‘Good Intel’ is a phrase commonly used within military circles to describe provided information that is of significant value. The now completed first four rounds of the 2023 Caribbean Premier League have certainly provided Cricket West Indies with good intel concerning its preparation plans for next year’s Caribbean & USA jointly hosted ICC T20 World Cup.
Topping the list of those who would now be benefiting from CPL’s provided intel are the members of the Selection Panel. The job for which will be to eventually choose the West Indies 15-member 2024 World Cup Squad.
By now, Desmond Haynes, Roland Butcher, and Head Coach Daren Sammy would have already penciled in their ‘sure-picks’ squad members. Performances in the CPL matches played to date would, therefore, also have allowed them to identify those who may still be in contention for the remaining available spots on the squad.
One of those spots that should now be wide open would be about the best possible choice for Brandon King’s opening partner at the very top of the West Indies batting order. Kyle Mayers, the incumbent has had such a miserable run of form of late that his occupation of that crucially prominent position must now surely be no longer tenable.
To date in the 29 T20I matches he has played for the West Indies, Mayers has only scored 550 runs at an average of 20.37. His runs have not included any centuries and only three half-centuries.
Mayers’ scores in this year’s CPL have only served to further undermine his claims for retention as the West Indies T20I opener. Hs six matches played to date have produced scores of 0, 4, o, 22, 70, and 16.
Who could be identified as a potential credible replacement for Mayers is certainly a question the Selectors must now be asking themselves. With 193 runs scored in his five matches played, and with three half-centuries already to his credit, Shai Hope now seems to be the most suitable prospect. Although Hope has customarily batted at number three for the Guyana Amazon Warriors, opening batting is a role with which he is acutely familiar. His having done so with outstanding success for the West Indies in ODIs.
Hope’s World Cup squad inclusion would, of course, also provide the West Indies with the availability of two wicket-keepers to choose from. Which by itself would also open an additional squad spot for a player with alternative skill sets and talents.
Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd would now appear to be firmly among the sure-picks as the squad’s bowling/power-hitting all-rounders. Should there be a third such player included in the squad, and if so who would be the best possible choice? Kemo Paul might be a contender if the Selectors opt for a seamer. If not, Roston Chase with his off-spin could be preferred should the Selectors decide instead to lean towards spin rather than seam.
As the squad’s genuinely quick pacer, Alzarri Joseph would certainly benefit from having someone of similar talents also included. To date, however, CPL 2023 hasn’t as yet provided anyone with genuine unchallengeable claims to that role. Oshane Thomas has threatened at times to do so, with an impressively quick spell or two, but he has not been sufficiently consistent in his demonstrated wicket-taking capabilities. Thomas has so far only taken 8 wickets in his 6 CPL 2023 matches played to date.
Two other squad roles that the Selectors would have been hoping to receive valuable indications for, but which to date have not been forthcoming are the left-arm seam and spin components. As left-arm seamers Obed McCoy, Sheldon Cottrell, and Dominic Drakes have all underperformed so far at this year’s CPL. Much the same can also be said for the left-arm wrist spinners. Neither Yannic Cariah nor Hayden Walsh have been sufficiently productive. Barring a significant improvement in the form of any of the aforementioned, the West Indies’ Selectors may, therefore, find themselves with the onerous task of identifying alternative roles and suitable players for inclusion by the time the squad announcement deadline rolls around!
Provided selection-related information is, however, only one of the areas for which this year’s CPL has so far been of value. The pitches used for CPL matches in St Lucia. St Kitts, Barbados, and Trinidad have also provided some useful indications for the types of playing surfaces the West Indies can expect to encounter during next year’s World Cup. Most of those countries, along with Guyana, are expected to be included when the ICC announces its 2024 T20 World Cup hosting venues.
The other aspect of potentially significant information from this year’s CPL matches concerns the crowd attendance and demonstrated home team support. The spectator gatherings in St Lucia, for the Kings, followed by those in St Kitts for the Patriots’ respective home matches were commendable. They were subsequently made to appear puny, however, by comparison to the thousands who poured into the much larger Kensington Oval’s numerous stands in loudly vocal support of the Barbados Royals.
If the Royals thought they had been very well and impressively supported at home, they and the other participating teams must have found the patriotic turnout of Trinbagonians for the Knight Riders home matches at the Queen’s Park Oval and Brian Lara Cricket Academy to be outrightly overwhelming. Both venues were transformed into a sea of red as the national color bedecked Trinis turned out in their tens of thousands to offer their support to the local franchise at noise levels that were at times almost deafening.
Will Guyana’s Providence National Stadium be similarly filled by green and yellow-clad Amazon Warriors supporters? Or will the Trinidadians justifiably rule the roost for this year as the CPL’s very best home team crowd support providers?
What’s undeniably more important is for CWI to have taken note of the CPL’s outstanding match venue attendance. At the very least CWI should be wanting to achieve the same levels of support for the West Indies team during its matches at next year’s T20I World Cup. As cash-strapped as it incessantly professes to be, the revenue generation potential of hundreds of thousands of West Indies supporters clad in purchased team shirts, should also not be lost on those who are directly responsible for managing CWI’s finances.
Impressive amounts of ‘good intel’ so far provided by CPL’s 2023 matches, therefore, with likely much more to come as the tournament moves to Guyana for its final round, playoffs and final. The issue with any form of provided intelligent information, however, is that it then must either be put to optimal use or be completely wasted. The question, therefore, remains to be answered as to which of those it will be with CWI as the receivers!