As chief selector, Roger Harper, on Friday revealed the Test and T20 teams to tour New Zealand, it seems as if the selection panel has placed their faith in a number of inconsistent players.
As expected, a number of players who have been a consistent feature over the years have retained their spots.
Harper, in a recent interview had already acknowledged that batting was an area of interest.
However at the top of the order, the selection panel decided to continue with the services of Kraig Brathwaite and John Campbell.
Harper said, “It is an area that has been concerning us for a while, the opening pair and that number three spot…”
Yet the selectors retained the same opening pair although they did include Darren Bravo who might bat in the number three spot.
Of Campbell, Harper said that there was a lot of debate over his selection but the panel opted for his inclusion, citing it as “another opportunity to cement his place in the team and show what he can do…”
In nine Tests, the left-handed Campbell has passed fifty just once and averages 25.46. This is not far off his First-Class average of 29.46.
The other half of the opening pair in Brathwaite, the vice-captain of the side, has played 62 Tests and scored eight centuries to go along with his 19 fifties while holding an average of 33 since his debut nine years ago.
However, in the last three years the 27-year-old has averaged just 22 with two tons, both of which came against Bangladesh in 2018.
To the right hander’s credit, he scored two half centuries on the last tour against England but that was his only two scores over 20 in 15 innings and his first fifty in two years.
Another player under the microscope is off-spinner, Rahkeem Cornwall who had shown little to no effectiveness in the lone match he played against England.
Nevertheless, Harper insisted that, “Rahkeem Cornwall two Test matches ago in terms of games he played had a 10-wicket haul in Test cricket and I don’t think you could recall the last time we had a spinner who had a 10-wicket haul in Test cricket so of course we kept faith with Rahkeem Cornwall.”
Harper spoke of the one Test match he played in England.
“I think a bit of experience showed as well in the way he performed and we expect that he will raise his game when called upon again,” he said.
Apart from the 10-wicket haul, Cornwall has taken three wickets in the other two matches of his Test career, all of which came on debut.
A similar thought process was shown in selecting the T20I side with Oshane Thomas, Brandon King and Rovman Powell all getting the nod in spite of unsatisfactory performances in recent times.
Harper pointed out that Thomas in Sri Lanka did “extremely well” while Powell “didn’t have much opportunity with the bat.”
The chief selector reckoned that they deserved another chance since there was “no great outstanding performances by players challenging for those places in the CPL.”
Fast bowler, Thomas played just three matches in the Caribbean Premier League where he bagged one wicket and went for 78 runs in seven overs but the selection panel was cognizant of his five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka back in March. His fitness was also a cause for concern.
Powell, who took on the role of leading Jamaica Tallawahs player was a shadow of himself. He scored 106 runs from 10 innings and had a wicket-less run in the CPL and while his reputation as a hard-hitting all-rounder is still talked about, in T20Is he has a strike rate of 122 to go with an average of 20. With the ball, the right handed seamer has just four wickets and an economy rate of 8.75.
Much like Powell, King shared a similar struggle in the CPL. For Guyana Amazon Warriors, King managed 116 runs in 11 innings while being dismissed without scoring on four occasions. King may be lucky to find himself in the squad since regular openers, Evin Lewis and Lendl Simmons opted out of the tour.
West Indies face New Zealand in three T20Is and two Tests from November 27 to December 15.
Test Squad: Jason Holder (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Chemar Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach
Test Reserves: Nkrumah Bonner, Joshua DaSilva, Preston McSween, Shayne Moseley, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales
T20 International Squad: Kieron Pollard (captain), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, Kesrick Williams
