The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket

Windies vs England 1st ODI Preview

Tue, Feb 19, '19

by KRISSANIA YOUNG

Windies v England

As Jason Holder returns to take charge of his team for five ODIs against England, the first of which begins on Wednesday in Barbados, we must remind ourselves that this is a different format; the format that brings Caribbean fans the most headaches, a format in which England sits atop the rankings, and a format in which the visitors are one of the favourites to lift the tournament’s trophy in May.

Injuries have struck the West Indies where it hurts, as three suspected starters of Holder’s team have been sidelined; Evin Lewis, Rovman Powell and Keemo Paul. Most certain to benefit from this, though, is Nicolas Pooran; between Powell and whom it seemed an ‘either/or’ decision as to who would have made the final XI. In the wake of the injuries, the Trinidadian can fill two of the three now-vacant roles; the innings’ finisher (Powell’s) and opener (Lewis’).

Shai Hope, too, could be asked to fill in at the top of the order once more, but with time and indeed games running out before this summer’s World Cup, it might serve the West Indies’ best interest in the long-term to allow the wicket-keeper batsman a sense of comfort and familiarity in the position he will more than likely be occupying this summer.

The injury to Evin Lewis will not only put a dent in any thoughts Holder and his team were harbouring of an upset, but it was the final opportunity to see the combination of Gayle, Lewis and Hope at the top of the innings against top opposition before heading off to England/Wales.

With opening batsman, John Campbell, earning his maiden ODI call-up, if he is to be handed his first cap as well, opening the batting with countryman Chris Gayle, it is important that Pooran then, in typical West Indian fashion, does not bat ahead of Shimron Hetmyer. While Hetmyer has performed wherever he has been asked to bat, it should be stressed that this series goes beyond just the five games and their results, but players should now be settling into the duties that will be expected of them in the summer. Barring injuries, the ideal scenario at the end of this series would have been a predictability to this team, in its entirety. A reminder that cricket is not just selecting an XI, nor is a player’s performance always soley down to him, but may be affected by the moving pieces around him.

And so, maybe the biggest blow of those injured will be the absence of the skills of young Keemo Paul. While Lewis and Powell can be replaced with big-hitting openers and finishers, who in this squad will do Paul’s work? Hence the disappoitment of Obed McCoy’s exclusion from the initial squad as well as being overlooked as a replacement for Paul. By so doing, the West Indies enters this ODI series against the number one team in the world without a specialist death-bowler.

There, however, lies hope in Oshane Thomas. Though disappointed Caribbean fans were that Thomas was not able to make his Test debut in St. Lucia, it does though mean that the fast-bowler remains an ‘unknown’ to English batsmen. One would hope that Jason Holder took note of how the 22-year old was used by interim captain, Rovman Powell, in Bangladesh. Thomas was technically employed in three spells by Powell to great effect; sharing the new-ball, at the back end of the middle overs and during the final ten overs–where he picked up wickets. In this stead, the Jamaican pacer unveiled himslef as a potential partial solution to the problem Windies has in picking up wickets in the middle-overs. Dare we mention the abilities we know he possesses at the death? Hopefully, if trusted with the responsibility, his potential as a death-bowler comes to fruition on the international stage.

Windies Squad: Jason Holder ©, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Gayle, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas, Fabian Allen, Ashley Nurse, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Nicolas Pooran, Carlos Brathwaite, John Campbell and Sheldon Cottrell.

Predicted XI: Gayle, Campbell, Hope, Bravo, Hetmyer, Pooran, Holder (c), Allen, Nurse, Roach, Thomas.