England vs West Indies 1st Test: SWOT Analysis of both teams

After a long gap of nearly four months, international cricket is set to make a comeback through the much-awaited Test series between old rivals England and West Indies.

The first Test, which is due to start at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on July 8, will see Ben Stokes captain the England side for the first time. That is because of the absence of regular captain Joe Root who made himself unavailable in order to be with his family for the birth of his second child.

In this article, let us have a look at the SWOT analysis of the squads of West Indies and England ahead of the first Test.

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West Indies

Strengths:

Kemar Roach will spearhead the pace bowling attack of West Indies in the Test series against England.

While they are nothing like the famed fearsome West Indian quartet of the 1970s and 80s, the current West Indian pace quartet of Jason Holder, Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph has enjoyed considerable success in Tests since January 2018.

Though Holder might be the one with the best numbers in the last two years among the four, Roach is the spearhead of the West Indian pace attack. He returned to the national team the last time West Indies toured England in the summer of 2017. In 19 Test matches since then, he has picked up 71 wickets at an average of 21.82 and a superb strike rate of 45.7.

Weaknesses:

Kraigg Brathwaite has had dismal returns with the bat in the recent past.

The top order's agonising returns with the bat is the biggest concern for the West Indian team's think tank right now. In Tests since January 2018, the top four batsmen have cumulatively averaged a meagre 21.23, which is the lowest among the top ten Test-playing nations.

In fact, the batsmen playing at positions 5-8 have fared much better for West Indies in the same period, averaging 30.79 with the bat, which makes the difference of 9.56 between the top four and next four the highest for a team since 2018.

Opportunities:

Shane Dowrich will be looking to continue his good work in the West Indies middle-order.

In stark contrast to their top order, West Indies' middle order has done reasonably well. In fact, West Indies' two leading run-getters in Tests since January 2018 are Shane Dowrich (720 runs) and skipper Jason Holder (680 runs), who predominantly bat at number six or below.

The duo are the only two West Indies batsmen averaging over 30 (10+ innings) in this period. Against England, Dowrich and Holder will look to make big returns with the bat once again.

Threats:

As if the torrid form of West Indies' opening batsmen Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell before the COVID-19 pandemic wasn't bad enough, they have also looked extremely rusty in the warm-up games as well.

John Campbell had returns of 0, 49, and 4 in the three innings that he played in the warm-up games before the Test series.

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England

Strengths:

James Anderson bowled Kraigg Brathwaite using a banana in-swinger in an earlier series between the two teams.

England's seamers, just like their West Indian counterparts, form the strongest link of their team.

The pace attack is spearheaded by veteran James Anderson, who has been especially lethal in England in the last four seasons, taking 102 wickets from 21 Tests at 15.84 and a wicket every 39.7 balls.

Anderson also possesses a very good record against West Indies, particularly in the last decade, and has had the upper hand against many of their top order batsmen. Against Kraigg Brathwaite, Anderson averages 16 and has dismissed him seven times. He has also had the better of Shai Hope on four occasions and Roston Chase thrice.

Stuart Broad has had a particularly good record against West Indies' best Test batsmen in the recent past - Shane Dowrich and Jason Holder - dismissing them three times apiece.

Weaknesses:

Dom Bess will be looking to cement his spot as England's Test spinner ahead of Jack Leach and Moeen Ali.

England are not a team that relies heavily on its spin-bowling attack, especially at home.

However, in the case of the pace bowlers failing to get the breakthroughs, the onus will fall on the inexperienced Dominic Bess, who has only played four Tests till date.

Bess will also have to shoulder the responsibility of supporting the pacemen and keep things tight at his end. England may also feel the absence of Joe Root's more than useful offbreaks in the first Test.

Opportunities:

Ben Stokes will be captaining England in Southampton for the first time in a Test match. It will be a litmus test of Ben Stokes' temperament to captain the side in the absence of regular captain Joe Root.

If he takes some good decisions on the field and leads his side to a victory, it will gain him some brownie points in the eyes of both selectors and fans.

It will also possibly improve his chances of becoming the limited-overs captain in case Eoin Morgan, who is approaching 34 years of age, decides to hang up his boots.

Threats:

England's expected top-four of Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley and Joe Denly lacks experience at the top level, having just 39 Tests among them.

Sibley and Crawley have not yet played at home in the Test level while in the six home Tests last year, Burns and Denly respectively averaged 33.50 and 28.75.

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Cricket fans around the world will be hoping to see the classical form of cricket return in style after a gap of nearly four months. It will be interesting to see the brand of cricket both sides play in this three-match Test series that starts on July 8.