With the 2022 season coming to a close and West Indies not enjoying the best of run at the crease, there were inspiring individual performances that salvaged some amount of encouragement heading into 2023.
In Tests, West Indies are ranked eighth while ranking 10th in One Day Internationals and seventh in T20Is.
In the Test format, Kraigg Brathwaite continues to be head and shoulders above his teammates and once again finishing as the most prolific batsman in the West Indies. The skipper ended with 687 runs in seven matches with an average of 62. He scored two centuries and five fifties with a best of 160.
His deputy, Jermaine Blackwood came in with the next best aggregate of 352 runs at an average of 32. Blackwood also chalked up one century and a single half century for the year. Nkrumah Bonner, Joshua Da Silva and Kyle Mayers were the only other West Indians to score centuries for the year.
Towards the end of the year young cub Tagenarine Chanderpaul, son of Shivnarine `Tiger’ Chanderpaul, showed glimpses of the application, bravery, temperament and last but by no means least, run making technique of his father to give hope that another West Indian `Tiger’ is in the making.
With ball in hand, Alzarri Joseph was the pick of the bowlers, taking 27 wickets at an average of 30 in seven matches. His fast-bowling teammates in Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales returned 22 and 21 wickets respectively in six matches each while Mayers ended with 14 scalps in four matches at an average of 11.
Jason Holder (sixth) and Mayers (eighth) are the only two players in the top 10 rankings for the format, both in the all-rounders category.
Shai Hope continued his success in the 50-over format, chalking up three centuries and two half-centuries as he tallied 709 runs in 21 innings to end with an average of 35.45. Shamarh Brooks was not far behind, scoring 694 runs in the same number of innings as Hope. He scored one century and four fifties to end with an average of 34.7.
Former captain, Nicholas Pooran notched up 511 runs with three half-centuries under his belt in 21 innings to end with an average of 24.3. Mayers also found success in this format, scoring two centuries and one fifty on his way to a total of 435 runs in 14 innings.
Left-arm spinner, Akeal Hosein was the most productive bowler in the format with 30 wickets at an average of 30.7 in 20 matches while Joseph returned 27 wickets in 17 matches, averaging 25 a piece.
In the shortest format, Pooran scored 582 runs in 23 innings with five fifties and a strike rate of 130. Rovman Powell worked his way to 513 runs in 22 innings with a strike rate of 149. Powell scored West Indies’ lone triple figure score in the format at the start of the year where he made 107 from 53 balls against England in Barbados.
Brandon King also ended the year with success having scored 480 runs in 18 innings. He struck five half centuries for the year.
Holder was the most prolific bowler of the year for the side with 28 wickets at an average of 20.
