ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Beleaguered West Indies are refusing to take hope from the absence of the iconic fast bowling duo of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, when they clash with England in the opening Test of the three-match series starting at the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
The home side are anxious to turn the page on their wretched run of form last year in the longest format which yielded three wins in ten outings, and a single series success away to Bangladesh with a weakened squad.
But even with England overhauling their squad for the Caribbean campaign in the wake of their recent Ashes disaster, head coach Phil Simmons said there would be no complacency among his side about any perceived weakness in the opposition.
“You can call it an advantage but again, no Broad, no Anderson – we keep harping on that – but when you don’t have the experience you have young fellas who are hungry to make their name, and that is something you have to guard against too,” Simmons told a media conference today.
“For me, you can’t be looking at that and saying ‘well look, that’s a big advantage’ because then you tend to get complacent and you tend to get found out early.
“We have not been looking at the fact there’s no Broad and Anderson; we’ve been looking at who there is and there is still some quality bowlers in there which we still have to bat against.”
Anderson and Broad are England’s most seasoned bowlers with 1 177 wickets and 321 Tests between them but were casualties of the side’s 4-0 drubbing Down Under earlier this year.
Their absences have left England’s attack with the likes of Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Saqib Mahmood and Craig Overton – representing a total of 80 Tests and 262 wickets.
West Indies, too, have made their changes. Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shai Hope, and Jomel Warrican have all been discarded while the batting pair of Shamarh Brooks and John Campbell have been recalled.
On England’s last tour of the Caribbean three years ago, an underrated West Indies stunned them to come away with a 2-1 series win, and Simmons said it was again important the hosts played to the high standards they were capable of.
“It’s a case of looking to play the cricket we know will put us in a position to win the series,” he pointed out.
“We’ve been trying to work hard on all the aspects that we need to get together. The three grounds, we know them so we’re trying to make sure we’re ready for everything England can throw at us.”
He continued: “It’s a case where we need to start winning series, we need to start compiling form where we’re playing better in all three formats but this Test series is huge for West Indies cricket, as are all Test series.
“The series is important for this cricket team and for us as a unit in the way how we play the cricket and to win the series. This is the first Test series of the year and we want to start the year on a strong note so it’s very important for that.”
As usual, West Indies’ batting will come firmly under the microscope. In Sri Lanka last December, they twice failed to pass 200 and managed a highest of 253, mirroring their performance against Pakistan in the Caribbean last August.
West Indies were even more ragged against the South Africans last June, failing to pass 165 in any innings and once dipping below 100.
Simmons said the batting issues had been placed on the front-burner and had been the subject of the recent preparation camp for the series.
“That’s been the [main] aspect of the five-day camp that we had, about addressing the fact that as batsmen we need to bat long, we need to make sure that we give the bowlers something to work with,” he stressed.
“I think the camp went well so I expect good things from them. The guys seem to be extremely confident. Coming out of [that camp] and looking at the last couple days practice, the guys seem extremely confident and they’re all looking forward to it.”
Simmons pointed to two match-ups which he believes can influence the outcome of the three-Test series against England.
Simmons said the impact of the world-rated all-rounders Jason Holder and Ben Stokes, along with the run-scoring of captain Kraigg Brathwaite and Joe Root, could be pivotal.
“I think one of the things that will play a part is how well the two all-rounders cancel out each other as in Stokes and Jason,” Simmons said.
“And the other part is how well the two captains bat and how well the opposing team can restrict the two opposing captains. I think that is going to be two big factors in this series.”
The 30-year-old Holder, the home side’s captain during England’s last tour of the region three years ago, is the number one-ranked all-rounder in the ICC charts.
He averages nearly 31 from 53 Tests which have also yielded 138 wickets at 27 runs apiece. His monumental maiden double hundred in the first Test against England at Kensington Oval in 2019 set the tone for West Indies’ series win.
The sixth-ranked Stokes averages 36 with the bat and has taken 167 wickets at 32 runs apiece.
Root, meanwhile, is England’s leading Test batsman and one of the world’s best, boasting nearly 10 000 runs and an average of nearly 50. Likewise, Brathwaite is the Caribbean side’s marquee run scorer with 4 400 runs and an average of 32.
While West Indies have largely depended on their seamers for the bulk of wicket-taking, spin is also expected to play a key role in the series and the hosts have included the services of left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul.
“Your spinner, especially in those first couple days, will always play that holding role,” he said.
“Permaul has been bowling really well so hopefully by the time we get to the fourth day, he will come into play and could be a match winner for us.”
SQUADS:
WEST INDIES – Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood (vice-captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Veerasammy Permaul, Anderson Phillip, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales.
ENGLAND – Joe Root (captain), Jonathan Bairstow, Zak Crawley, Matthew Fisher, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
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