Windies/England in the 'Spice Island': 3rd ODI Preview
Mon, Feb 25, '19
The West Indies will be the happier of the teams off to the ‘Spice Island’, having found their way back into the series after a deserved and hard-fought win over England in the second ODI on Friday evening. It was a game in which Jason Holder (as is becoming the norm) got many things right. But, before the debt was repaid by those whom the captain instilled faith; Shimron Hetmyer claimed his fourth ODI century in less than a year to become the youngest West Indies batsman with that many at the age of 22 (no other West Indian batsman had more than one at this age).
It must be said that it was more than just the accumulation of runs from the young Guyanese. The left-hander looked himself from the off; assessing conditions, taking sharp singles and pushing for twos before growing into his expressive exploding self. It was an innings in which he was not troubled by much and when he started to pick Liam Plunkett’s variations, the same remained true.
It was previously proposed the worth of having a look at Oshane Thomas in the second powerplay as a wicket-taking option, but the manner in which Holder struck the balance was truly admirable. While introducing the Jamaican as a first change bowler, he still handed him a relatively new ball to work with. And with Thomas’ ability to get up to 145 kmh, replacing the ‘Swing Soldier’, there was no sense of ‘we’ve seen off the worst’ from the English top-order. Indeed they hadn’t, as Thomas exposed their middle-order, asking them to do the job this time, when he sent back the ominous-looking Joe Root. And even though Thomas conceded boundaries at times, especially to the England captain, it was evident the ‘short-ball plan’ he and his captain concocted.
Speaking of repaying faith, the Windies coaching staff was made to look genius by the brilliance of Sheldon Cottrell who took those early wickets, as well as returning to remove Eoin Morgan as the English captain was looking to put the game beyond the reach of the hosts.
It is rather unfortunate that Devendra Bishoo’s improvement on Friday was not reflected in his wicket’s column (Windies fielders put down two catches off his bowling). However, the fear still lingers for when the West Indies bowls first and England does not have to take on Bishoo; will he be good enough to produce wicket-taking deliveries on his own then?
Regardless of the win, and the fact that the extra bowling option worked out well for the West Indies on Friday, the fact remains that this team is an unbalanced one. Being a batsman short might very well return to haunt Holder’s men if they are to chase. And although Nicolas Pooran should count himself unlucky to have missed out in the first place, if West Indies insist on persisting with Carlos Brathwaite, Fabian Allen coming in as the second spin option could be the avenue to visit.
Jason Holder proved his worth at the death last time out, and while he is by no means a specialist death-bowler, his display on Friday highlighted the steady improvements he has been making in the department.
For the remainder of the series, the West Indies should also be aiming to set a better pace to their innings; while Gayle and Campbell’s partnership has proven to be steady, it needs to take a step in the direction of explosive, especially with a batting line-up that does not rotate strike well, even more so if they’ll be chasing.
With ODIs returning to the St. George’s Stadium for the first time since 2014, the West Indies has the opportunity to give Grenada a fitting surprise by taking the lead in the series., being mindful that the team batting last came out winners in the previous five games at the venue.
