By Tony McWatt
– Publisher
The West Indies team’s 2-0
victory in its recently concluded
Test Series at home against
Bangladesh has provided some
very encouraging signs for its fans and
followers. The West Indies comfortably
won both matches of the Series.
Three of the West Indies’ top-order
batsmen, Kyle Mayers, Kraigg Brathwaite
and John Campbell, were among the top
five in the standings for the highest runscorers
after the two Tests. Undoubtedly
a most welcomed and very pleasing
development for the team’s Coaching
Staff, as well as the West Indies Selection
Panel.
Of the three Kyle Mayers’ return to form
to head the standings, with both the most
runs (153) and best average (76.50),
would have been the most welcomed.
Mayers’ match-winning knock of 146 in
the first innings of the 2nd Test was his
only century scored for the West Indies
since the double hundred he’d made on
debut against Bangladesh more than a
year ago, back in February 2021.
Just as pleasing, particularly for the
West Indies Selectors, would be John
Campbell’s occupation of fourth place
in the Highest Run Scorer standings.
Campbell’s 136 runs scored at an average
of 68.00 was a satisfying reward to the
Selectors for having stuck with him,
despite his below-par performances
during the preceding Home Series against
the visiting England, which the West
Indies had won 1-0.
As Campbell’s opening-batting partner,
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite
was his ever-reliable self, posting two
half-centuries in the four innings he
batted during the Series. Brathwaite fell
for 94 in the West Indies’ first innings of
the opening Test. Just six runs short of
what would have been a very deserving
eleventh Test century.
As Brathwaite’s vice-captain and deputy,
Jermaine Blackwood again demonstrated
further evidence of an ever-increasing
appreciation of the responsibility he
holds batting at number five in the West
Indies order. Blackwood amassed 129
runs from his three innings batted. His
runs scored at an average of 64.50.
The only now continuously worrying
aspect of the West Indies batting would
be the apparent and significant loss
of form by the number four batsman,
Nkrumah Bonner. 33 runs scored from 3
innings at a dismal average of 11 wouldn’t
be the type of returns expected from the
holder of such an important position in
the batting order.
The Series batting performances of
Bonner as well as the failed experiment
of using Raymon Reifer at 3 were in the
end the only dark clouds blemishes to the
encouragingly much improved West Indies
batting during the Bangladesh Series. By
comparison, the performances of the
West Indies bowling unit were almost
completely devoid of any such blemishes.
They were instead, rather highly
encouraging in the twice demonstrated
abilities to comfortably capture the
twenty wickets that are required to win a
Test match.
Spearheading the West Indies bowling
in terms of both pace and wickets
captured was the increasingly effective
and constantly improving Alzharri Joseph.
He bowled with controlled pace and
aggression to emerge as the Series’ highest
wicket-taker. His twelve victims were
captured at a miserly sub-20 average of
16.25 and an equally impressive economy
rate of 3.43.
At number two in the Series’ highest
wicket-takers standings, was the West
Indies bowling attack’s acknowledged
leader Kemar Roach. His 10 wickets
captured included the prize scalp of
Tamim Iqbal, caught behind by Joshua
DaSilva for 4, as the first wicket to fall
in Bangladesh’s 2nd Test second innings.
Iqbal’s scalp was Roach’s 250th in
Tests, surpassing the legendary Michael
Holding’s 249 on the list of West Indies’
all-time highest wicket-takers.
The other wicket-producing seamers used
by the West Indies, Jayden Seales (9), Kyle
Mayers (6) and the 2nd Test debutant
Anderson Phillips (2) were equally
impressive with their implemented lines
and lengths.
The West Indies’ next Test encounter will
be away to Australia at the end of this
year. A tour that will most likely present
much stiffer opposition and far greater
challenges than anything Bangladesh, with
all due respect, had to offer.
Under Brathwaite’s leadership, the
current West Indies Test team has begun
to show signs of being a commendably
competitive and admirably cohesive unit.
The members of which are willing to give
of their very best for each other.
That’s the most that anyone could and
should ask of them. And with the likes
of the experienced Jason Holder and,
hopefully, Shimron Hetmeyer as potential
included members of the squad for the
tour Down Under they could yet spring
a surprise or two on their unsuspecting
Aussie hosts!