West Indies vs Pakistan in UAE 2016

[WindieWeathers]

Hey Windie Weathers

Good to see you back. Would have liked you in the thread while the series was going on.

Thanks mate. And who knows, I just might be around when the next series starts next year. Although judging from my previous record I'd understand if people didn't put their house on it .

 

[Furball]

Hey Windie Weathers

Good to see you back. Would have liked you in the thread while the series was going on.

Things only an idiot would say.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Hey Windie Weathers,

It's okay you missed this series, but would like to see you contribute in the upcoming India-England series thread.

 

[Beamer]

how in the **** is holder on an A grade contract?

It has emerged that Kraigg Braithwaite and Jason Holder have the A grsde contracts as captain and vice captain. Tensions are high because the team is very bajan centric at the moment and this treatment of Bravo (a trini) does nothing to placate that. What a shambles!

 

[WindieWeathers]

Hey Windie Weathers,

It's okay you missed this series, but would like to see you contribute in the upcoming India-England series thread.

I'll be around for sure...think it's gonna be a good series.

 

[Tom Flint]

Thanks to all who liked my first post back. I never really had any intention of returning tbh but when we won that test I thought why not show my delight? Ten posts later I might aswell post some thoughts on this series I guess .

1. The re-introduction of Toby Radford to our coaching staff for this series has been massive imo. Remember the last time he was with us as Gibson's assistant/batting coach we won six tests in a row, rose to 5th in the Test rankings and also won the t20 world cup for the first time. He left to coach Glamorgan and tbh our batting suffered badly.

2. Roddy Estwick, formally the Barbados bowling coach, has just replaced Curtly Ambrose who was accused of not being "technical" enough as a coach and low and behold Roddy appears to have had an immediate impact on the bowlers.

3. Lastly former A-team and Barbados coach Hendy Springer was named as the stand in head coach for this series having been assistant to Simmons against India and I think that was important as he knew a lot of these young players from his time with the A-team.


RATINGS

Brathwaite= To me he was top class even before this last epic test he played. Yes a little inconsistent like most young players but in truth he's performed well against most opposition. A ton against NZ, A ton against England, A ton in SA and two scores over 80 in Australia etc. This last performance against Pakistan though was truly remarkable and for me moves him into the world class category. He still has to grow and add things to his game but I truly hope that we've found another Chanderpaul in this young man.

Johnson= Just didn't work did it? And it's not his fault as he's obviously not an opener. He had a few good knocks in SA in that position which is why the selectors persisted with him even though he was poor against India. No doubt though I'd be very surprised if he opens for us again in the near future.

Bravo= I don't think there is any doubt that he is an absolute class act and is world class too. His knock in the first test was just stunning. And away from home he does this often. Scored the double in NZ, scored a ton in Aus, has scored big tons in India etc. The difference between him and his peers like Root, Smith, Williamson, Kohli etc is he doesn't performed to this level at home. If he turns that around then his status will go higher than it's ever been before.

Samuels= His role in winning us two t20 world cups will never be forgotten. I believe those knocks will last the test of time when it pertains to the greatest innings seen in that format. But by God he's been a disaster in test cricket for over a year now and for me it's time to let him go now.

Blackwood= Jermaine is a weird one. Once he gets going he can be as destructive as anyone. But clearly he has to work on improving his defence and showing a tad more patience at the wicket. At 24 he can certainly improve and he has a habit of pulling out an big innings when he needs it. 90 odd vs England in Barbados that got us close to their first innings score and lead to the win, 90 odd in Sri-lanka and another big score against Pakistan. I want to see him go up a level in the up and coming 4-day competition now and show that he belongs at a much higher level.

Chase= Great ton against India in the previous series and he more than earned his call up after being consistent for Barbados over the last few years. His bowling is also handy too. Got a decent 50 in the last game which gives him a little breathing space but like Blackwood I want to see the young man dominate at first class level and look to enhance his game in the process.

Dowrich= Around eight years ago him, Brathwaite and Holder were part of a West Indies u19 side who made the quarter-finals in New Zealand. And back then he was scoring a lot of runs too. To me he has the potential to be the best keeper-batsman we've ever produced. He's just so calm at the crease and is also very intelligent with his game awareness too. His knocks in the last game showed maturity and I'm very excited to see what this lad can go on to be in the next few years.

Holder= Make no mistake, Jason was on borrowed time before this series and had been warned by the chairmen of selectors that he needs to perform in this series or he's out. So for him to rise to the occasion in this manner is really heartening indeed. When he was coming through the ranks he was hailed as "the next Ambrose" because of his tall build and accurate bowling. But over the years the captaincy seemed to have taken his confidence away when it pertains to his bowling. But he came out fighting here and the first 3fer he got in the second test clearly put some belief back into the lad as against India he was depressingly poor. I really hope that 5fer can now signal a turning of the tide for him and after the tri-series in Zimbabwe he needs to link up with Barbados and keep bowling a number of overs in the same hostile fashion.

Gabriel= Ever since he hooked up with Estwick he's been a different animal. He's bowling with the same pace as usual but he's smarter now and more consistent with his lines. Like Holder he got his first 5fer in this series too and hopefully he'll got from strength to strength now. At 28 he's pretty much hitting his peak I'd think.

Bishoo= What a brilliant series from Bishy. His eighteen wickets was the best figures in a series from a WI spinner since the 70s apparently. He also had a better strike rate than Shah too which just personifies how well the guy bowled. After his initial spell for WI where he done very well he was bowling far too many loose balls per over an that, coupled with Narine's rise, effected his confidence. But the lad has come back stronger than ever and he's bowling superbly. There's pressure behind him now from Rahkeem Cornwall so I hope he embraces that and continues his fine form.

Joseph= The hostile stuff him and Gabby bowled in the last test was thrilling to watch. Clearly he's the best pace prospect we've had since Roach and we can only hope he continues to develop in the way that he has. He had a blinding season for Leewards last season and he needs to replicate that now that he's bowled against the two top ranked sides in the world.

Cummins= Very disappointing tbh. He's just come in from having a stunning spell in county cricket so one expected him to perform well. I guess the pitches just wasn't to his taste but he's got to learn from this experience and come back stronger now otherwise he'll fall down the pecking order.

Hope]/b]= Only one game played but he got a decent 40 and is certainly one of the top candidates to replace samuels. He's been pretty consistent tbh for the last year and scored a ton against India in a warm-up game recently. If he can score three or four tons for Barbados when he returns from the tri-series I think he should be a shoe-in for that number four spot.


FINAL THOUGHTS

Yes we didn't win the series but I think the fact that Pakistan had a vastly more experience line-up than ours, and with our team being amongst the youngest around the test circuit right now, for us to compete the way we did was extremely encouraging. Yes there is a few gaping holes in the batting order with us needing to find a competent opener to partner Kraigg and also another middle order batsman to replace Samuels, But clearly there is a nucleus of team there who could take us back to a respectable level in the years ahead and we haven't been able to say that in many a year.

This year has been extremely bizarre. Three world cups, winning games against SA and Aus in the Tri-series, then being poor against India in the tests and the coach being sacked to now seeing our A-team whitewash SL away and our senior team finally win away from home at a major nation for the first time in ten years. And who said cricket was boring aye?

In closing I think if we get the right coaching staff around the team and the selectors use some common sense instead of sticking with the status quo all the time then we can certainly make strides forward. There is actually a lot of talent knocking on the door now so we just have to hope that they make it impossible for them to be ignored any longer by having a strong PCL season.

Is there any truth that Keith barker is going to play for the windies? He would definately get into the team imo

 

[WindieWeathers]

Is there any truth that Keith barker is going to play for the windies? He would definately get into the team imo

He's indicated his willingness to play for WI. And I know for sure the board are aware of this but it seems like they are waiting for Keith to make a move himself and try to play in our first class competition. It's so silly tbh because they should be pro-active in welcoming him into the fold. At least Chesney Hughes is back for Leewards though which is great as he had a very good season for Derbyshire recently.

 

[Black_Warrior]

What's the update on Darren Bravo? Is he going to be out of the test side now?

 

[WindieWeathers]

What's the update on Darren Bravo? Is he going to be out of the test side now?

I'm sure it will be sorted. It's not like he's got tons of t20 offers coming out of his ears like Gayle and co, and of course he's vital to us so I'm sure it will be settled sooner rather than later.