5 young Windies cricketers who should be persisted with

West Indies cricket has been passing through a tough phase for quite some time now. The former world champions have slipped further down the rankings after the retirement of their legendary players like Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

While they are managing decent performances in the T20Is, it is in the Tests that they have been quite poor. The players are lacking the temperament to play the 5-day game.

However, the recent Test win against England comes as a major boost to the West Indies. The younger players came to the fore and helped the team register a famous win. This stands as an evidence to the fact that there's no lack of talent in the team. It's just that they need to be properly groomed and given enough chances to prove their mettle.

Here's a list of 5 cricketers in the current Windies team that need to be persisted with in an attempt to turn them into match winners.

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#5 Shane Dowrich

The young Windies keeper is certainly one for the future. He's talented, brave, and gritty. He made his debut against the Aussies in 2015 but made a name for himself during India's Caribbean tour of 2016.

The wicket-keeper played some gutsy knocks when the team's chips were down. On many occasions on that tour, he had to play with the tail against the likes of Ashwin, Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Dowrich scored a couple of half centuries in that series.

The 25-year-old is even decent with the gloves behind the stumps. He's swift, agile and quite acrobatic in nature. Recently, the little man even scored a brilliant century against Leicestershire in a warm up game.

While Dowrich might take time to get into the ODI XI, he is certainly one to look out for in the future and needs to be groomed properly.

#4 Jermaine Blackwood

Blackwood never backs away from counter attacking the opposition

The Jamaican is an aggressive batsman who's currently featuring in the Test squad. The 25-year-old made his Test debut against New Zealand in 2014 and impressed with a maiden fifty in the same Test.

Blackwood is a strong lad who can clear the ropes at will. The middle order batsman is someone who loves counter attacking the opposition. No matter what the situation, the Jamaican loves playing his shots. He came into the reckoning with his maiden Test hundred against England. Blackwood even played crucial roles in some of West Indies' famous victories.

He has represented the Windies in 24 tests so far and has scored 1309 runs at an average of 33.56. Blackwood will mature and develop his game as the days progress. There's a high possibility that he might change into a match winner if given enough opportunities to play at the top level.

#3 Alzarri Joseph

Alzarri Joseph is a bright prospect in store for the Windies

The Antiguan is a bright prospect in store for the Windies. He was part of the U19 world cup winning team in 2016. The extremely talented tall and lanky fast bowler garnered everyone's gaze during this event. He even impressed some greats such as Andy Roberts, Ian Bishop, and Curtly Ambrose.

Joseph made his Test debut against India and ODI debut against Pakistan in 2016. He can ball at a lively pace and trouble the batsman with the bounce he can generate from his height. Joseph is just 20 years old and has represented the Windies in 6 Tests and 11 ODIs. He has picked up 15 wickets and 18 wickets respectively in those formats thus far.

Coming from a cricketing nation that has a rich heritage of legendary fast bowlers, the quickie can turn out to be a potent weapon in the Windies' armory provided that he's injury free and is given enough chances.

#2 Roston Chase

Roston Chase in turning out to be a fine all-rounder

Roston Chase is turning into a fine all-rounder. The man from Barbados, unlike many others, is someone who gives priority to playing Test cricket for his team. An extremely talented cricketer, Chase made his debut against India in 2016.

He impressed everyone in his 2nd match with bowling figures of 5/121 and a match-saving hundred of 137 with the bat. This made Roston Chase only the fourth West Indian to achieve the credit of taking 5 wickets and scoring a hundred in the same Test.

Later, he went on to score two brilliant hundreds against Pakistan in the UAE. In a Test match career of 12 matches, Chase has scored at an average of 41.42 and has picked up 24 wickets, including a five-wicket haul.

The all-rounder stands tall in the present Windies unit and will definitely evolve into one of their mainstays in the years to come.

#1 Shai Hope

Shai Hope is deemed to be the next big thing in Windies cricket

One of the best moments in the Windies cricket came recently when they defeated England in the Headingley Test. Shai Hope was adjourned the man of the match in that game for his match winning twin centuries. In fact, he turned out to be the first batsman to have scored two centuries in the same Test match at Headingley in its 127-year long first-class cricket history.

Hope is a batsman with quality attributes. He is calm, collected, and has a decent technique. He made his Test debut against England in 2015 and ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2016. The man from Barbados has caught everyone's attention with his talent and is deemed to be the next big thing in Windies cricket.

The 23-year-old certainly has a long way to go in his career and if properly groomed, can prove to be a force to reckon with.