West Indies tour of England 2020: SWOT analysis of Windies squad

West Indies have arrived in England for a 3-match Test series which begins on 8th July, 2020. The 3 Tests will be played behind closed doors as part of precautions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The series is a highly anticipated one considering that no international cricket has taken place for more than 3 months. The West Indies team at present is in Manchester where the squad is training for 3 weeks in strict bio-secure measures. In this article, we will attempt to delve into the strengths and weaknesses of the Windies squad in detail.

Here is the West Indies squad for the series: Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamrah Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Chemar Holder, Jason Holder (Captain), Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Raymon Reifer, and Kemar Roach.

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SWOT analysis of West Indies squad

# Strength- A settled bowling unit

Holder will be the key bowler for West Indies in England

The West Indies bowling unit is a settled one and the bowlers have experience of playing Test cricket.

The skipper Jason Holder has picked up 106 wickets in 40 Tests at an average of 26.38. He is a also handy batsman lower down the order and averages a decent 32.72 with 3 Test centuries to his credit which includes a double hundred too.

In 2017, Holder picked up 8 wickets in 3 Tests against England in England. But Holder has improved a lot in the last 3 years and will be one of the key bowlers for West Indies in the Test series.

Kemar Roach is the most experienced bowler in the West Indies squad and has played 56 Tests since his debut in 2009. He has 193 Test wickets to his credit at an average of 27.14 and the years 2018 and 2019 have been excellent for the pacer.

He picked up 19 wickets at an average of 22.32 in 2018 and 27 wickets at an average of 18.07 in 2019 and is the spearhead of the West Indies bowling attack. He has picked up 19 Test wickets in England at an average of 31.68 in 5 Test matches and will be the key for West Indies in the Test series.

Alzarri Joseph made his debut for West Indies in 2016 and, since then, has picked up 25 Test wickets at an average of 32.84. He is a talented young bowler who has been a regular member of the West Indies squad in limited-overs cricket and will look to establish his place in the Test team too.

Roston Chase is a batting all-rounder and his off-spinners are handy at the time. He has 59 Test wickets to his credit out of which 15 are against England. His best bowling figures of 8-60 are against England at Kensington Oval in the year 2019 and he has troubled the English batsmen in the past with his spin.

Rahkeem Cornwall has played 2 Tests till date and has 13 wickets to his credit an average of 22.62. He picked up 10 wickets in his debut Test against India in the year 2019 which included 7 wickets in one innings. He will be the lead spinner for West Indies and will look to impress in the Test series in foreign conditions.

The team has a healthy mix of bowlers with both experience and youth coming together in cohesion.

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# Weakness- Unsettled batting unit

Kraigg Braithwaite will be a key batsman at the top of the order

The West Indies top-order is an unsettled one. The likes of John Campbell and Shamrah Brooks have played 6 and 3 Tests respectively and are yet to play Test cricket in England. England is a difficult place to get used to for batsmen the first time and the duo will need to settle in quickly.

Jermaine Blackwood had an impressive start to his Test career but has struggled to score runs in the last three to four years. He averaged 26 in the year 2016, 24, 50 in the year 2017. He has played just 1 Test in the last 2 years i.e. one in 2019 and will be under pressure to retain his place in the team.

Roston Chase averages 13.33 in 6 Test innings in England and has struggled to score runs in English conditions. Shane Dowrich too has failed to score runs in England and has scored just 24 runs at an average of 4.80 in 6 Test innings in England.

The pressure to score runs will be on the duo of Shai Hope and Kraigg Brathwaite who have performed well in England in the past. The duo will require the other batsmen to score runs and support them for West Indies to put up a challenging total on the board.

The batting unit will have to stay in there long enough for the West Indies bowlers to have any chance of bowling their side to victory.

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# Opportunities- Youngsters to make a mark

Alzarri Joesph will look to establish himself as a Test bowler

The England tour will provide the perfect opportunity for a few youngsters in the West Indies squad to be a regular part of the playing 11.

Alzarri Joseph has played plenty of ODI and T20 cricket and will look to establish his place in the West Indies Test team now. Cornwall, who has had an impressive start to his Test career, will have an opportunity to make a case for himself as the lead spinner for West Indies in Test cricket.

The tour also provides an opportunity for Jermaine Blackwood to re-invent himself as a middle-order batsman in the West Indies Test squad.

The likes of Chemar Holder and Nkrumah Bonner will look to impress the management if and when they get an opportunity to play the Tests.

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# Threats- A challenging English bowling unit:\

Anderson and Broad will be handy in English conditions

The biggest challenge for West Indies in the 3-match Test series will be the English bowling. The England bowling attack is an experienced one comprising James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali, and Ben Stokes. The likes of Sam Curran have tasted success at the Test level, and the dangerous Jofra Archer will be a threat as well.

The West Indian batsmen will have to be cautious at all times, as the English swing bowlers will give them no breathing space especially with the new ball with which they are deadly at home.

The upcoming series promises to be an exciting contest with the hosts being the pre-series favorites. However, if the batting clicks for West Indies, the series will be well-poised. In any case, cricket fans will welcome the return of international cricket after a period of more than 3 months and the matches will be closely followed for certain.