West Indies - Lessons from the ICC Champions Trophy 2013

Kemar Roach of the West Indies bowls during the ICC Champions Trophy group B match between West Indies and Pakistan at The Oval on June 7, 2013 in London, England. (Getty Images)

Dwayne Bravo has been given the charge of this promising West Indian side and he looked the part as a leader. Some of his field placements were innovative and he was pro-active, which is a great quality in a captain. However, he needs to learn to lead from the front. He is a batsman who can hit the ball in the lower-middle order, not with the brutal power of MS Dhoni but with a similar effect, whereas he is handy as a bowler in the middle overs with his variations and quick wit.

He must be aware of these aspects of his own game but it did not seem to be the case in England. He did not utilise himself according to the limitations of his game. He pushed himself up the order at one-down where he struggled against the moving ball and then, he under-bowled himself. Under such circumstances, it is the job of the coach to step in and suggest the captain the way forward.

The West Indian bowling has a bit of spark to it. They have committed a small blunder by not including Jason Holder in the 13-man squad for the triangular series but that might be corrected sooner than later. Narine is a top bowler, whose skill goes far beyond the element of novelty whereas Kemar Roach should develop into an intelligent bowler with time.

Roach has all the raw-materials to become a top fast bowler in international cricket but he needs the experience of bowling to top batsmen and back-up advice from coaching staff to develop methods of counter-attacking. He needs to bowl to his fields and read the batsman’s mind as he negotiates him. A bouncer can be a wicket taking delivery but it is also effective when used to push the batsman to the back-foot so you can follow it up with a full length delivery.

The upcoming tri-series will be a quality test of this West Indian side. They will be playing against two sub-continent sides, who have an exceptional batting line-up and a quality bowling attack. West Indies will enjoy the comfort of home conditions and that should encourage them to go for nothing less than a triumph. They have the ability, all they need to do is nourish it and execute it better.