West Indies Cricket

The results at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, India, have offered up something of a mixed bag during the course of the World Twenty20. Scores have ranged from mammoth to modest, but one thing that has remained constant is the slower bowlers—be that medium-pace bowlers or spinners—have had the most success here.

But that doesn't mean you have to be a big turner of the ball to be effective. Samuel Badree has proved as much and boasts some impressive figures in this tournament. He's taken seven wickets in five matches with an average of 15.42 and economy rate of 5.68.

That the West Indies and England have met in this tournament already will help a bit, and even if Badree did not pick up a single wicket against England when the two sides played each other in the group stages, he did play a vital role truncating the flow of runs early on. In that match, he conceded just 34 runs in his four overs.

As a leg-spinner, variety is his main weapon, and he bowls tightly with just enough pace and bounce to keep the batsmen guessing.

What is perhaps even more remarkable about the 35-year-old's exploits is that he has hardly played in the Indian Premier League. He's bowled just 18 overs in the tournament in total, but that has not had an impact on how he approaches the game.

Prior to this tournament, he had not played for the West Indies since 2014, but that has hardly mattered.

Far more important is that he understands his role as an opening bowler. He is considered one of the most successful bowlers in the powerplay and said after the West Indies' victory over Sri Lanka that adapting is key.

He was quoted by ESPN Cricinfo's Nagraj Gollapudi as saying: "We have seen in the first couple of games that I have started then I am held back for a couple in the middle as well. We have seen how important spin is especially after the Powerplay during the middle overs when the ball is a little bit older."

In that match, he took three for 12, and although that wasn't enough to earn him a man-of-the-match award, those gongs aren't always an indication of how well a player has performed.

He has stepped up to fill the void left by Sunil Narine's absence, and he has done so without much fuss. His subdued approach is the perfect balance in a West Indies side that has plenty of big personalities.

Against an aggressive England batting lineup, limiting the destruction in the first few overs will be key, and that is something Badree has done consistently throughout the tournament. As part of a bowling partnership—where one bowler keeps things tight, allowing the other to pounce and get wickets—Badree has been unmatched in the World T20.

Sure, other players might play a more flamboyant knock with boundaries galore, but the value of a player that is confident and skilled in his craft should not be underestimated.

Now THIS is how you celebrate a semi-final win!

Imagine if @darrensammy88, @DJBravo47 and @westindies win it all!https://t.co/OT1qV65hnn

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) March 31, 2016

There were party scenes at the West Indies team hotel in Mumbai on Thursday, as the players were welcomed back by huge crowds following their World Cup Twenty20 semi-final win over India.

The victorious players knew just how to work the crowd, with Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy leading the way with their famed Champions Dance.

Star batsman Chris Gayle was also as popular as ever, signing autographs for the fans who had come out to celebrate.

Just hours earlier it was Lendl Simmons who played the hero, hitting 82 off 51 balls to help the underdogs overhaul India's daunting total of 192/2. 

The Windies will now travel to Kolkata, where they face England in Sunday's final.

[Twitter]

The West Indies batsmen came into the first innings in the second Test at home to Australia behind by just 399 runs after restricting their opponents with the ball.

However, at the end of the second day and with the hosts’ innings in tatters at 143 for eight, the Baggy Green's total looks beyond them and their inexperienced lineup.

This West Indian team, as has been the case for many years now, is a team in transition, as a number of young batsmen have been thrust into Test match cricket.

Unfortunately, they came up against a motivated and potent Australia bowling attack that would trouble any batsman in the world, and they have come up well short of what they wanted. It is hardly surprising, however, given that several of the batsmen in the West Indies’ top six have played only a handful of Tests between them.

Rajendra Chandrika joins a growing list of openers tried out by the West Indies in the last few years, and on debut he was dismissed for a duck by Mitchell Starc. It may have looked as though Starc overstepped the popping crease in his delivery, but that does not change the fact that Chandrika hung his bat at a delivery and was caught behind.

In his seven balls at the crease, he had a severe examination by Starc and Josh Hazlewood, and he could not quite deal with the heat he was under. Only time will tell if he is up to standard, but it was a lot to ask of a debutant in Tests to come up against such a strong and deep pace attack.

Below him, Shane Dowrich joined the fray at the crucial No. 4 position in just the eighth over after the other opener, Kraigg Brathwaite, was dismissed.

Dowrich is playing just his second Test, and he showed some heart to battle away for 30 balls for 13 runs before he could not resist driving at a wide one from Hazlewood that Brad Haddin caught behind.

Similarly, Shai Hope is in just his third game in cricket’s longest format, and he was perhaps one of the most encouraging of all the youngest players, as he made 26 from 63 deliveries. He found himself tied down by Nathan Lyon and was caught behind by Haddin off the off-spinner, but he showed he had the stomach for the fight.

The best performance came from Jermaine Blackwood in just his 10th Test, as he made a relatively positive 51 from 80 balls, a knock that included one six and seven fours. However, he was guilty of giving in to temptation too, as he drove a simple catch to David Warner at mid-off off Hazlewood and had to depart.

It was unfortunate that so much was asked of these youngest players, as Lyon removed the more experienced Brathwaite and Darren Bravo to leave their side under pressure.

If one or both of them had stayed at the crease, perhaps the innings would not be in such disarray, but this young team has left itself with so much to do to avoid defeat.

They came up against a strong Australia bowling attack that is blessed with great depth in all departments.

Starc and Hazlewood looked superb with the new ball, while Lyon’s economy rate is just below three runs per over as he exploited a helpful surface. Then, with Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson providing support, it is little wonder the West Indians struggled so much.

The West Indies clearly have talented players, if inexperienced, and many have had a baptism of fire against this strong Australia team.

They are not entirely to blame for their predicament, but in the 47 overs they faced, they showed that they have plenty to learn if they are to succeed in Test cricket.

It may not have caused quite the rancour of Kevin Pietersen's England axing, but Shivnarine Chanderpaul's omission from the West Indies squad to face Australia has certainly set Caribbean tongues wagging.

The decision to omit the 40-year-old from the 14-man party was certainly a bold one from new coach Phil Simmons and chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd, especially given that Chanderpaul is just 87 runs shy of breaking Brian Lara's record as the West Indies' all-time leading Test run scorer.

Looking purely at the numbers, it's easy to see why Lloyd and Simmons wielded the axe. In eight innings in 2015, Chanderpaul has mustered just 151 runs at an average of just 18.88. The recent series against England was especially disappointing, as he failed to pass 50 in any of the three Tests and averaged just 15.33.

Team building is about more than just data, though—just ask Peter Moores—and the decision to drop Chanderpaul has found some heavyweight critics.

Chief among them is Lara himself who thinks a final appearance against Australia would be a fitting farewell for one of West Indies cricket's most loyal servants.

Lara told the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian: “He deserves it. The WICB (West Indies Cricket Board) and the Caribbean owe it to Shiv to send him off with dignity and respect. He has earned it.”

Coach Phil Simmons is in the business of winning cricket matches rather than offering a great player a sentimental farewell, though.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the two-Test series, which starts on Wednesday (per Cricket.com.au), Simmons said: "He's had a long and illustrious career and we know that he's done a lot for West Indies cricket but at the same time when we sit down to select a team we sit down to select a team to win a game against Australia."

Controversial it may be, but the decision to omit Chanderpaul is surely the correct one. After a tough series in South Africa and a disappointing World Cup campaign, the West Indies showed real signs of life in their recent drawn series against England.

Simmons regularly worked miracles with the Irish squad and there were hints that his magic touch could be successful in the Caribbean too. The likes of Jason Holder, Kraigg Brathwaite, Jermaine Blackwood and Shannon Gabriel gave notice that a brighter future could be around the corner for the West Indies.

One man most definitely backing the Simmons youth policy is Michael Holding. The former pace ace told ESPNcricinfo:

Chanderpaul has to make way for someone younger. The person that comes in obviously is not going to fill Chanderpaul's shoes immediately. He has done so much good work for West Indies. But it is time for someone younger than him who can grow into those shoes.

Simmons has also left the Test door ajar for Indian Premier League exiles Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Lendl Simmons and Sunil Narine.

He told the CMC press agency (per ZeeNews):

I hope to sit down with them and discuss my, and the selectors' vision for how we want West Indies to play Test cricket going forward and how they possibly fit into that. I can't rule anybody in or out of consideration until I do so.

A new-look West Indian side is certainly developing, with or without the IPL quintet. The culling of Chanderpaul is just one, albeit sad, part of that.

Dropping Chanderpaul was obviously a tough call for the selectors. Yet another off-the-field issue rumbling in the background hardly seems ideal preparation for taking on the best team in the world.

Cricketing romantics would no doubt love to see Chanderpaul given the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to the Caribbean cricket public.

International cricket is a hard business at the best of times. Doubly so against the Aussies. Tough decisions sometimes need making.

It's early days yet, but Phil Simmons could be starting to build something special. Sorry, Shiv, but he deserves the benefit of the doubt here.

There was a time when the West Indies were the dominant force in international cricket. 

With a battery of fast bowlers and batsmen who could make opposing attacks go weak at the knees, they were undoubtedly the No. 1 nation. Touring the Caribbean was so tough that it should have come with a health warning.

They won the Cricket World Cup in 1975 and 1979, only missing out on a hat-trick of triumphs when they suffered an upset loss to India in the 1983 final at Lord's.

In 1984, West Indies won 11 Tests in a row. They weren't just padding their stats either—Australia and England were their opponents during the streak.

West Indies remained strong into the early 1990s, but the cracks had already started to show. They fell from their lofty perch and currently sit eighth in the ICC Test rankings.

The conveyor belt that produced a seemingly endless line of pacemen has broken down. Their batters, while still aggressive, were good to watch but capable of collapsing in a hurry.

But after a drawn series with England on home soil, perhaps there are a few positive signs to suggest West Indies cricket could be set to grow again.

So, how can they be lifted out of the doldrums? Here's a blueprint to help them become successful again.

Pitch preparation

Tony Cozier, a longtime commentator and writer on West Indies cricket, has seen all of the highs and suffered through all of the lows.

Writing for ESPN Cricinfo, he said after the second Test against England, "The most pressing cricketing issue, among a host of others, is pitches, both at regional and international level. For several years, they have aided spinners to an unfair and damaging extent."

In their heyday, West Indies played on surfaces that offered pace and bounce.

While facilities, not to mention finances, may be an issue these days, Cozier is right to point out the need for wickets to offer a fair balance between bat and ball.

Pace is a necessity. Not only does it encourage seam bowlers to bend their backs, but it also gives batsmen the chance to get full value for their shots.

In contrast, slow, low pitches do little to aid player development. Spinners are the only bowlers who can thrive, and West Indian cricketers are not prepared for what they will encounter overseas (when they're not touring in the subcontinent).

It is a damning statistic that the once-powerful West Indies have won just three Tests—all against Bangladesh—away from home since the start of 2010.

Pick your best players

While West Indies' Test team were in action against England, several West Indians were displaying their skills in the Indian Premier League.

Per Scyld Berry in the Telegraph, nine players from the Caribbean were playing for teams in the IPL.

That list includes Chris Gayle, who ruled himself out of Test contention due to a bad back, per Gideon Brooks of the Daily Express (though he was fit to play Twenty20 cricket instead).

Dwayne Bravo is also in India, though he announced his retirement from the longest form of the game at the start of the year at the age of 31.

Even coach Phil Simmons' nephew, Lendl Simmons, is turning out for the Mumbai Indians right now.

West Indies need their best players available for selection. What they wouldn’t give for Bravo or Andre Russell, another all-rounder currently contracted to the IPL, in their Test XI to provide some much-needed balance to the side.

Add Gayle or even Lendl Simmons at the top of the order, next to the promising Kraigg Brathwaite, and the team immediately look stronger.

Consistency of selection

Clive Lloyd knows what it takes to be a great team—he was captain of the West Indies when they began to rule the cricketing world and lifted the World Cup twice.

Now, as chief selector, he is charged with the responsibility of helping lift them out of the basement. He and his panel have to identify those in the domestic game who can go on and prosper at the highest level. 

Simmons, as coach, must then nurture the talent. He and captain Denesh Ramdin have to be patient, knowing that positive results will not happen suddenly.

That means individuals must get a fair crack of the whip.

For example, Shai Hope was selected for the final Test of the series against England. It did not go swimmingly for the young batsman from Barbados, however, as he managed 14 runs in his two innings.

But at the age of 21, Hope has to be given a chance to acclimatise. If he has been marked as a player of real promise, the least he deserves is an extended run in the team.

It is time West Indies turned their back on some familiar faces, those who have been persistently picked but have consistently failed, and instead build for the future.

Sharing the work

The most pleasing thing about West Indies' performances against England was the responsibility taken by some of their young players.

They had four players hit centuries, and, surprisingly, Shivnarine Chanderpaul was not one of them.

Jermaine Blackwood reached three figures in the first Test. He also helped steer his side over the finishing line during a tricky fourth-innings run chase in the series finale in Barbados.

Jason Holder made his maiden hundred in the opening match, standing tall (easy to do when you're 6'7") to defy England on the last day in Antigua. In helping his team survive to scrape a draw, Holder showed he has not only the talent to succeed, but also the temperament.

Had he not done so, and had Blackwood not dug in at Bridgetown at the end of the series, the final outcome would have been much, much different.

At 40, Chanderpaul's days are nearly done. It is time for a new generation to shoulder the burden of scoring the runs.

Get the fans going

The Caribbean is a fabulous tour—and not just for players. Supporters get to enjoy some sun, sea and sand, plus the odd glass of rum, making it a pleasant trip no matter what the outcome of the cricket is.

Part of the attraction is also the home support. West Indians are passionate and proud, and they do not take defeat lightly.

There have been some characters involved with the game in the region. Antigua is the home of Gravy, a man so famous for his antics that he has his own profile on ESPN Cricinfo.

What the current West Indies squad must do is play a brand of cricket on better pitches to attract fans.

It does them no harm to show a bit of passion on the field. To that extent, Marlon Samuels’ run-in with England’s Ben Stokes in the second Test in Grenada was good to see. It's not often you see someone (Samuels) salute a departing batsman (Stokes) from the crease.

Simmons faces a big task to try to turn things around. It is a long road back to the top, but the international game would be better off with a strong West Indies team.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been a comfort blanket wrapped around West Indies cricket during his career.

As a once-dominant team tumbled off their pedestal towards the bottom of the Test rankings, Chanderpaul was at least there to provide some joy. He has been one of the very few consistent performers during a time of decline in the Caribbean.

He does not have the swaggering dominance like Sir Vivian Richards. He does not have the star power and stroke play of long-time team-mate Brian Lara, either.

What the left-hander does have, though, is a tailored technique that has allowed him to accumulate runs while occupying the crease for long periods.

Yet there have been exceptions to the general rule, the most notable case coming in 2003 when he hit a 69-ball century against Australia. Not even Chris Gayle, a left-hander known for being much more aggressive, has managed to reach three figures quicker than that.

Chanderpaul has not changed too much since his international debut, against England in his homeland of Guyana, back in 1994.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2rtgl6cI7o

He still has an open stance. He still looks about 10 stone when wringing wet. He still crabs across the wicket to get into line as the bowler is running in.

Yet the idiosyncrasies of his technique have helped, not hindered. His career stats are impressive, particularly when you consider the tough times West Indies have gone through of late.

However, there were signs in the recent series against England that Chanderpaul’s powers of concentration may be waning.

He scored just 92 runs at a lowly average of 15.33.

In the second innings of the third Test—a match West Indies eventually won, in the process squaring the series at 1-1—their most experienced batsman was dismissed for a duck.

Prodding at a wide ball from James Anderson, Chanderpaul edged back onto his stumps. In a tense run chase, the home side’s most experienced player had failed to trouble the scorers.

It was a rare failure for the man from Unity Village, as Cricket Record noted on Twitter:

Before today, Shiv Chanderpaul last time out for 0 in 4th innings of a Test was against Pakistan at Kingston Jun 2005 - 10 year ago. #WIvENG

— Cricket Records (@cricinfo_record) May 3, 2015

At the age of 40, questions will be raised as to how much longer Chanderpaul can keep on going.

The Tests against England had seemingly provided him the ideal opportunity to move past Lara and become West Indies’ leading run-scorer. Instead, he still sits adrift:

	Tests	Innings	Runs	Average
Brian Lara	130	230	11,912	53.17
Shivnarine Chanderpaul	164	280	11,867	51.37

Chanderpaul has scored one hundred in his last 11 Test appearances, with that three-figure score coming against Bangladesh last September.

He was not dismissed in that two-match series against the Tigers, registering unbeaten knocks of 85, 84 and 101.

Finishing an innings as the one batsmen left still standing is nothing new to Chanderpaul. He has been not out in 49 of his 280 Test innings, a hazard of the job as he has mainly batted down at five in a fragile order.

But it should be noted he has only passed 50 once since facing Bangladesh on home soil.

He first found it tough going away in South Africa last winter, then failed to rediscover his best form against England.

It is tough to know whether Chanderpaul is in terminal decline or if this is just a temporary dip. After all, he never makes batting look easy at the very best of times.

In his profile of the player for ESPN Cricinfo, Roger Sawh wrote:

Chanderpaul's longevity - his maintenance of physical strength as well as a continuously energised approach to the game itself - has been crucial.

He has always been a grafter, and in the era of West Indian cricket that he has played in, the resilience that he has come to embody has been in short supply.

Additionally, few would argue with his steely determination. In the face of collapses all around, Chanderpaul has been the abiding survivor, a bit bruised and battered, but never broken.

The question is, how much longer can Chanderpaul keep on grafting?

A home series with Australia is up next for West Indies. It might well be the final chapter in the career of their eldest statesman.

Head coach Phil Simmons knew there would be no quick fix when it came to turning around West Indies' fortunes in Test cricket.

Speaking before his first match in charge, against England in Antigua, Simmons made clear what he expected of his players, per George Dobell of ESPN Cricinfo: 

It's a lot about discipline. Whatever you do—bowl, bat or field—discipline comes through.

And pride comes into it. Life is about pride. Anything you do, you have to do it with pride and do it to the best of your ability.

At our best we represented five-million people but we enjoyed what we did on the field. We knew we represented the Caribbean people and people from afar but we made sure we enjoyed it. 

My coaching philosophy is: Practice hard; play easy. We have to be doing things a lot harder in practice. And that will make things easier when we get on the field.

So far, two days into the opening Test of his maiden series, Simmons should be happy with what he has seen.

He has had little time to settle in to the role, having only left his previous post with Ireland at the conclusion of their World Cup campaign in March.

However, his bowlers appear to be quick learners.

An attack of seam trio Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach and Jason Holder, plus left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn, is not going to evoke memories of the West Indies' halcyon days.

The times when touring teams were being blitzed by a barrage of bouncers in the Caribbean are now just distant memories.

Docile pitches do not aid the development of quick bowlers, and the surfaces in the West Indies are not what they used to be.

The strip at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound was far from a seamers' paradise at the toss on Monday morning, yet there was enough there to tempt home captain Denesh Ramdin to put England in.

His pacemen did their best to vindicate his decision, taking three wickets during the first morning.

Taylor tempted the recalled Jonathan Trott to spar at a textbook outswinger, while Roach—short in stature but sharp in terms of speed—bowled England captain Alastair Cook off an inside edge.

Holder, easily the tallest of the three at 6'7", got in on the act by getting Gary Ballance caught at first slip.

Yet having hunted as a pack before lunch, they let a promising start slip away over the course of the afternoon and evening. They faded badly in the final session in particular, leaking 174 runs.

They had been disciplined, just as their coach had demanded in his pre-match interview, with the first new ball, but they were expensive when given a second late on.

It was hard to be too critical, though, considering the workload thrust upon the three seamers. A fourth seam-bowling option would have helped Ramdin, but their leading all-rounders—Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell—are currently away, plying their trade in the Indian Premier League.

But, able to rest and recover overnight, the home bowlers were rejuvenated on the second morning.

Whatever the West Indies have been eating for breakfast, they should try eating for lunch and tea as well. Buttler's lunch: slow-cooked duck

— Andy Zaltzman (@ZaltzCricket) April 14, 2015

Having resumed on 341 for five, England were dismissed for 399 shortly before lunch. Roach finished with four for 94, though it was Taylor who claimed the key scalp of Ben Stokes for 79.

In the opening session on each day, they had managed to pick up eight wickets at a cost of 107 runs. In the other two, the visitors had compiled 292 for the loss of just two batsmen, centurion Ian Bell and Joe Root.

At least West Indies could take great pride in their bowling efforts, and so too could Simmons.

It may be early in his reign, but the signs suggest his message is getting through.