Former West Indies batting coach Toby Radford has questioned the preparation and technical approach by the side’s batsmen during the just-concluded Test series, and also believes the Caribbean unit placed undue pressure on their seam attack by not rotating their squad.
Speaking in the wake of the Windies’ 2-1 defeat to England in the three-Test series, Radford said the touring side’s batsmen had shown several technical deficiencies against the moving ball and appeared especially unprepared for what should have been a predictable line of attack from Stuart Broad.
“We were fine until Stuart Broad played. When Stuart Broad plays, he bowls mid to wide crease, angles the ball in and then nips it back in sharply. You’ve got to get out, you’ve got to kill the movement, you’ve got to kill the lengths so you’ve got to get forward,” said Radford who oversaw the batting group when West Indies retained the Wisden Trophy with a convincing series win in the Caribbean last year.
Dave Cameron’s vision for the future of cricket involves longer T20 seasons, fewer Test matches for weaker teams but more players earning decent livelihoods playing all over the globe.
The former president of Cricket West Indies is pushing this vision as he attempts to become the next Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), a platform that will provide him with the opportunity to create a more equitable environment in cricket globally.
“The IPL is way a more valuable product than the T20 World Cup. Let’s be very clear about that,” he said. “India will make a lot more money and so too the players. The players themselves would prefer would playing in IPL than the World Cup.
“A lot of T20 leagues need to run concurrently, which is not happening now. Everybody wants to not clash with the other guys. The IPL needs to happen alongside BPL, CPL and Big Bash and the best players will get picked in the best leagues."
Former England fast bowler Gladstone Small has branded the inclusion of off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall, for the final Test match against England, as a useless change and evidence of a West Indies squad that was overly conservative.
The off-spinner was brought into the squad at the expense of pace bowler Alzarri Joseph for the decisive Test. He did not do terribly in terms of economy rate but never really troubled the batsmen.
“Cornwall? What was that selection about? What did he bring to the table? You’ve already got an off-spinning batsman in Roston Chase in the team? What does Cornwall bring to that team? You have got to have variety to take 20 wickets in a Test match," he added.
From the heights of a series-leading victory to being bowled out for one hundred and twenty-nine (129) runs inside 38 overs, the West Indies fell to a 2-1 series defeat to England on Day 5 of the third and final Test at Old Trafford, ensuring the Wisden Trophy will know the host nation as its final home. In a series of contests where the visiting bowlers were seldom dominated, their batting counterparts, who briefly threatened the unexpected, soon return to substandard familiarity.
Talent, present as it now is, has never been an issue in West Indies cricket. And while being visibly evident in all the members of the West Indies top-six, two were unable to produce anything of significance with the bat throughout the entire series. Brathwaite, Brooks, Chase and Blackwood all recorded half-centuries at some point on the tour; with Brathwaite, Brooks and Blackwood doing so twice. Yet the highest scores for John Campbell and Shai Hope were recorded as being 32 and 31, respectively.
As a result, Shai Hope’s Test record is currently being narrated as a revelation by the cricketing media—who have been forced into a distinction that Caribbean fans have, for some time now, been able to make; one between the right-handers ODI form and his Test struggles. And John Campbell, who admittedly had a poor time of it on this tour—a man who only had six Test caps prior to this series—has been “coupled” with the Barbadian—who was averaging 24.77 in his last 34 innings prior to this series—as the ‘other’ struggler.
West Indies made the bold decision to travel to a nation with one of the highest Covid-19 death rates in the world, for which the ECB says it will be eternally grateful. By the end of the tour, the rigors of spending so long away from home in complete isolation was beginning to tell and a series that began so brightly for the visitors became beset by physical and mental fatigue. Here are the marks out of ten:
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Jermaine Blackwood (211 runs at 35.16) The most improved player for West Indies. Blackwood was the only one who came closest to raising his bat to mark a Test century, missing the landmark by five runs having set up the victory in Southampton. Naturally aggressive, Blackwood learned on the job to not get excited having engaged erroneously with Ben Stokes and losing his head on the penultimate afternoon in the second Test. Finished the tour as Windies' top run-scorer.
Roston Chase (10 wickets at 34.00, 157 runs at 28.16) Player of the Series mainly for his bowling, but in the Southampton victory, Chase played a significant hand with the bat, providing semblance to the middle order when England were threatening to regain control. Got a five-for in the second Test. His aim was to score a Test century in England, but he was exposed playing back to deliveries coming in. Finished the series caught napping and was run-out.
