Good summary, from FC cricket i think Jaggernaut is the best candidate for a place in the Windies side, though when he got his chance he didn't look up to it. To be perfectly honest, despite good FC records for West Indian spinners our crop of spinners is pathetic. Benn is a ODI bowler and at least Jaggernaut has a googly but his accuracy needs work.Complete speculation on my part, but I think the XI will look something like this:
Gayle (c)
Chattergoon (Barath?)
Sarwan
Marshall
Chanderpaul
Nash
Bravo
Ramdin (wk)
Taylor
Benn (hopefully someone else though)
Edwards
Actually Ganga averages over 40 outside of Test cricket. But we'll just leave that there.The only batsmen with stand out FC records that would warrant a test place, i.e. an average of 40 and above is Gayle, Sarwan and Chanders the rest all average under forty
Would prefer Baker to Roach for those reasons actually. We already have 2 erratic fast bowlers (Edwards and Powell) in the first team. If we MUST play a young fourth pacer, I'd prefer it to be someone less likely to go for 100 wicketless in 15 overs, as I firmly believe Roach is. Baker has a fair amount more control than he does, it seems.Yeah, got more pace than Baker and is younger, sprays it around a bit though.
I've been backing him for a look-in for a couple of years now. His first-class opportunities are more limited than most though. If not for the Combined Campuses team in this years comp, he probably wouldn't have played. Too many established fast men in the Bajan team at this point.On that note, has anyone seen this guy bowl? He has a pretty standout First Class record for a pace bowler.
In fairness it was against the (then) best team in the world on a flat pitch and most of his bowling was on day one of the match. I think he only bowled about 3 overs in the second innings with Australia on top. That's typical of West Indian treatment of spinners though. Disgusting.Good summary, from FC cricket i think Jaggernaut is the best candidate for a place in the Windies side, though when he got his chance he didn't look up to it.
Jaggernauth's a lot more accurate, usually, than he showed on debut. In fact, I believe he has quite a good FC economy rate, but can't be bothered to check right now. Nikita Miller should be playing Tests ahead of Benn, if not Jaggernauth. In his ODI performances to date he's looked a good attacking option who still keeps the runs down. I wasn't a fan of his before, as some on here (Xavier) can attest, but he really changed my mind with his bowling this year.To be perfectly honest, despite good FC records for West Indian spinners our crop of spinners is pathetic. Benn is a ODI bowler and at least Jaggernaut has a googly but his accuracy needs work.
Indeed. His 'keeping is what should keep him in the team. He's the only wicketkeeper in the region now who can consistently catch the ball.He was originally picked as a batsman who could keep, but now Ramdin has developed his keeping, his batting has suffered.
I like Chattergoon, but he's woefully short on confidence right now. Bravo has to replace him if anyone, though Sarwan isn't undroppable either. Not when he looks to be batting for the opposition these days.Re. the team, four bowlers are likely to be used as well as Bravo and Gayle, which would probobly mean Chatergoon would miss out. Gayle is unlikely to drop a fellow Jamaican in Powell despite how rubbish he is.
I think Sarwan is undroppable, I cant imagine dropping a man with such raw talent and a proven batsman against the best teams.I like Chattergoon, but he's woefully short on confidence right now. Bravo has to replace him if anyone, though Sarwan isn't undroppable either. Not when he looks to be batting for the opposition these days.
Re: Powell; I don't like him. I think he's the most frustrating player in the West Indies team, but he can't be dropped right now. There's no better option than him right now. And when he gets it right, usually for a spell per match, he can really do a special job.
That's a terrible attitude. If Sarwan continues to bat like he did against New Zealand he has to be dropped. For one, he needs to reach double figures. What he's done in the past is just that- the past. Sarwan's problem is that he believes he is undroppable. It's the attitude that led to Lara dropping him in the past, but apparently he's slipped back into his comfort zone again.I think Sarwan is undroppable, I cant imagine dropping a man with such raw talent and a proven batsman against the best teams.
Rampaul is too inconsistent. He needs one outstanding season before he can get a genuine look.Yeah, like I said before Powell may be a ridiculous excuse for a bowler but he is the best we have currently, Ravi Rempaul must be pushing for a place too.
I disagree. There's justification for all the Jamaicans in the team at the moment, aside from Findlay.Also, I think there is a biased in the Windies squad for Jamaicans now that CG is captain, however, i think this is unavoidable, it is just frustrating for me coming from Trinidad to see good bowlers coming from Trinidad not get a look in such as Jaggernaut
Sorry, silent h.And it's Jaggernauth.
Yeah, I like the team, I dont think Daren Bravo has been included in the set up before but he is definitely one to look out for, everyone has said he bats like Lara, however i am presuming this is referring to style not results.I completely forgot about the West Indies A fixture v England before the tests get underway.
This is going to be hugely important for the West Indies as it is a great opportunity to give everyone on the fringe of selection a trial against international opposition. They better not allow England to make that fixture a 13 v 13 farce as they are sometimes inclined to do:
A good A team side would be:
Devon Smith
Adrian Barath
Runako Morton
Daren Bravo
Leon Johnson
Ryan Hinds (c)
Andre Fletcher (wk)
Daren Sammy
Kemar Roach
Jason Dawes
Amit Jaggernauth
That would be a superb A side as it would allow experienced campaigners like Smith, Hinds and Morton another chance against opposition they have failed against at the highest level, while giving enough young players the chance to force their way in as well. Jason Dawes had the Sri Lankans on the hop in a tour game earlier this year so I think he is viewed as one for the future.
Yeah like i said one for the future, he is only like 19 or 20 years old.Guillen is a talented player who has been talked about at the Queens Park Club for some time.
Unfortunately he is competing with Barath and Simmons for the T & T opening slot, which is a difficult task for the young man.
There's obviously something going on mentally. It's not merely a lean streak after a good run. The manner in which Sarwan batted in the Tests was baffling and harmful to West Indies on the whole. It was as though he couldn't wait to get back into the pavilion, which is particularly harmful when it's a number three batsman who is guilty.Also, I dont think the attitude to Sarwan is bad, he had one bad series in a 2 test series against NZ, Sarwan was stand out in Sri Lanka and performed well against Australia. This is just guess work but i reckon that there is something going on mentally, for him to drop the vice-captainty at the time he did was strange and he just didn't look like he was concentrating in the NZ series.
Presumably because Findlay scored an unbeaten fifty against Australia (albeit with the game lost comfortably). Leon Johnson is not of international standard thus far.Sarwan is close friends with Leon Johnson, who has not been given a game and was inexplicably dropped from the ODI squad even though the likes of Findlay is still there.
I wouldn't play Dawes and Roach in the same match. Both are raw and erratic and probably wouldn't gain much from being manhandled by Pietersen and co. Dawes hasn't even played a first-class match yet IIRC. Also, it's harsh on Nikita Miller not to get a look in.Devon Smith
Adrian Barath
Runako Morton
Daren Bravo
Leon Johnson
Ryan Hinds (c)
Andre Fletcher (wk)
Daren Sammy
Kemar Roach
Jason Dawes
Amit Jaggernauth
That would be a superb A side as it would allow experienced campaigners like Smith, Hinds and Morton another chance against opposition they have failed against at the highest level, while giving enough young players the chance to force their way in as well. Jason Dawes had the Sri Lankans on the hop in a tour game earlier this year so I think he is viewed as one for the future.
All reports suggest that he is a better batsman than Dwayne Bravo, who is obviously a big talent. He shouldn't be anywhere near an 'A' team until he shows that he can score a first-class fifty.Yeah, I like the team, I dont think Daren Bravo has been included in the set up before but he is definitely one to look out for, everyone has said he bats like Lara, however i am presuming this is referring to style not results.
Agreed with Hinds over Sammy. I can't see Sammy ever taking as many as he did against England. He'd be hardpressed to even take another Test 5-for against a proper Test team. His batting needs to improve for him to justify his selection.When Hinds went in to the Sri Lanka test match he didn't do much wrong i think he got a thirty or forty. We will also get to see if Sammy can recreate the heroics of the 7 wicket haul he took against England a couple years ago. I would probobly prefer to have Hinds in the test squad ahead of Sammy if i had to pick one.
I'd much prefer Morton in the ODI team to either of Findlay or Johnson.Leon Johnsen is also a good prospect, but i have long given up on Morton, have you noticed how he only seems to score runi in warm up games, i remember on a number of occasions him doing this, but when it comes to the tests he looks an absolute joke.
Rashid's in, as well as Swann & Panesar. Because the WI has always been a spinners' paradise, presumably.
Would absolutely agree with this. Three spinners in a sixteen man squad (effectively 15 because Ambrose isn't playing short of injury)? Hmmm.Rashid's selection completely baffles me. Makes no sense on any level at all.
Well enough to lose his contract with the QLD Bulls, hence his "rediscovering" of his Jamaican roots.Nash has only had one season in Carribean FC cricket, not sure how he did in Australia but thats besides the point.
Ha, thats interesting if it's true, the West Indian commentators paint a rosier picture picture when describing why he went back to Jamaica. Never the less, definitely warrents his place in the WI test side.Well enough to lose his contract with the QLD Bulls, hence his "rediscovering" of his Jamaican roots.
FC batting record from CricketArchive.