i really like Darren Sammy, but for the only way for him to be an effective test cricketer is as a batting allrounder, batting 7 and been 5th bowler, that means you need your wicketkeeper to be a front line batsman who can bat no 6 otherwise it just screws up the balance of the side, light on batting or light on bowling. i also think he'd make a really good county cricketer !
And that is the crux of the matter. He is holding the development of our test side back by having a guaranteed place in the side. He's a good man and bleeds for the West Indies but he cannot continue as captain after this series. I'd have him in a test squad for greentops where he could be a decent enough 3rd seam option and boost the batting. But on most surfaces he screws up the balance of the side.
I've been thinking about the Test side I'd select right now if everyone was available:
Braithwaite
Powell (VC)
Bravo
Samuels
Chanderpaul
Gayle
Ramdin (C, WK)
Shillingford
Rampaul
Roach
Best
Reserves:
Kirk Edwards, Darren Sammy, Sunil Narine, Jason Holder,Sheldon Cotterell
- It's time to develop a new opening pair that will hopefully be around for a decade or more. Powell and Kraigg are the best two young openers we've got at the moment and they have been opening together since Under 15 days so they know each others games. I firmly believe Kraigg will be a much needed boost for our top order batting as he is so good at taking the shine of the new ball and he really occupies the crease Shiv style.
- I really like the idea of Gayle coming in at 6. As he gets older his hand-eye skills start to deteriorate he will get out cheaply often against fresh swing bowlers with the new ball. However, at number 6 he has the ability to destroy tiring bowlers, potentially get his eye in before the 2nd new ball and he can also provide some much needed experience in crisis situations. Hopefully his presence at 6 would mean Shiv is left stranded less often. Bravo, Samuels, Shiv and Gayle would make for an extremely strong and reliable middle order IMHO.
- I like Best as a 3rd pacer. When he returned to the team on the tour of England that was his role and he was very effective coming on after Roach and Rampaul had taken the new ball. He is not a new ball bowler and never will be. However, he is someone that will run in and bowl fast all day. He'll never stop trying and stays very fit.
- That team does have a long tail which is less than ideal but I think it's the best we can do at the moment. I reckon it's a pretty good side tbh, definitely mid ranking material and able to nick the odd test off the big sides here and there. To push it past that and really improve as a test side we'd have to find a 3rd seamer who can bat to sure up the lower order and moves the ball more than Tino (Jason Holder would be my guess) and an attacking wicket keeper batsman who can average between 35 and 40.
..personally i think Gayle's interest in test cricket is at it's lowest ebb already...putting him down the order would just make it worse. I think it's high time we start promoting some of our younger batsmen..Kirk got a decent 59 in conditions that have been his boogyman in recent years..if he goes on to have a decent tour here then for me he should be a fixture in the side as we've all seen how good he is at home and in asian conditions.
