The summer of six

With a T20 World Cup on the horizon are the men in maroon really the team to beat?

In a jam-packed home summer, the West Indies are set to play a total of 15 T20s across three series against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. While the form of the Test and ODI sides rapidly fluctuate, all West Indies fans know they can expect consistent, top quality cricket from their array of T20 world beaters.

The provisional squad named for the 15 matches features an amalgamation of globe-trotting veterans like Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle and Andre Russell, the next-gen dynamites in Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Fabian Allen as well as fringe players looking to grab a T20 World Cup spot like Kevin Sinclair and Obed McCoy. This mix of exuberant youth and reliable seniors makes for a fantastic setup.

Yet for all the excitement and limitless possibilities around the West Indies there remain several questions to address before the T20 World Cup later in the year.

Who makes up the top 3?

While the middle order of Pooran, Pollard, Russell and Allen is more or less set in stone, there are still places up for grabs at the top of the order. The key contenders are Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons and Hetmyer. It is likely that all four will get a go at some point in the season, so it is up to them to make a compelling case.

The case for Lewis: Despite battling with injury since his breakout season in 2017/18, Lewis, on paper, has been the most productive West Indian opener in international cricket for a fairly long period. Given his versatility against seam and pace, one would think he is a sure shot starter.

The case for Simmons: While he may be the least explosive option amongst those available, Simmons offers the RHB dimension in the top order. This may not be an immediate requirement in the upcoming summer against teams lacking quality off spin but he may well be needed to steady the ship come the World Cup. The absence of Simmons may necessitate using Holder, Russell or Allen as floating RHB options up the order.

The case for Gayle: One cannot expect Gayle to produce the same returns as he did in his prime, but he was still amongst the best batsmen in his IPL and PSL sides this year. Besides, it is near impossible to drop a player with his stature, legacy and experience.

The case for Hetmyer: If we were to look at pure T20 record, Hetmyer would be the one to miss out. That being said, he is coming off a very strong Super 50 and IPL season. He arguably has the highest upside amongst the four options as well given his raw skills, especially against high pace bowlers like Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Mitchell Starc.

The elephant in the room -- Andre Russell

After controversially pulling out of the winter tour of New Zealand, Russell missed out on the Sri Lanka home series after contracting COVID-19. With his return, the West Indies batting is now truly complete. 

In the first half of this year’s IPL, Russell looked slim and fit after a long time, but more importantly seemed to be more conscientious of his workload. This will have to be maintained throughout the international season because simply put, the dynamism Russell adds to the middle order is irreplaceable. 

In a stacked middle order, Russell almost acts as the “wildcard” player. While Pooran, Pollard and Allen have clear weaknesses against high pace bowling, Russell is far better equipped and can take down any bowler at any stage in the innings. Having Russell playing high impact innings at flexible entry points will allow the management to smooth out the remaining batsmen’s entry points, something that was difficult to force during the Sri Lanka series while facing Hasaranga and Chameera.

Furthermore, Russell’s two overs of death bowling - a role he has performed well in consistently at the IPL - will be invaluable in this West Indies team which has been extremely poor at the death in recent years. In combination with Dwayne Bravo, Russell’s ability to nail yorkers will make the death bowling at least average if not spectacular.

The volatile pace attack

While Fidel Edwards earned a recall in the series against Sri Lanka, this series will mark the comebacks of Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas. Currently all three bowlers are highly volatile and have specialized strengths meaning they are not as versatile as they should be in the T20 format. Edwards and Cottrell are mainly powerplay specialists whereas Thomas’s high pace seems to be the only string in his bow.

It is likely that the starting XI will feature only one of the above bowlers as their aggression must be tempered with the experience of Jason Holder and Bravo. Holder offers a proven option in the powerplay and his improved yorker attempt and accuracy rate is promising for the future. While Bravo may have declined as compared to a few years ago, he still uses angles and an assortment of slow balls and yorkers intelligently.

That being said, the impact addition to the bowling attack could well be Obed McCoy. While the early progress in his career was stunted by injuries, he rediscovered his pace in the T10 League and Sri Lanka series earlier this year. His hard length bowling combined with a tricky slow ball release will pose problems to batsmen who have not faced him before.

Who makes up the spin attack?

Post the retirement of Samuel Badree and in the absence of Sunil Narine, the West Indies lack a spinner who can either control the run flow or be a go-to middle overs bowler. While Allen has essentially nailed his spot as one of the spinners because of his lower order batting, there is room for one other spinner in the XI. The candidates are Hayden Walsh Jr, Kevin Sinclair and Akeal Hosein.

The case for Walsh Jr: Although his recent form has been extremely under-par, Walsh Jr has a wicked googly and bowls at decent speeds for a modern day T20 wrist spinner. His base potential is high and unless he plays, there is no way his accuracy improves.

The case for Akeal: On paper, Akeal is the best option in terms of CPL and 50-over record. That being said, he is also a left arm spinner, the same type as Allen. If he plays, the flexibility in the spin department becomes non-existent and Allen likely ends up playing a specialist batsman with Russell or Pollard filling in more overs.

The case for Sinclair: Sinclair being an off spinner turns the ball the opposite direction of Allen, complimenting him well. He had a decent start to his career in the CPL as well. That being said, he has struggled to put revs on the ball in unhelpful conditions meaning he could be an easy target for batsmen in the powerplay.

The case for no one: There is a strong argument for playing none of the above because the seam options on face value add more to the side. However, against sides weaker against spin bowling like South Africa and Australia, this is the best chance to back one of the spinners and run with it. 

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