Athanaze added for final Test as Windies looks to ‘bat well’ 

West Indies captain Roston Chase has confirmed the inclusion of attacking left-hander Alick Athanaze as the lone change to their team for the final Test against New Zealand. Athanaze will replace seamer Ojay Shields for the Bay Oval Test, which begins later on Wednesday. 

Chase believes there is enough bowling cover in the team, as Shields was one of five seamers in the visiting side’s XI in the previous game. “Shields has an injury,” he said. “We thought that was the best way to go, to add strength to the batting.”

Vice-captain and left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican, who is yet to feature in the series, was among the options to come in for the West Indies. Before the start of the series, the Bay Oval looked like Warrican’s best chance at forcing his way into the team. An early assessment of the wicket, however, has led the Caribbean side to forgo a specialist spinner, as they did in the previous two Tests.

“Initially, we thought that this pitch would have been more suitable for spinners, especially seeing New Zealand bringing in Ajaz Patel,” Chase said. “But having looked at it, I don't think there will be much spin. I could be wrong. But we think that seam will be a bit more dangerous on the wicket.”

The West Indies have managed two sub-par totals in their first innings so far: 167 and 205. It took a remarkable second-innings recovery to earn the Caribbean side a draw in the first Test, and Chase has once again highlighted the batting as a cause for concern.

“I think the bowlers have been doing an excellent job, but we're just trying to find a way to get that 300 score in the first innings,” he said. “We think that if we could post a 300 total in the first innings, it would go a long way in us winning a Test match here. It's just for us to bat well and bat well twice. If we can bat well twice, I think that we can [win].”

As the West Indies hunt a series-leveling win, another cause for concern is the form of wicket-keeper Tevin Imlach, who averages 12.70 after five Tests. Chase had some advice for the Guyanese.

“I told him that when the other guys in our team are batting, I can see how they're looking to score,” Chase said. “But I told him when he was batting, I couldn't seem to figure out how he was looking to score. He said that's how he gets in. But I said to him that at this level, you can't just bat and see what's going on. You have to apply pressure back onto the bowlers when they're off line.”