The selection dilemma

With the first of the West Indies intra-squad games beginning tomorrow. We look at which players have the most to prove...

“We’re going to look and see what’s happening in the practice matches and go from there. Most certainly for the first test we start with a squad of 14 and if Shannon proves his fitness that becomes 15. The remaining players are injury replacements but by the third test if something needs to be done we can look at doing something”.

Phil Simmons press conference 22.06.2020

Two weeks from the start of the first test between England and the West Indies and one could be forgiven for thinking the starting XI for the West Indies is all but set in stone.

However, with the first of two intra-squad games set to bowl off tomorrow, there may yet be one or two surprises with all 25 West Indians eager to prove their quality.

Here at Caribbean Cricket Podcast we expect the starting XI for the first test to look something very similar to the below

Kraigg Braithwaite

John Campbell

Shai Hope

Shamarh Brooks

Jermain Blackwood

Roston Chase

Shane Dowrich

Jason Holder (c)

?

Alzarri Joseph

Kemar Roach

We are 99% certain that the 10 names above will start no matter what happens in the warm-up games. In our most recent podcast we went into great detail as to why that may well be the case, you can listen here

All that said if there is to be any deviation to that script, vis-a-vis the top order, it would be Jamaican Nkrumah Bonner (523 runs at 58 in the domestic 4 day) first in line to replace one of either Brooks or Blackwood.

By virtue of Blackwood topping the domestic run charts with a mammoth 768 runs in 8 matches he will be chosen to fill the gap owed to the absence of Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo.

Blackwood also toured England in 2017 averaging 37 across the three test matches. He has a test average of 30 consequently his experience will rightly see him get the nod.

Shamarh Brooks on the other hand had a very poor domestic season (263 runs at 19) but his 111 the last time West Indies played test cricket (vs Afghanistan) most certainly keeps him in the side as the incumbent.

Much has been written on the poor test form of both Shai Hope and Kraigg Braithwaite but they will be given every opportunity on this tour to replicate 2017 so their places wont come under any kind of scrutiny until the third test.

The selection dilemma?

As our aforementioned team selection suggests it is the number 9 position and/or composition of the bowling attack that poses the biggest selection headache for Phil Simmons.

Both the Ageas bowl and Old Trafford can be conducive to spin and should the summer be hot and dry there must be a temptation to play Rahkeem Cornwall in all three test matches. This is before considering Cornwall took 10 wickets against Afghanistan and has had a promising start to cricket at the highest level.

Roston Chase may well have taken 8/60 against England in the last test series but that was an exception not the rule. Would the West Indies really be wise to only have a part-time spin option when England would likely play a front-line spinner in each test?

Should Cornwall play, it would only leave room for three pacers, of whom Jason Holder and Kemar Roach are certainties, fitness permitting.

Alzarri Joseph is a young bowler of immense potential who hasn’t even begun to hit the heights he is capable of. Given he is not having to prove his fitness like Shannon Gabriel he should be in the drivers seat to share the new ball with Roach.

However if Gabriel was able to prove his fitness in the warm up games, the selection panel would then need to decide if it is better to play to West Indies strength and go into the first test with 4 pacers with Chase as back up part-time spin.

When pressed on the readiness of Shannon Gabriel, Simmons acknowledged the pacer is looking sharp again

“In the last week Shannon has been at full tilt and I can say this is the fastest I have seen Shannon bowl in a while”

One must bear in mind that the West Indies resurgence at home has been built off the back of blowing teams away with a 4-man pace attack.

If Gabriel was to prove his fitness but Simmons still  chose to go with Cornwall it would then leave Gabriel and Joseph fighting for a spot. Would this be wise?

Similarly, this equation also works with Chemar Holder, the leading wicket taker in domestic cricket this year (36 wickets at 18). In the event Gabriel isn’t match fit, Chemar could still play as the 4th pacer in place of Cornwall. In this equation Alzarri Joseph would definitely play.

The Batting depth

What may also play into selection consideration is the batting depth and perceived weakness of it.

In their last 10 test matches the West Indies have only passed 250 four times. This has largely been due to top order struggles therefore there must be some consideration to bolstering the batting as deep as they can.

Both Cornwall and Raymon Reifer offer a bowling all-rounder option at nine that would significantly strengthen the batting.

Raymon Reifer took 16 wickets at 30 for the Guyana Jaguars in the 2020 4 day championship and scored 230 runs at 25. The season before he averaged 30 with the bat and took 26 wickets at 16.

Similarly, as alluded to in this piece Cornwall offers an all-round option with the bat as well.

Reifer offers a left arm seam variety which means he cannot be discounted from the potential XI and one would assume there has to be some thought to strengthening the batting all the way through the order.

Reifer has continually put up consistent all-round numbers season after season. Alas he has Jason Holder in front of him

Simmons himself was cagey regarding the thinking on team composition, preferring to focus on the potential nature of the wickets for the test matches.

“We haven’t seen what the Ageas bowl is like, when we get down there and we see then we will know what our combination will be like. Of course, Rahkkeem is a big part of the thinking as he got 10 wickets in his last (test) game so we can say that there is some thought to 2 spinners and 3 fast bowlers or maybe we go four and one depending on the Ageas bowl.

He added, “the same is the case for when we return back to Old Trafford as what we are practicing on could be very different to the nature of the wicket for the test”.

For the remainder of the reserve squad on the surface they are what they appear, talented youngsters who are eager to learn and have something to prove. That hunger and desire should ensure that a few are noticed for future test squad/A team consideration but also that they adequately test the readiness of the selected squad.

There will be no harm in any player hitting a 50/100 or taking a 5-fer to ensure they are next in line should an injury befell a member of the 14.

However it would be a far stretch at the moment to think any player other than Shannon Gabriel would really be in a position to force their way into a final test XI.