Some would dispute a description of this West Indies side as resurgent. Their last Test victory over higher ranked opposition was against England in February 2009, and they recently succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of a fairly mediocre Australia side. But compared to where they were three years ago, when they last toured England under Chris Gayle’s captaincy, progress has been made. During that disastrous tour the commitment of the team’s leadership and players to the cause was questioned. Easy chances were shelled with regularity, the batsmen offered little resistance to a then inexperienced seam attack containing debutants Tim Bresnan and Graham Onions, and the bowlers could not have been more of a contrast to the wonderful West Indian pack of the 1970s, ‘80s and early ‘90s.
However, since taking over the captaincy almost by default 18 months ago Darren Sammy has instilled spirit in his men that the teams of Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards would have been proud of. Some of the often underperforming star names have been culled. Chris Gayle, who is likely to return to ODI duty in June, and Ramnaresh Sarwan have been conspicuous by their absence. Dwayne Bravo and Jerome Taylor have also drifted away from the Test side. It would be wrong to say that West Indies are a better side without them. But the likes of Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul have been allowed to prosper. Edwards and Rampaul, now both 27, looked likely to be unfulfilled talents. However, under Sammy and coach Ottis Gibson, Edwards, an imposing Barbadian with an unorthodox stance and a preference for the off side, has averaged over 50 from his first seven Tests, and has been hastily promoted to vice-captain. Meanwhile, until a recent injury Rampaul had become the mainstay of the West Indies bowling attack, getting prestigious movement with the new ball.
More column inches are likely to focus on Roach and the younger Bravo. Roach, who had struggled for consistency early in his career, found it against Australia last month, and will be expected to cause the England top-order considerable difficulty. The 23 year-old’s next challenge is to make a case for being mentioned in the same breath as James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel among the global fast bowling elite. Bravo had a more difficult series against Australia. However, the Lara-like elegance of his batting, and his superb showing on a tour of Bangladesh and India at the back end of last year suggests that he too is destined for greatness. No England batsman came close to Bravo’s record on their own sub-continental tour this winter.
Despite these young talents, much will still rest on Shiv Chanderpaul. Chanderpaul has considerable experience of English conditions, both for the West Indies and in county cricket. Recent evidence suggests he is far from done yet, and is still hungry to climb further up the list of Test cricket’s highest Test run scorers which he joined when he passed 10,000 against Australia. If he comes close to matching the 772 runs he scored against Australia, West Indies can at least hope to avoid a 3-0 series whitewash.
However, reversing a pattern of progressively more heavy beatings on the last four tours of England - in 2000, 2004, 2007 and 2009 - is probably the best which Sammy’s team can hope for. The lack of experience at the top of order remains an issue with Anderson and Broad sure to expose Adrian Barath and Kieran Powell, neither of whom have convinced anybody that they are yet ready for Test cricket and average the wrong side of 25. The plethora of left-handers will be expected to struggle against Graeme Swann, who tends to dismiss them with similar frequency as Premier League clubs dismiss their managers. And, although Gibson believes that match practice is not important in England, the lack of exertion in the warm-up matches will be a worry. The defeat to the England Lions showed their frailties in these conditions, and cannot be a good omen ahead of three matches against a motivated number one team in the world. Nevertheless, a good showing here could help propel this talented West Indies side back to the top table of world cricket.
However, since taking over the captaincy almost by default 18 months ago Darren Sammy has instilled spirit in his men that the teams of Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards would have been proud of. Some of the often underperforming star names have been culled. Chris Gayle, who is likely to return to ODI duty in June, and Ramnaresh Sarwan have been conspicuous by their absence. Dwayne Bravo and Jerome Taylor have also drifted away from the Test side. It would be wrong to say that West Indies are a better side without them. But the likes of Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul have been allowed to prosper. Edwards and Rampaul, now both 27, looked likely to be unfulfilled talents. However, under Sammy and coach Ottis Gibson, Edwards, an imposing Barbadian with an unorthodox stance and a preference for the off side, has averaged over 50 from his first seven Tests, and has been hastily promoted to vice-captain. Meanwhile, until a recent injury Rampaul had become the mainstay of the West Indies bowling attack, getting prestigious movement with the new ball.
More column inches are likely to focus on Roach and the younger Bravo. Roach, who had struggled for consistency early in his career, found it against Australia last month, and will be expected to cause the England top-order considerable difficulty. The 23 year-old’s next challenge is to make a case for being mentioned in the same breath as James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel among the global fast bowling elite. Bravo had a more difficult series against Australia. However, the Lara-like elegance of his batting, and his superb showing on a tour of Bangladesh and India at the back end of last year suggests that he too is destined for greatness. No England batsman came close to Bravo’s record on their own sub-continental tour this winter.
Despite these young talents, much will still rest on Shiv Chanderpaul. Chanderpaul has considerable experience of English conditions, both for the West Indies and in county cricket. Recent evidence suggests he is far from done yet, and is still hungry to climb further up the list of Test cricket’s highest Test run scorers which he joined when he passed 10,000 against Australia. If he comes close to matching the 772 runs he scored against Australia, West Indies can at least hope to avoid a 3-0 series whitewash.
However, reversing a pattern of progressively more heavy beatings on the last four tours of England - in 2000, 2004, 2007 and 2009 - is probably the best which Sammy’s team can hope for. The lack of experience at the top of order remains an issue with Anderson and Broad sure to expose Adrian Barath and Kieran Powell, neither of whom have convinced anybody that they are yet ready for Test cricket and average the wrong side of 25. The plethora of left-handers will be expected to struggle against Graeme Swann, who tends to dismiss them with similar frequency as Premier League clubs dismiss their managers. And, although Gibson believes that match practice is not important in England, the lack of exertion in the warm-up matches will be a worry. The defeat to the England Lions showed their frailties in these conditions, and cannot be a good omen ahead of three matches against a motivated number one team in the world. Nevertheless, a good showing here could help propel this talented West Indies side back to the top table of world cricket.
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