After a somewhat successful (a drawn series can be considered a successful one for the West Indies) home series against England, a confident looking West Indies will now seek to take their form into more shark infested waters when they face the world ranked number two Australia in a pair of Test matches bowling off on June 3rd.
A slightly new-look West Indies side led by new head coach Phil Simmons, managed to win, draw and concede one loss to England during the recent three match series held in the Caribbean after some clinical performances by their players.
A breath of fresh air brought into the team with a new coach, a handful of young players and a wealth of experience will serve the West Indies team well going forward.
They will have some momentum from their last series, and will be expected to repeat the performance when they face the dangerous boys from Down Under.
Players to watch
West Indies
Jermaine Blackwood – the 23-year-old right-hander from Jamaica was the leading run-scorer for his team and the third overall run-getter on the list with 311 runs at an average of 77.75 with one fifty and his maiden three figure score of 112 not out. Blackwood will certainly bank on his current form while the home field conditions will definitely favour him.
Veerasammy Permaul and Devendra Bishoo- the two Guyanese spinners, who lit up the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional tournament with 128 wicket between themselves, earned recalls to the Test team against England and immediately picked up wickets. Both spinners picked up four wickets from their one Test but the form shown by both bowlers have been exceptional throughout the past year or so, thus making their possible inclusion into the side a slight worry for batsmen.
Kraigg Braithwaite, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin and Jason Holder- The responsibility of the Windies batting will revolve around these players who bring a wealth of experience and youth to the table. Braithwaite, Samuels and Holder made centuries while the other two recorded fifties which is a good sign heading into the Australia series.
Shiv Chanderpaul-The veteran batsman has not had his best tour against Alistair Cook’s men as he finished with a startling average of 15.33 from his three matches with 92 runs and a top score of 46. At 41, the left-hander is nearing the end of his illustrious career and trails Brian Lara’s record by a 86 runs, the selectors will be keen to give him a fair run against the Aussies before either entities make a decision on the batsman’s lifeline.
Australia
Chris Rogers, Michael Clarke, Steven Smith, David Warner, Shane Watson- the core of the Aussie batting line-up will bank heavily on these four top-order players who have been in rich form over the past year. Rogers, the 37 year-old opener who cracked six straight fifties in the previous series against India will use this series to fine-tune himself for the last hurrah in this year’s Ashes against England.
Apart from Watson who has now began to look like the batsman of old, Smith who averages well over 50 is by far the best batsman in the side and will be the cornerstone of the team’s batting while the skipper who retired from ODI’s because of his chronic back injury, will continue to lead the side and regain some more form before the Ashes. Warner who is in brilliant form in all formats of cricket will be a worry for the West Indies bowlers and will also use this series as a good Ashes preparations.
Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson- From a bowling perspective, Australia will rely on left-arm swing bowler Starc who has been outstanding during the Australia/India series as well as the World Cup where he ended as the leading wicket-taker.
Fellow left-arm quick Johnson, has been a bit under the radar since his venom during the last Ashes but still remains a force to reckon with while the pack leader Ryan Harris will miss the tour as he continues to prepare for the summer Ashes.
With both team’s riding high on form by a few of their players and confidence in the visitors camp after winning the 2015 World Cup and the Windies after an excellent series against England, both sides will now seek to pull out all the stops in this potential high-octane match which begins with a thre-day tour match between the WICB President’s XI and Australia which begins on May 27 in Antigua.
