The Caribbeans will be the tournament’s unknown quantity. Sans their top stars, West Indies could be the punching bags.

By Joshua Nath

When two of the top three run-getters in the ICC Champions Trophy tournament so far are West Indians, it must be said that the Caribbean performance has been prolific in this event.

Indeed, the West Indies have amazingly been one of the most consistent teams in the Mini World Cup right from the inaugural edition in 1998 to the latest one in 2006. The Caribbean team stood runners-up in the 1998 and 2006 editions, while every ardent ODI fan will remember the fascinating victory fashioned by tail-enders Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw in the 2004 finals at Lords against England.

However the worrying part for the side in 2009 edition is two of the most prolific run getters in this event up till now – Chris Gayle (695 runs at 57.91) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (587 runs at 53.36) will be missed for non-cricketing reasons.

Thanks to contractual disputes with the West Indies Cricket Board, star players like Gayle, Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Ramnaresh Sarwan and others, the board decided to name a second string 15-member side (that played against Bangladesh in July-August 2009) for the tournament.

The young side is led by a 37-year-old left-handed batsman Floyd Reifer, who is known for having lot of domestic experience and guiding the youngsters. The known faces in this weakened Windies line-up are, vice captain and upcoming all-rounder Darren Sammy, left-handed opener Devon Smith, energetic pacer Tino Best and young top order stroke-player, Andre Fletcher.

STRENGTHS

No pressure: The reason why opponents cannot take the West Indies for granted is the fact that there is no pressure of expectation from this team. This will allow the team to play fearless cricket and that is dangerous.
All-rounders: The crux of the side is made up of genuine all-rounders like Darren Sammy and David Bernard, who will provide stability not only in the bowling department but are also innovative stroke-makers lower down the order.

WEAKNESSES

Lack of experience: For most of the players, their only international exposure was a humiliating loss in the Tests and ODIs to a lower-ranked Bangladesh team. This will haunt the team against superior opponents in South Africa.

Fielding: It’s been a problem for some time now. Dwindling Caribbean fielding standard will have to be top notch in order to compete against much stronger opponents like India, Australia and Pakistan (their Group A opponents). Needless to say, the inspirational Dwayne Bravo will be dearly missed in this division.

No spinners: Not much depth in spin bowling department. The only frontline spinner in their side is slow left-arm orthodox spinner Nikita Miller, who has taken 15 wickets in 17 ODIs so far.

KEEP AN EYE ON

Kemar Roach: The 21-year-old fast bowler from Barbados is West Indies’ strike bowler. With his quick pace coupled with good bouncers, he snapped 13 wickets in the 2 Tests against Bangladesh. He also was the highest wicket-taker (13 wickets) against the same opponents in the 5-match ODI series. His can clock up to high 140s kms without much hassle, and this makes him potentially a difficult customer to face on the bouncy tracks in Johannesburg and Centurion, the venues for the ICC Champions Trophy.

Travis Dowlin – a gritty middle order batsman who likes to anchor the innings and capable of big hitting in the death overs. Dowlin showed his skills with his maiden hundred (100*) against Bangladesh.

Andre Fletcher – Known for his attacking stroke-play in the T20 game, Fletcher is a talented top-order batsman and has the potential of giving the West Indies explosive starts whenever needed. Remember his quickfire 53 against Australia in partnership with Chris Gayle that gave them a near knockout punch in the ICC World T20 in England earlier this year!

Champions Trophy record: Out of the 18 matches played by the West Indies in the Champions Trophy, they have won 12 and lost just 6 giving them the highest success rate of 66 percent (jointly with Sri Lanka) in the event. All said and done, the Windies have enough wherewithals to spring up major surprises in a tournament they have relished playing in the past.

FULL SQUAD: Floyd Reifer (captain), Darren Sammy (vice-captain), Kemar Roach, Royston Crandon, Tino Best, Devon Smith, Travis Dowling, David Bernard, Andre Fletcher, Kevin McClean, Nikita Miller, Keiron Powell, Dale Richards, Chadwick Walton, Gavin Tonge.

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