It’s now been almost two weeks since the West Indies’ historic, totally unanticipated, victory over their Pakistan hosts in the January 25-29 Multan second Test between the two teams. By now the euphoria felt throughout the entire Caribbean and beyond in the diaspora over that historic victory, the first by a West Indies team in Pakistan for over thirty years, would have subsided just a wee bit. Perfect timing, therefore, for me to examine my top five takeaways from the series. Not before I’ve placed my now duly required order for some curry crow though. With a sizeable portion of Bajan cuckoo on the side, and maybe a Deputy, Banks or Plus as a washdown!
Such a sumptuous order of Bajan cuckooed curry crow on my part, has been necessitated by the outstanding Pakistan second Test performances of the West Indies team’s two Barbadian members, Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite and left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican. It was Brathwaite’s lead-from-the front 54 in the West Indies second innings that laid the foundation for the team’s formidable 244. A total that proved to be 120 runs too much for Pakistan’s batters in the face of Warrican’s mesmerizing left-arm off-breaks.
Warrican ran thru the Pakistani batting yet again to finish with figures of 5/27-16. His overall series tally was a chart-topping 19 wickets, captured at an average of 9.00.
I recently, publicly, vilified Brathwaite as being unfit to continue as West Indies Test captain due to his extended run of inadequately low scores. Equally I have never previously been a big fan of Warrican!
My consumption of some crow in deference to their prove-me-wrong performances is now, therefore, fully warranted. Curry has always been, and will always be my favorite form of crow, hence the nature of this particular order with the Bajan cuckoo thrown as my concessionary tribute to Messrs. Brathwaite and Warrican.
My hat goes off to those two gentlemen as I gleefully enjoy having to place the order. Just as I do each and every time a West Indies cricketer proves my criticism of or dislike for them to have been totally unjustified.
Crow order having been duly placed and consumed, I can now get on with the far less jovial task of listing the most salient West Indies takeaways from the recently concluded Pakistan Test Series. Of which there can be at least five.
Heading the list, coming in as opener no pun intended, must be the contention that by virtue of his own outstanding batting, coupled with captaining the team to the historic second Test series levelling victory, Kraigg Brathwaite has now earned himself a stay of execution from his previously advocated removal as the West Indies captain. One swallow does not a summer make, but Brathwaite’s aggressive lead-from-the front second innings batting has earned him the right to continue as both one of the two West Indies opening batters, as well as captain for the forthcoming home Series against the mighty Australia.
The first and second Tests of the forthcoming Aussie three-match series will be Brathwaite’s 99th and 100th respectively. The third and final Test will therefore be his 101st. Perhaps an opportune time for him to then pull the curtains on both his tenure as West Indies red-ball captain as well as his Test career.
With Brathwaite to be back as captain as well as being one of the two opening bats, Takeaway 2 must then be that the entire West Indies top order batting now needs to be reexamined and possibly even completely revamped. Scores of 137, 123, 163 and 244 in a two-match series, albeit on pitches that were turning square from the very first ball, are not going to ever win you too many Test matches. Unless the opposition’s batting is even more fragile a la Pakistan! Nor will bingo like averages from our top five or six frontline batsmen suffice against the Aussies in the same way that they did against Pakistan.
Who to occupy positions two to six in the West Indies top-order batting will, therefore, now be the most urgent issue for Head Coach/Chief Selector Daren Sammy to address. The ongoing 4Day competition should , hopefully, provide him with some possibly suitably candidates. He could, of course, also consider drafting in some of the T20 specialists, the likes of Evin Lewis, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfayne Rutherford, and/or Shai Hope. Assuming, of course, that any of those ever seeking T20 remuneration minded gents would now even be interested in representing West Indies in Tests.
There’s only one way to win a Test match! That is to capture all twenty of the opponent’s wickets for a combined two innings total that is less than yours. So Takeaway 3, and the second headache causing question that Head Coach/Sole Selector Sammy will very soon have to address, is as to exactly which combination of bowlers can the West Indies use to capture all twenty Aussie wickets in the forthcoming three-match series?
Based on his outstanding series topping performances in Pakistan, there should now be no disputing Jomel Warrican’s status as the West Indies’ leading spinner. He has unquestionably replaced Gudakesh Motie as the most deserving recipient of that honor. Few should also question that a bowling attack comprised of Jayden Seales and the two Josephs: Alzarri and Shamar, in addition to Warrican would be the strongest the West Indies could possibly field against the Aussies. Question is though, will those four in combination be good enough or will a fifth bowler be required?
The contemporary tendency by most of the top ranked Test teams to field a fifth, backup allrounder type, bowler would suggest that the West Indies should do the same against the Aussies. If so, then who?
Can Motie’s batting competencies that were demonstrated during the Pakistan series be sufficiently honed as to make him a viable option, batting at seven with the wicket-keeper bat presumably to be Tevin Imlach coming in at number six? Or will there be the possibility of a resurgent Jason Holder returning to the fold to occupy the number six position, with Imlach dropping down to number seven.
So far in his First Class career, Tevin Imlach has been sufficiently handy as a wicket-keeping batter to suggest that he will very soon also come good with the bat at Test level. Imlach has scored three hundreds and six half-centuries in his twenty-four First Class matches played to date. 1162 runs from 42 completed innings at an average of 30.31, and with a highest score of 136*. Enough to suggest that he might actually be good enough to bat at six in Tests. Thereby creating the required room for five rather than four frontline bowlers!
As Takeaway #4, and the potential caveat to the suggested aforementioned four -man bowling attack, would be the question as to what to do about Kemar Roach? Having taken 284 wickets in the 75 Tests he’s played for the West Indies to date, Roach undisputedly deserves to now be ranked very highly among the greatest seam bowlers the West Indies has ever produced in its ninety-seven-year participation in cricket’s most prestigious format. The issue with Roach, however, has been his litany of recurring injuries and ever declining productivity within recent years.
In the now four years that have passed since February 2021, Roach has only captured 80 wickets in 49 Tests played. An average of 1.63 wickets per Test. Compared to his overall average of 3.34 wickets per Test during his 75-matches-to-date career.
Those statistics would suggest that Roach is now in the best-used-before phase of his outstanding Test career. As such, as has been previously suggested, a one-off Special Farewell appearance in front of his adoring Kensington Oval home crowd in the Barbados first Test of the forthcoming Aussie Series would be very much in order. One of the previously mentioned bowlers would obviously have to be relegated to the bench to accommodate Roach’s playing eleven inclusion for the Barbados first Test. At the conclusion of which though he should be duly encouraged to gracefully retire.
Which brings us to the fifth and final Takeaway from the concluded Pakistan Test series. A series which also marked the final matches for both the West Indies and their Pakistan hosts in the ICC 2023-2024 two-year Test Championship calendar. Both teams finishing on the cellar positions of the Championship points table.
The forthcoming Aussie Home Series will be the West Indies’ first matches in the next 2025-2027 ICC two- year Test Championship. It will also mark the commencement of Daren Sammy’s scheduled tenure as the West Indies Test Team’s Head Coach. Having previously been appointed for both the ODI and T20 formats as well, Sammy now holds the dubious honor of being Head Coach for both the West Indies white and red ball teams.
2028 will also mark the 100th anniversary of the West Indies’ entry into Test cricket. It would, therefore, be most fitting for the West Indies to be concluding the 2025- 2027 ICC Test Championship and entering its 2028 centenary year as one of the ICC’s top five teams. Rather than remaining in its current bottom-dwelling position.
From now until 2028 Coach Sammy must, therefore, begin the process of ensuring that the very best. strongest possible, playing eleven and fifteen-member squads are chosen to represent the West Indies from this year onwards.
Thankfully for Sammy, the current ongoing Cricket West Indies 2025 Four Day Championships will provide immediate opportunities for him, along with his newly instituted Talent Identification Managers and Scouts, to unearth the players who would be most fitting to restore the West Indies Test team’s performances to much closer, more acceptable approximations of its long-lost halcyon days. Let the Pakistan Test win be the dawning of a new and brighter day!
We moving fawud!” As Sammy himself has often said!