harper told members of the media on Thursday.
“We haven’t seen him at his best for a while, but we saw him coming to that point in this tournament (CPL). A lot of work has been done in the various T20 series, behind the scenes with Oshane,” he added.
“When he played, we didn’t see exactly what we were looking for, but now we see a bit of the Oshane that we know in this tournament (CPL) and will feel that if he keeps improving he will be the sort of bowler that could make a difference for us in the right condition. Hsis extra pace, his extra bounce, and when he is on song he gets the ball to swing at that pace as well. So, we think he could make a big difference in the team.”
The 23-year-old pace bowler has been added as a reserve for the tour but is not a part of the 14-man squad for the series. In fact, he is yet to make his test cricket debut but has played 20 ODIs and 12 T20Is since his debut in late 2018 and picked up five-wicket hauls in both limited-overs formats.
Roberts believes the tour would provide the perfect opportunity to look at the player for the longest format of the game, because of one attribute, his raw pace.
“He should be in that 14-man squad from the onset. He has what others want, he has pace. Everybody wants pace,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest Radio program.
“He may not be a wicket-taker but he may create some problems for the opposition and that is what you want. Sometimes it’s not the guy who gets the wickets, it’s the guy who creates the problem that gets the other guys the wickets.”
Thomas had an impressive outing for the West Indies before the global game was halted due to the spread of the coronavirus. He took 5 for 28 and 1 for 24 as West Indies swept Sri Lanka 2-0 in a T20I series in the first week of March.
Last season, Pooran lit up the tournament as one of the competition’s most in-form players, scoring an impressive 353 runs in 14 games, with an average of 35. He clearly has not started this campaign at a similar pace.
In four matches so far, the batsman has scored just nine runs, and that was in one match. In the others, he has left the crease much too quickly to trouble the tally.
In addition to just the wretched run of form, however, some fans have poked fun at the order of the player’s scoreless dismissals.
He was dismissed for a two balls duck against the Rajasthan Royals in his side's first game. He was then out for a first-ball duck against the Chennai Super Kings. On Wednesday, Pooran got out for a diamond duck, without even facing a ball as he was run out as soon as he came to the crease. Punjab Kings XI, who could muster only 120 runs in their 20 overs, lost the match by eight wickets and have recorded one win in their first four games.
The West Indies are playing in the first bio-secure Test series since the COVID-19 pandemic impacted sports worldwide and Hetmyer, Bravo and Keemo Paul decided against touring England on the back of health concerns.
The absence of the trio means there are questions about how the team will line up but head coach Phil Simmons, speaking during a press conference this morning, believes the answers are to be found in the next few practice games.
According to the coach, who was responding to questions about the batting positions of skipper Jason Holder and wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich when the three-Test series begins at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, the options are numerous.
“We have thought about quite a few things. The three-day game which starts tomorrow and then the four-day game will help us to decide how we structure the batting,” said Simmons.
“So there are possibilities in different directions. Jason could bat six, Dowrich could bat six, so we look at the three-day game and the four-day game and then make a decision from there,” he said.
There are also places to be considered with the returning Jermaine Blackwood to the batting line-up along with the likes Shamarh Brooks and Nkrumah Bonner and where they bat, if at all, in the new-look line-up.
The West Indies will play a three-day match game at their Emirates Old Trafford base beginning tomorrow, June 23, before a four-day encounter beginning on June 29.
Test Squad: Jason Holder (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Chemar Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach
Reserve Players: Sunil Ambris, Joshua DaSilva, Shannon Gabriel, Keon Harding, Kyle Mayers, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Anderson Phillip, Oshane Thomas, Jomel Warrican
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 still have one fixture remaining against Australia but have officially been eliminated after losing to Sri Lanka on Thursday. Overall, the team lost three matches and won one. The West Indies' lone win so far came against Bangladesh, after losing to England and South Africa to open the tournament.
Ahead of the World Cup, the 38-year-old Bravo had suggested that the tournament would be his last for the region, after a long and decorated career.
I think the time has come," Bravo to the ICC Cricket media channel.
"I've had a very good career. To represent the West Indies for 18 years, had some ups and downs, but as I look back at it I'm very grateful to represent the region and the Caribbean people for so long,” he added.
Since making his debut in 2006, against New Zealand, Bravo went on to represent the West Indies 90 times in T20 internationals. Overall, he has made 223 appearances for the Caribbean team in all formats.
"To win three ICC trophies, two with my captain [Daren Sammy] on the left here. One thing I am proud about is that the era of cricketers we had we were able to make a name for ourselves on the global stage and not only do that but have silverware to show for it,” he added.
As for the current campaign, Bravo admitted that it did not go the way the team wanted it to, but that he hoped to be able to still pass on his knowledge to the upcoming generation.
"For me now I want to try and pass on whatever experience and information I have with the younger players," he said. "I think in the white-ball formats West Indies cricket have a bright future and it's important for us to keep supporting the guys and keep encouraging them.
"It wasn't the World Cup we expected, it wasn't the World Cup we wanted as players. We shouldn't feel sorry for ourselves, it was a tough competition, we should keep our heads high."
The towering left-hander has made his name at the top of the batting order by taking apart opposition bowlers. As such, the batsman’s feats in the shortest format are unequalled, having racked up a world-leading 14,000 plus runs in an explosive career. In recent years, however, strategic adjustments have seen a few batsmen opt for a more considered approach to the innings.
Gayle believes such adjustments have made T20 cricket less explosive in the first six overs and as such less entertaining.
''I think, with T10 cricket, that's how T20 cricket started. From the first over, batters used to go but T20 cricket has slowed down dramatically and T10 cricket has now raised the bar a bit,'' Gayle, who is currently taking part in the Abu Dhabi T10 League,” said.
''They're killing the entertainment in T20 cricket, straight up, because in those first six overs, we can get more as openers but guys are taking their own time,” he added.
''Sometimes they bat to get a score and they take away from the fire they should be bringing to the batting department in the first six overs, but T10 is spot on and hopefully, we'll see more T10 coming around.''
Solozano, who was expected to partner Brathwaite at the top of the order, had to be stretchered off on the first day of the opening Test after being hit flush on the helmet by a pull shot from Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne.
The young batsman was taken to the hospital for scans and remained overnight for observation, but the tests showed no further damage. The player will, however, remain on concussion protocol for the next few days. Solozano was replaced in the line-up by Shai Hope.
“It was a tough situation, but at least we heard he’s doing good, his scans came back good, and we’ll be supporting him 100 percent,” Brathwaite said.
As per CWI’s concussion policy, Solozano is expected to miss a minimum of seven (7) days. During this time, he will be monitored and evaluated before he can return. The second match between the teams will take place between November 28 and December 3.
