The return of the talisman

Can Shannon Gabriel pick up from where he left off?

So much has been written about the resurgence of the West Indian fast bowling tradition but one bowler evokes that more than the others. Enter Shannon Gabriel, the express pacer from Trinidad.

The emphasis should rightly be on the word ‘express’ as no other bowler in international cricket could be said to rely on that alone as their modus operandi.

I was at Lords in May 2012 the day Gabriel made his international debut for the West Indies. Little was known about pacer back then. Although he had shown promising signs in regional cricket following his stint at the HPC, his 4 wickets for 86 runs in the first test came as a surprise to many.

On first viewing the pace was obvious as well as the rawness.

However the return from injury of Ravi Rampaul and the presence of Tino Best, Fidel Edwards and Kemar Roach meant Gabriel did not feature in another test on the tour.

The subsequent five years of test match action saw only fleeting glimpses of Gabriel’s talent with struggles more often the par for the course.

Yet few fast bowlers in world cricket have completed the turn around Shannon has since 2017. Averaging 38 runs per wicket at the start of 2017. His record between 2017-2020 has seen that drop to 26. An almost unprecedented drop.

What tends to baffle pundits about Gabriel is that he hasn’t done this with any excessive seam or swing but sheer unwavering pace. Jarrod Kimber touches on that precise point in his excellent video here.

However, as the West Indies gear up for the first test match Gabriel is in a race against time to prove his match fitness.

His streak of golden series that started with Sri Lanka (2018) at home ended with an ankle injury at home vs India (2019) that has seen him out of cricket for seven months.

Speaking about his recovery, in today’s press-conference, Gabriel made it clear he is raring to go again.

“The ankle is good, the recovery has gone well. It’s now a case of needing match fitness. The two practice games prior to the first test will allow me to see how ready I am for test match cricket

“I’ve been out for 6/7 months and I’m hungry to get going again. My rhythm feels good but the warm-up matches are crucial in order to test my ability to last second and third spells”.

Stats will often tell you a lot in cricket but equally as fascinating is how a player feels about their own development outside of the stats.

If as aforementioned Gabriel gets the least seam and swing amongst top seam bowlers in test cricket (see CricViz).

It would imply that Gabriel is extremely reliant on full pace. The inference therefore being if he isn’t fully fit, his secondary skills wont bail him out.

When pressed on his own reflections as to the reasons for his turn around in form, Gabriel cites ‘fitness’ as the key factor.

“From 2017 I would say I became more experienced about what test cricket required but more importantly my fitness improved. Fitness has been a key focus for all of us and it had helped me stay on park and bowl better in later spells. On top of that we have fed off each other as bowlers”.

The response tallies up with why Gabriel was subpar against India the last time he played for West Indies, troubled by the same nagging ankle that would eventually force him out of the game. Gabriel was down on pace and therefore ineffective against the world #1 side.

It may well be that the first test (July 8th) comes too soon for Gabriel and all eyes will be on him in the forthcoming practice games to see if he is indeed match ready.

For West Indies coach Phil Simmons he must hope Gabriel is as the fast bowler’s career performance against England would merit immediate inclusion.

Shannon Gabriel stats vs England

8 matches - 26 wickets at 29