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A preview of the first Test between West Indies and England in Barbados

The Preview by Andrew Miller22-Jan-2019

Big Picture

In case you’ve missed any of the memos from the ECB in recent months, 2019 is a moderately significant year for English cricket. The small matter of a home World Cup, closely followed by the Ashes, offers the sport a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to regain some of the relevance that it squandered in the wake of the 2005 Ashes, and build the sort of head of steam required to make a success of the grand relaunch they’ve got planned for 2020 onwards.No pressure then, as Joe Root’s men move into the first engagement of this most seismic of calendar years – a three-Test rubber against a West Indies side that (to judge by preconceptions) you might presume they have been beating in their sleep for the best part of 20 years. In fact, West Indies have got a very proud home record against the team that everyone most loves to beat, and plenty of incentive to extend one of the sport’s more unlikely unbeaten runs.England’s last series victory in the Caribbean came way back in 2004 – when Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe were still in harness in the middle-order. They’ve returned twice since then but have managed just a solitary win in seven (technically eight) attempts. And even that overdue result, at St George’s in 2015 was undermined a week later, when they slumped to a pretty abject series-squaring loss in Barbados.And when you consider the shock that West Indies pulled off 18 months ago in England, when Shai Hope and Kraigg Brathwaite inspired an incredible run-chase in the second Test at Headingley, the threat that they can yet pose is self-evident. That much can be seen in their recent Test record, under Stuart Law, the former coach who recently moved to Middlesex, they won six Tests out of 15 – not riches by any stretch of the imagination, but the sort of dangerously erratic record that a work in progress such as England cannot afford to take lightly.England are, however, in an unusually good place in their Test cricket right now. Their 3-0 series win in Sri Lanka before Christmas was an eye-opening statement of intent – set up by speedy, purposeful batting, and sealed by a three-pronged spin attack that could not have been available to Root had it not been for the wealth of allrounders he was able to shoehorn into his team.It followed on from a 4-1 series win over India – and how much more impressive does that now look after their demolition of Australia Down Under? – that seemed at times to lean far too heavily on a surfeit of runs from England’s lower-order, but which in hindsight now looks like a very cunning plan.They are beginning to develop a squad for all occasions – although the sad loss of Olly Stone to a stress fracture in the lower back does mean that they do still lack the sort of out-and-out pace bowler that they’ll need to blood at some stage if they are truly creating an attack for all surfaces. Stone might not have been a factor this early in the series, given that a bowler of Stuart Broad’s pedigree still isn’t sure of regaining a permanent berth, but it’s been a while since England have had quite such an encouraging pressure for places.West Indies, by contrast, do not lack for speed in their current incarnation. Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel have hurried up many sides in the recent past, while Alzarri Joseph (if fit) and Oshane Thomas promise no let-up on the speedometer if either or both are unleashed in the course of this series.There’s no question that West Indies are up against it in this series, and the off-stage kerfuffle over the appointment of Richard Pybus as head coach will guarantee yet more tedious political recriminations if the early results don’t go their way. But England are in town and full houses are in prospect throughout the three-match series (albeit houses full of English support rather than the conch-blowing locals of old). If such well-set stages don’t tempt some scene-stealing performances from the home side, then nothing will.

Form guide

West Indies LLLLW (completed matches, most recent first)
 
England WWWWW

In the spotlight

In a week in which Eoin Morgan, the one-day captain, confirmed that the Barbados-born Jofra Archer is inching himself into England’s thoughts ahead of the World Cup, another of Archer’s fellow islanders confirmed that he too had once harboured thoughts of seeking England qualification. And, to judge by his impact in that stunning victory at Headingley in 2017, Shai Hope would have been quite an asset to this England squad. A dedicated self-improver as well as a clear natural talent, Hope has not yet matched the heights in Test cricket that he reached in making those twin hundreds 18 months ago. But there’s no time like the present to produce a telling encore.Moeen Ali endured a particularly miserable Test at this very venue in 2015 – he was milked at five an over in figures of 2 for 110, as West Indies squared the series to extend their proud home record. But he’s coming off the back of a triumphant tour of Sri Lanka this time around – and even though he was aided on that trip by two other tweakers alongside him, Moeen was able to contain through attack in the manner that suits his style best. He’s stated he’s more comfortable with being considered England’s senior spinner these days, as well he might with a haul of 163 wickets in 55 Tests. He could be in for a busy workload.

Team news

Alzarri Joseph is on the comeback from a stress fracture in his back, and though he has been passed fit for selection, he may not be risked this time after reporting some stiffness. Oshane Thomas was named in the squad as cover and looks a very capable reserve – he’s almost as tall as the captain, Jason Holder, and is one of the quickest runners in the squad. Two spinners could yet be an option. On the batting front, West Indies are set to welcome back Darren Bravo for his first Test in two years. He was instrumental in squaring the series in Barbados on England’s last visit four years ago.West Indies (possible): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 John Campbell, 3 Shai Hope, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Roston Chase, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Shane Dowrich (wk), 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Jomel Warrican, 11 Shannon GabrielAll the signs in the build-up to the series were that England would revert to a single spinner and recall an extra quick to form a more traditional 4 and 1 attack. That might still happen, but after England’s first sighting of what could prove to be a rather sluggish Barbados deck, thoughts have begun to revert to two slow bowlers. Jack Leach would be the more versatile option, though Adil Rashid was the man in possession at the end of the India series, and his ability to produce important partnership-breaking moments could still earn him first dibs. Jonny Bairstow is inked in at No.3 after a well-crafted 98 in England’s warm-up, with Ben Foakes’ place guaranteed as first-choice wicketkeeper after his storming debut series in Sri Lanka. Stuart Broad may yet lose out to Sam Curran, with England valuing the depth that his batting brings to the tail.England (possible): 1 Rory Burns, 2 Keaton Jennings, 3 Jonny Bairstow, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler, 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Moeen Ali, 9 Sam Curran, 10 Jack Leach, 11 James Anderson

Pitch and conditions

The pitch was quite the picture earlier this week – brown and mottled, and a pretty scary sight for batsmen who like to be able to judge a surface on appearances. But, on closer inspection on Monday, both sides seem to agree it’s not quite the monster that was being talked up. The England camp have described it as “tacky”, and crumbly, too, and a heavy night of rainfall won’t have helped speed it up. The weather, by all accounts, is lovely now, thanks for asking.

Stats and trivia

• James Anderson (565) and Stuart Broad (433) need two more wickets between them to reach a combined tally of 1000 in Tests. Only Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, and Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas have previously passed that mark while playing together.
• England have won just three series in the Caribbean in 15 visits since 1930, and just once – in 2004 – since 1968.
• England’s record in Barbados is identical –  three wins in 15 visits, although West Indies have won just five times themselves, with seven draws.
• Victory in Barbados would be England’s sixth Test win in a row, equalling the run they produced against Bangladesh and Pakistan in 2010. Their best streak of all time was eight in a row in 2004, including a 4-0 home victory over West Indies.

Quotes

“Our consistency is something that has really plagued us in the past. Particularly with our batting. I just think we need to start the series well by putting some runs on the board in the first innings and making an early statement.”
West Indies captain Jason Holder“It’s a great opportunity for this side to go one further, show that we’re desperate to get to that No.1 status and keep developing as a squad. We know it’s been one win in a long time here. It’s tough for English sides to come here and win, and this West Indies team are very good in their own conditions.”
England captain Joe Root

Jack Brooks continued his grand farewell to Yorkshire with five wickets, but thanks to Daryl Mitchell the day was largely spent before they confirmed their place in Division One

ECB Reporters Network24-Sep-2018
ScorecardYorkshire made sure of their Division One status in the Specsavers County Championship for the 2019 season despite being on the receiving end of another century from Worcestershire opener Daryl Mitchell at Blackfinch New Road.The Tykes needed two more points to stay up and that milestone was achieved when Ed Barnard was leg before to Jack Brooks in the paceman’s final game before leaving Headingley to join Somerset. Brooks continued a splendid end to the season in which he has done much to ensure Yorkshire’s safety.Yorkshire were made to wait until the 84th over after opting to bowl via an uncontested toss due mainly to the efforts of Mitchell who completed his fourth Championship century of the campaign. He followed up his 178 in last month’s innings victory at Scarborough with another invaluable knock for his side before being eighth out, Worcestershire eventually closing on 319 for 8.It enabled Brooks to complete his third five-wicket haul in five games since announcing he has signed a three year contract at Taunton until the end of the 2021 season.A win over Lancashire sandwiched in between draws with Nottinghamshire and Hampshire from the previous three games had eased Yorkshire’s fears of the drop before the task was completed today.Andrew Gale, Yorkshire’s head coach, said of Brooks five wicket haul: “It is testament to the man, He is not going to be with us next year but it would have been easy for him to fade out until the end of the season. He hasn’t done that, he’s put a real shift in for us and is one of the key reasons why we are still in Division One.”Worcestershire were playing for only pride after defeat against Essex at Chelmsford had confirmed their relegation after one season in the top flight. But their batsmen dug in and made Yorkshire work for the six wickets needed to stave off the threat of going down. No-one was more obdurate than Mitchell with his 34th first class century for the County.Tim Bresnan made the only breakthrough of the morning session when Tom Fell (19) was squared up by the former England seamer and provided Jack Leaning with a straightforward catch at third slip.Moeen Ali was greeted with warm applause in his first appearance for Worcestershire since leading them to their first Vitality Blast trophy success nine days ago.He ensured left arm spinner and Yorkshire debutant left-arm spinner James Logan had a chastening introduction into the attack with a six over long on and then a slog sweep from Moeen which brought the same result.Moeen, who had scored a double century at Scarborough, again threatened a major contribution and completed a 69-ball half century.Mitchell had an escape on 43 when he was dropped by keeper Jonathan Tattersall off a Brooks delivery.But Tom Kohler-Cadmore made no mistake when Moeen (60) went for a pull in the first over back into the attack from Yorkshire skipper Steven Patterson and only managed to top edge through to his former team-mate.Joe Clarke, in his final match for Worcestershire before joining Nottinghamshire on a four-year contract, was given a searching examination.
The England Lions batsman made just eight from 46 balls before he aimed a drive at Brooks and was bowled.That secured the first point for the visitors and then Alex Milton tentatively pushed forward to Ben Coad and fell to a sharp low catch by Kohler-Cadmore. A fourth wicket of the afternoon session was accrued when Ben Cox was was leg before to Books.Ed Barnard (34) kept Mitchell company in a stand of 88 in 24 overs before his dismissal to Brooks eased any Yorkshire fears. Brooks made it two wickets in two balls as Wayne Parnell was pouched at second slip and then Mitchell’s resistance ended after making 127 when he holed out to deep mid wicket off the same bowler. His 252 ball knock contained 17 fours.

Spinner suffered ruptured Achilles tendon during Johannesburg Test

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Mar-2023Keshav Maharaj, the South Africa spinner, has been ruled out of a planned stint with Middlesex after rupturing his Achilles tendon during the Johannesburg Test against West Indies.Maharaj is expected to be out for six months after suffering the injury while celebrating a dismissal on day four of the Test, putting his participation at the World Cup later this year at risk.He had been due to join up with Middlesex in April for a spell of eight County Championship fixtures and the Vitality Blast.Middlesex’s director of cricket, Alan Coleman, said: “We are naturally extremely disappointed that Keshav will not be joining Middlesex this year after sustaining this freak injury and we are saddened to hear that he will face a significant absence from playing. It goes without saying that everyone at the club wishes him a speedy recovery.”For us to lose Kesh so close to the start of the new season is a blow, however he wasn’t scheduled to begin playing for us until late April, which buys us a little time to put Plan B into action. We will of course keep everyone updated on the situation regarding a replacement overseas player for the coming season.”

The coach is hopeful of surfaces more conducive to run-scoring against India in Trinidad

Deivarayan Muthu21-Jul-20222:14

Phil Simmons: We need to win for the Caribbean people

West Indies’ head coach Phil Simmons has said that batting out 50 overs is their top priority as they rebuild for next year’s ODI World Cup. Since the 2019 World Cup, West Indies have played out 50 overs just six times in 39 innings, and have lost nine of their 13 ODI series since that tournament, including a series defeat against Ireland at home earlier this year.”The main thing is how we bat our 50 overs…we have to bat 50 overs and put our innings together and partnerships together,” Simmons said two days out of the ODI series opener against India in Port-of-Spain. “Somebody has to be looking to score a hundred and hold the team together. Batting-wise that is it.”Simmons, however, isn’t overly concerned by the bowling attack, which couldn’t bowl out Bangladesh once in the most recent three-match ODI series in Guyana, and the fielding.”The bowling and the fielding has been improving daily,” he said. “We rank ourselves very highly on the fielding. The bowling, we had couple of games on those wickets where people might say we should’ve gotten more wickets but the wicket got better every time we fielded because they had put out the second roller on it and it had dried out from earlier in the day.Related

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“So, the bowlers have been doing well and we have to continue restricting and getting wickets – that’s the only way we can keep totals low and continue to win games.”Despite the repeated batting failures, Simmons showed faith in the current group and put down some of their struggles against Bangladesh earlier this month to the subcontinent-style spin-friendly pitches at the Providence. Captain Nicholas Pooran was also critical of the surfaces after West Indies were swept 3-0 by Bangladesh.”I can’t look past the batters here yet,” Simmons said. “I think you judge people on good wickets. We had good performances in Netherlands and good performances in Pakistan. You come [home] and you get indifferent wickets where guys have to fight for runs and we agree that we should’ve fought a little harder, but I can’t come down [on them]. Let’s see what happens. These wickets [at Queen’s Park Oval] look really good and let’s see how they play and we can judge them from this.”Simmons expects a better batting performance from West Indies on what he believes will be a truer pitch in Port-of-Spain. Simmons said that he has already seen signs of improvement from the batters during West Indies’ two training sessions at the Queen’s Park Oval so far. The pitch for the game, however, could still be a bit of an unknown quantity as the venue has not hosted an international game since August 2019.Phil Simmons wants to hold judgement on West Indies’ batting line-up•AFP/Getty Images

“The first difference is that the surface here [in Port-of-Spain] looks like some work has been put into it,” Simmons said. “It has been prepared and it looks good. That is all you can go to…they are true wickets that we’re going to play these three games on and it looked really good the last couple of days we’ve been there, so [we will] wait and see how they play on Friday.”You expect a better batting performance. I think we don’t really want to make any excuses and in the last game we showed what we should’ve shown in the first two games…I’m not hiding the fact that they were bad cricket wickets on the whole, but I expect different here. The wicket has looked good and yes it [India] is a stronger bowling team but we expect a better batting performance.”Simmons also called for better-prepared pitches across the region if West Indies are to produce quality batters and bowlers in the future. He echoed former captain Kieron Pollard’s comments from last year, when he termed the Barbados pitches “absolutely ridiculous”.”You have to let them [groundstaff across the Caribbean] know [about the sub-standard pitches],” Simmons said. “It’s not nice, it’s something that we’ve to work on throughout the Caribbean because the better wickets we get for our young players to grow up on, the better batsmen we get, the better fast bowlers and spinners we get. So, yes, it’s a conversation we have all the time.”Allrounder Keemo Paul didn’t bowl in the third ODI against Bangladesh last week after sustaining a hamstring injury. Paul had suffered multiple injuries in the last couple of years and around that point he even doubted whether he would return to international cricket.Simmons was pleased with Paul’s rehab although he said that the decision on his potential inclusion would only be taken on the eve of the first match against India.”He has looked really well,” Simmons said. “He’s been going through his paces with the physio and the S&C [strength & conditioning coach] in the last couple of days we’ve been here. He looked really well today, but we can only make a decision tomorrow when we see again if he’s ready for the game, but he has progressed really well.”

Their bowlers, led by quicks Siraj and Vysakh, the debutant, put on a special show to put RCB on top after their had put up a modest-looking 174

Alagappan Muthu15-Apr-2023Royal Challengers Bangalore spent a large part of this game under the pump. Frustratingly, every time they thought they got ahead, like when Virat Kohli reached a 33-ball fifty, or when Glenn Maxwell was pummelling the spinners on a spin-friendly pitch, a wicket would fall to douse the momentum. Winning a game like this – a game where their crowd spent the first innings largely silent – will do wonders for their campaign because they clawed their way back. And because their star turns came with the ball.Mohammed Siraj (4-0-23-2) was phenomenal in conditions that should have cancelled him. Their debutant Vijaykumar Vyshak was the most successful bowler on the night, with three wickets including that of an IPL legend, David Warner. Their fielding was electric, a direct hit run-out from Anuj Rawat setting the tone for the fightback. The only Delhi Capitals batters who managed to resist were Manish Pandey (50 off 38) and Axar Patel (21 off 14).Towards the end of the game, it became clear that the pitch had got better for batting under lights. This is the reason why Capitals, having won the toss, chose to bowl in the first place. But their calamitous start to a chase of 175 – 2 for 3 in three overs and then 30 for 4 with Warner dismissed – just didn’t allow them to take advantage.Virat Kohli celebrates his third half-century of the season•Associated Press

Spin > Pace

A slow pitch and the spinners targeting the stumps together meant it was hard for RCB to hit them off the 30-yard circle. Axar and Lalit Yadav bowled three overs in the powerplay for eight dots and just 16 runs.When there’s no pace coming on to the bat, and you also don’t have room to free the arms, it’s really hard to get power into your shots. That’s why Faf du Plessis felt compelled to go extra hard on the quicks and lost his wicket in the fifth over to Mitchell Marsh.RCB hit seven boundaries in the first six overs. Only one of them came off spin. Even for the rest, they often had to charge out of their crease – creating pace for themselves – to get the most bang for their buck.

Kohli on song

A 33-ball fifty on this pitch was an excellent effort, but also typical Kohli. He knew that 1) this wasn’t a 200 pitch so he could bat at his own pace, and 2) the team would almost certainly benefit if he dropped anchor and played out the whole innings. And 3) he is a monster at the death, striking as well as Andre Russell or MS Dhoni in the last four overs.Things were going smoothly enough. He had just played not one but two shots of the match. A stand-still and bottom-hand drill down the ground turning an almost yorker from Mustafizur Rahman into a boundary. And then another stand-perfectly-still and bottom-hand whip to a back of a length ball on his hips for six. The wristwork on that shot to get it so far was just incredible.But then came Lalit Yadav with a massive full toss. It had to be put away. It was begging to be put away. And Kohli went for it, the only mistake he made was dragging it to the leg side, towards the 70-metre part of the ground. He was caught right on the edge of the rope. If he had gone straight, to the 60-metre boundary, it would’ve been six.2:37

Bishop: Brave call to bring on Kuldeep against Maxwell paid off

Maxwell’s little gem

Prior to this game, among batters with at least 500 runs against spin, Maxwell had the highest strike rate (164) and the best balls-per-boundary ratio (4.6) in the IPL. He lived up to that billing, smashing 20 runs off eight balls against the slower bowlers, and that contribution proved crucial. RCB fell from 117 for 2 to 132 for 6. But they still reached 174 because their spin hitter produced a cameo that allowed their unheralded Indian batters to just play out the overs. The impact sub, Rawat, made only 15 off 26 despite coming in as late as the last five overs and yet it didn’t matter.

Capitals collapse

They were 3 for 2 in the third over. They took 23 balls to hit the first boundary.The first innings was all about fast bowlers being dispatched. Mustafizur, for example, gave up one-third of the total boundaries that RCB hit (7 of 21). They were the ones providing release to under-pressure batters.But RCB’s new-ball attack decided to change all that. Siraj found ways to use even these conditions to his advantage, hitting the deck hard, at high pace and generating movement with his wobble seam variation.Capitals were suddenly under siege against the very type of bowling they thought they’d hit around the park. Yash Dhull certainly thought that when he tried to hit Siraj on the up and over the top, but the problem was, even though it was a full ball, and had very little distance to travel after pitching, it still seamed in to beat the inside edge and trap him plumb lbw. That wasn’t so much a wicket as an exhibition of the gulf in class between bowler and batter.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The end

Vyshak on IPL debut had a great game. RCB’s batters had told their bowlers that digging balls into the wicket was causing problems and he did that all night long.Take his first wicket. It was a slower ball banged into the surface. That length makes you pull on instinct. You know you need to delay their shots on this slow pitch. But that length just over-rides everything. Warner was into the pull too early. Toe end of the bat. Caught at midwicket.That at least was the conditions working against them. Prithvi Shaw, Capitals’ impact sub, which means he didn’t field at all, started by refusing a two that was on, then got run out showing zero urgency to get to the crease. Rawat produced a moment of magic at short extra cover, diving to his right, picking the ball up one-handed and nailing a throw with only one stump to look at. But Shaw just didn’t budget for the fact that his shot could be stopped. He was lazy getting into the run, then didn’t even try to dive when it was clear he was in trouble. His IPL reads 12, 7, 0, 15, 0.That wicket set the tone as Capitals crumbled to their fifth loss in five games this season.