By Tony McWatt
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.
The West Indies victory margin for the Antigua-hosted First Test was seven wickets. For the second, played at St Lucia’s Darren Sammy Cricket Ground, it was by an even wider margin of ten wickets. Both matches were concluded on the fourth of the respectively scheduled five days.
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 run-scorers 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.
Blackwood also recorded yet another half-century (63), as the sixteenth in the 48th Tests he has so far played for the West Indies. That’s a very impressive, very reliable rate of one half-century every three Tests played.
The West Indies’ overall batting during the two-match series reflected a most encouraging improvement from the first Test to the second. Following the dramatic collapses that had punctuated both innings of the first Test, the West Indies fared much better in the second. Their 2nd Test first innings total of 408 proved to be match-winning in the end. Bangladesh fared much worse at their two attempts at strike, collectively amassing respective totals of 234 and 186 which then left the West Indies requiring only twelve runs for victory.
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.
Even more worrying was the manner of Bonner’s dismissals, providing repeated evidence as they did of severe deficiencies in his technique. In the West Indies’ first innings of the 2nd Test he was out bowled, playing on to a delivery. The face of his bat was almost parallel to the ground at the point of the impact with the ball, instead of vertically straight as it rightfully should have been.
Apart from Bonner’s repeated failures, the other major continuing cause for concern would be the need to find a reliable occupant for the pivotal number three position. The selectors’ highly questionable attempt to have Raymon Reifer fulfil that role was an unmitigated, almost wholly predictable, disaster. Reifer had scores of 11, 2 and 22 in his three innings to end with an overall, paltry, series average of 11.66
The series batting performances of Bonner, Reifer and possibly also that of the wicket-keeper Josh DaSilva- whose two innings only produced 30 runs at a disappointing average of 15.00- were in the end the only dark cloud 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 Alzarri Joseph. Despite obviously not being at his quickest, Joseph still at times 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.
“Threesie,” as the still only twenty-five years old Joseph is now likely to be called by his appreciative teammates, had successive three-fors in each of the four innings of the two Tests played. That nickname might not last for very long as it can now surely be only a matter of time before Joseph finally progresses to capture best figures of more than three wickets in a Test innings.
Right behind Joseph, 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. Mayers in particular again demonstrated his uncanny knack of getting top-order batsmen out with his deceptive medium-pacers. His 6 captured wickets were taken at a 16.00 average and 3.09 economy rate.
Having now won its last two successive series, the next step for the Kraigg Brathwaite-led West Indies Test team should be to fashion an identity of its own. To develop its distinct and unique brand of how it plays Test cricket. As an example, they need look no further than England’s most recent series victory over New Zealand and the type of cricket their Ben Stokes-led, Brendon McCallum-coached, team played.
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.
Who knows? Only time will tell. In the interim though, as the Bangladesh series victory has illustrated, there’s much to be encouraged by.
About The Writer:
Guyana-born, Toronto-based, Tony McWatt is the Publisher of both the WI Wickets and Wickets/monthly online cricket magazines that are respectively targeted toward Caribbean and Canadian readers. He is also the only son of the former Guyana and West Indies wicket-keeper batsman the late Clifford “Baby Boy” McWatt.
