ESPN columnist Sidharth Monga in an article: titled “Eight domestic giants who never played for their country,” described Barbadian Franklyn Stephenson as – one of the eight who never went on and as being a fearsome proposition with his height, swing and pace.
I would like to borrow those exact words to describe West Indian seamer Shannon Gabriel. Aside from Stephenson’s acumen to swing the ball which Gabriel isn’t quite versed at, he has all the other talismanic qualities of Stephenson. He is fearsome. He is tall. And he does have pace. Not to mention, he has been one of the region’s most successful bowlers in the recent past.
Gabriel’s relevance recently emerged after West Indies’ coach Phil Simmons announced that the 31-year-old Trinidadian will be added to the Test squad for the upcoming tour of England, depending on how he pulls up after the two practice matches.
Gabriel, who according to ESPN, was a key player in West Indies’ victory over England in the Caribbean, was only named as part of the reserve squad for the tour as he was seeking to prove his fitness following an ankle injury.
But Simmons, West Indies’ head coach, suggested Gabriel was now “bowling as fast as I’ve seen him for a while” and hinted that, if he came through the warm-up games, he was highly likely to be added to the 14-man Test squad.
That’s a solid move by Simmons and the rest of the management. If you can recall, I was previously critical of the move to include him in the reserve batch and not the actual squad. See my June 6, 2020, submission titled “W.I selection panel lacks novelty” where I questioned several of the selection plots, including Gabriel’s exclusion. Hence the reason I’m ecstatic to see him back in contention.
Gabriel, after making his debut against England at Lords in 2012, endured a career punctuated with injury concerns but at full tilt on bouncy, seam-friendly conditions in England could prove very difficult to navigate. Even his stare is an attacking weapon.
His record too against England is quite encouraging. After eight encounters, he has snatched 26 scalps – the most he’s collected against any one team in tests. Those wickets came at a decent average of under 30.
On English soil, he previously managed to take 11 wickets from three outings. He last toured England with the West Indies in 2017 and as the numbers show, he was largely unsuccessful. But with the West Indies aiming to inflict their first series win over England after more than three decades, they will be banking heavily on the seam attack which has captured the attention of most. Gabriel’s absence would have been a blow since the fast bowling department is certainly showing encouraging signs.
Since 2017, the current attack, like those fearsome speedsters of West Indies heydays of mid-1970s to the 1990s when they were armed with the likes of Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, seems to be finally emulating their predecessors.
The attack including Kemar Roach, Gabriel himself and skipper Jason Holder has been among the top performers at the international level, sharing 205 wickets among them during the last three years.
They have also added Alzarri Joseph and Chemar Holder, two other slippery customers. It should, therefore, be an exciting battle against England if they are to re-enact the days of Fire in Babylon.
