Brian Lara wants Shimron Hetmyer, but West Indies more badly requires a more explosive batting combination at the top of the order.
Faced with a win or go home game today, the team’s much anticipated quest to win its third title, in the 2024 T20 cricket World Cup, could all crash if the selectors don’t get it right against South Africa.
So far West Indies’ batting start has been compromised by Johnson Charles’ struggles and made worse by Brandon Kings’ side injury that ended his competition Wednesday evening against England. .
Batting legend Lara wasn’t too sure how he could fit Hetmyer into the squad, but has pointed out that the Guyanese’s finishing qualities which the feels have been impressive for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, are deserving for his place in the final 11.
More importantly though, the issue of not maximizing the batting strength to capitalize on the powerplay overs from the beginning, needs urgent fixing.
And it could mean having Johnson make way for Kyle Mayers to give the opening partnership the explosive start lacking so far.
In his 140-run tally from matches, Charles is striking it poorly at a 113-economy rate, which is sure to get worse if he plays against the powerful South African bowling attack that’s mainly responsible for the Proteas unbeaten run so far.
Mayers’ call-up to the squad as replacement for King should be validated instantly, given his reasonably good form against the said South Africa side in the warm-up series last month.
He had three scores in the 30’s for a more than adequate strike rate of 159 which supersedes Charles’ efforts against Papua New Guinea, Uganda, Afghanistan, New Zealand and England.
It doesn’t require more than five matches to conclude that the St Lucian opener isn’t cutting and hoping for him to finally come good is akin to “playing with fire” as the well-worn expression suggests.
At this stage a collective batting effort is required as opposed to the singular blitzes from Nicolas Pooran and Hope against the less fancied Afghanistan and United States and Rutherford over out-of-sorts New Zealand.
Hope hit the ground running with his brilliant 82 from a mere 39 balls Friday, that almost singlehanded demolished United States’ fairy tale run in their first Super 8 qualification display. It left Charles like a virtual bystander at the other end and his eventual meagre 15 from 14 balls, epitomized his subpar competition.
If it is expected that a Hope repeat is on the cards against South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje etc. to make up for Charles’ continued selection, it would be wishful thinking. Likewise, Pooran’s hammering of Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and company is less likely to produce a sequel on the less grassy Sir Vivian Richards Stadium pitch in Antigua today, than it was at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground.
As he showed against New Zealand, Rutherford proved he is good enough at the highest level and while Andre Russell and Rovman Powell are capable as well, a good start at the top will make it easy for the middle order engine room, as Coach Darren Sammy puts it. And Mayers should be West Indies’ best bet to make it happen.
It is curious that West Indies seem bent on having Akeal Hosein lead the bowling attack in the powerplay for every game regardless of the conditions.
He was excellent against minnows Uganda and Papua New Guinea at the spin friendly Providence pitch, but it didn’t work out on the faster and grassier Sammy Cricket Ground when England put the entire home team’s attack to the sword in that commanding 8-wicket victory.
Playing the conditions first and foremost should be the strategy as England did by letting loose the ferocious Mark Wood and the less fast but equally effective Reece Topley at the beginning. King and Charles were stifled while Jofra Archer followed up by throttling the normally rampant Pooran.
When the ball became more worn, leg spinner Adil Rashid made good use of it to help reduce West Indies target to the manageable 180 score.
However, in Antigua where the pitch is nowhere close to the pacy assistance for the pacemen in St Lucia and is expected to be drier, West Indies spinners should come into their once again as South Africa has a history of vulnerability to spin.
Hosein should carry on starting in the power play while the brilliance of Royston Chase and Gudakesh Motie would be key to limiting the Proteas
That short-coming to the slow stuff for South Africa has been very evident despite not losing any of their clashes this competition.
Namibia’s little known off spinners almost helped create the competition’s second biggest upset after the United States toppled Pakistan, as South Africa escaped with a one-run triumph. Dipendra Singh Airee was the most impressive ending with three wickets for 21 runs.
And even in their lopsided six-wicket ousting of Sri Lanka, the evergreen Wanindu Hasaranga bagged three of the four wickets to fall at a cost of only 22 runs.
In between Bangladesh’s Mohamed Mahmudullah and England’s Rashid and Moen Ali were very miserly against the much-vaunted Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klassen and others.
In light of Royston Chase enhancing his reputation as a world beater with his orthodox stuff and the left arm twins Motie and Hosein, spin should be West Indies’ trump card.
But just as importantly, Windies’ batting order has to be made right.
