By Tony McWatt
– Publisher
The West Indies Selectors will
naturally, be keenly observing the
performances of their chosen
players during the current
Holland Series, particularly in
regard to the eventual composition of the
fifteen members final squad for next year’s
ICC ODI World Cup. While doing so they
should, however, be just as keenly observing
the June 1-4 fifth and Final Round of the 2022
West Indies Regional 4 Day Championships.
As a means of determining their choices for
the Test squad to face Bangladesh in the
forthcoming Series.
The West Indies will engage Bangladesh in
a two Tests Series, the first of which will
be played at Antigua’s Sir Vivian Richards
Stadium from June 16 – 20. The Series’
Second Test will be held in St Lucia’s Darren
Sammy Cricket Ground from June 24 – 28.
In terms of the West Indies squad for the
two Tests Series, there are some positions
now considered by many to be still up for
grabs. First and foremost of which would
be the choice of the opening batsman
partner for skipper Kraigg Brathwaite at the
top of the West Indies batting order.
The incumbent John Campbell, who was recalled
for the recent three-Tests Series against
England, did little to effectively silence the
voices of his numerous detractors.
Campbell’s three matches against a
somewhat depleted England bowling attack,
bereft as it was of their front-line seamers
Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Joffra
Archer, yielded a paltry 112 runs scored
from six innings batted at a miserly 22.40
average and with a highest score of 35.
His overall Test statistics aren’t that much
better. 752 runs scored from 36 innings
at an average of 23.50, within 18 matches
played. To date, he’s still also yet to score a
Test century and has only two half-centuries
to his name.
Campbell’s poor returns have reopened
the Selectors’ door for the identification of
a far more reliable opening batting partner
for Brathwaite. And, in the two rounds
that have been completed since the May
18 resumption of the Regional Four Day
Championships, at least two individuals have
identified themselves as suitable contenders
to be chosen as Campbell’s replacement.
Guyana Harpy Eagles Tagenarine
Chanderpaul has been effectively using his
bat as a sledgehammer on the Selectors’
door. As the son of the legendary former
West Indies Test batsman, Shivnarine
Chanderpaul, the recently turned 26-years old
Tagenarine (born May 17, 1996) has to
date scored 414 runs in this year’s 2022
Regional Championships at a supreme
average of 82.80.
The four innings he’s
batted since the Championships’ May 18
resumption have yielded scores of 140*,
23* and 184. Undoubtedly highly impressive
returns that would have grabbed the
Selectors’ attentions by their respective
necks!
Despite Chanderpaul’s demonstrated
consistency and reliability, the Selectors may
now still have their doubts about his suitability
as Brathwaite’s Test opening batting partner.
The prevailing issue is Chanderpaul’s tendency
to face massive amounts of balls in compiling his
runs. His 140 not out against Barbados required
434 balls faced. Similarly, the 184 scored against
Jamaica was only slightly faster at 423 balls
faced.
Chanderpaul’s Championships runs to date
have come at a relatively pedestrian scoring
rate of 40.42. Brathwaite himself is no Speedy
Gonsalves with the bat either. His 475 runs
aggregate as the 2022 Championships’ leading
run-scorer to date having been produced at the
only marginally better rate of 51.91.
The Selectors may, therefore, be understandably
hesitant in their willingness to have both of the
West Indies Test openers as batsmen who have
proven themselves to be as pedestrian as both
Brathwaite and Chanderpaul. In the latter’s
defence, however, he did score a swashbuckling
23 not out, that included four consecutive
boundaries, to lead the Harpy Eagles to an
eventual exciting five-wicket Third Round win
against the Barbados Pride, the tournament’s
defending champions.
Unfortunately for Chanderpaul, as aggressive
as it was, that 23* not out was made with him
having appeared at number seven in the Harpy
Eagles’ batting order. Not in his customary
opening position at the top of the order. His
demotion in the batting order was by itself a
profound statement by the Harpy Eagles’ team
management on the degree of their confidence
in his abilities to score as quickly as required
while fulfilling the role of an opening batsman.
The Harpy Eagle’s remaining match against the
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force be of no real
meaningful significance in terms of determining
the Championships’ eventual winner. It will,
however, offer Tagenarine Chanderpaul a
most wonderful, final opportunity, to further
reinforce his claims to the Selectors as the
very best choice to partner Kraigg Brathwaite
in opening the West Indies’ batting for the
forthcoming Tests against Bangladesh.
With their championship title hopes now
effectively squashed the Harpy Eagles’ team
management’s encouraging message to
Chanderpaul should be for him to approach
his remaining Championship innings with the
intention of playing freely to the very best of
his abilities. There’s now no longer any pressing
need for him to shoulder the responsibility for
the innings’ stability by being its immovable
rock. Instead, he should be given full license to
play all the strokes, he undoubtedly has in his
armoury as was evidenced by his second innings
victory achieving 20 balls 23 not out against the
Pride.
Allow the youngster the full opportunity to
effectively silence all those who still remain
as his critics. He’s proven his tenacity and
reliability, let him now also establish his free scoring
credibility.
GO TAGE GO!