West Indies lead selector, Desmond Haynes, insists fixing the squad’s issues at the top of the order will be a priority for the new panel.
The team’s struggles, particularly at the top of the order, have been well documented in recent times. The issue of finding a consistent partner for team captain Kraigg Brathwaite is one of the primary concerns.
Over the last five years, Brathwaite, who has scored 2188 in 40 matches during that time, has been consistent but it has proven to be somewhat of a carousel in terms of finding an opening pairing with Kieron Powell, John Campbell, and Shai Hope all being trailed for the spot at various times.
In November, Jeremy Solozano was also set to be trialed in the position, against Sri Lanka, but did not get the opportunity after being struck on the helmet while fielding. Ahead of the England series, Haynes and the selectors have decided to turn back to Campbell who was dropped from the team in June of last year.
The batsman has had a strong start to the West Indies Championship after scoring 213 runs in two matches so far. Since 2019, Campbell has played 15 matches for the West Indies scoring 640 runs.
“There was good discussion regarding the opening. That in itself is something we want to resolve shortly. I think in all the good teams you find they have good opening batsmen so we are hoping to get our opening batsmen some confidence and make sure they can do the job for us,” Haynes told members of the media on Tuesday.
“I think we went with Campbell not just because he got the 100 but talking to the captain and him batting with Campbell in the games that he has played, we had a bit of success there,” he added.
“It was a bit unfortunate for Jeremy but we decided we would put him in the president’s XI’s game where the selectors could have another look at him because it was a bit unfortunate because after being struck on the head he didn’t get a chance to play in Sri Lanka.