When the West Indies take the field this morning at the start of the First Test versus Joe Root’s England team fans throughout the Caribbean will be taking surreptitious glances throughout the day at the nearest television set, hoping that this is the long awaited new beginning.
The eternal optimist believes that there are good reasons to be hopeful at this time following the recent disasters in India and Bangladesh in the latter half of 2018. He was extremely happy to note the morale boosting visit paid to the team by the living legend Sir Garry Sobers at last Saturday’s net session during which he spent time chatting with the players, some of whom enjoyed one on one talks with him.
West Indian followers finally breathed a sigh of relief last week when Darren Bravo’s name was included in the team for the First Test. Bravo’s return following his now infamous “big idiot” tweet is long overdue. Bravo, who will turn 30 next month and has not appeared in a Test match since 2016 in the UAE, brings a wealth of experience to a side, sadly lacking in depth, which has struggled to bat through an entire day’s play as of late.
Bravo’s absence has indeed been a painful period for West Indian fans who have had to endure many a defeat while Bravo languished in exile with a batting average of 40.00 from 49 Tests. The outstanding performances during this period by his contemporaries from the 2008 Under-19 ICC World Cup, India’s Virat Kohli, Australian Steve Smith and the New Zealander Kane Williamson have only added salt to the wounds of the long suffering West Indian fans.
Bravo’s return will not provide an instant fix to the batting line-up. He has not played a lot of first class cricket as of late and no doubt will be the focus of attention of the English bowlers who will be spearheaded by the indomitable James Anderson. Bravo, who batted first down in previous appearances will most likely appear in the fourth slot, following Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell and Shai Hope. Hopefully, Bravo, who in the past, had displayed tremendous patience in his approach at Test level and the ability to compile innings of worth, will have a positive influence on his younger teammates.
Shimron Hetmyer, the young lefthander, of whom much is expected, will probably follow Bravo in the batting order. Hetmyer needs to bear in mind that Test cricket is not T20 or an ODI and must improve his shot selection at this level. Roston Chase, along with the Skipper Jason Holder, must add crucial runs if the West Indies expect to post totals in excess of 400 on a regular basis.
The selectors look to be favouring a four-prong pace attack led by Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach, supported by Alzarri Joseph, following his return from injury, and Holder. The inclusion in the squad of the exciting prospect Oshane Thomas leaves no place for Guyana’s Keemo Paul at this time. Paul, need not worry, his absence is only temporary. The lone spinner selected Jomel Warrican is not expected to be named in the final eleven.
Some 9,000-odd English fans are expected to come to the Caribbean to support their team, certainly a substantially larger number than the local team will see. England, who will be without the retired Alastair Cook, appear to be vulnerable at the top of the order and are not as confident as they should be heading into this series. Is the upcoming World Cup and the Ashes Series too much of a distraction for Joe Root’s side? Can the West Indian bowlers begin to take wickets on a more consistent basis and keep the opposition to scores below 250? Will the batting line-up occupy the crease for more than three sessions at a time and accumulate substantial totals? Will the West Indies win another home series against their oldest rival?
All of these questions will soon be answered.