Chase set sights on building stocks in challenging UK conditions

By Brandon Corlette

West Indies all-rounder Roston Chase is seeking to build his stocks and rise in the rankings against England in challenging conditions.

In his virtual press conference on Saturday, Chase disclosed that he is willing to play whatever role the team requires him to play. With Rahkeem Cornwall being the other spin option in the West Indies squad, Chase will certainly have a huge role to play.

With UK conditions favouring the seamers, Chase may be pipped to play as the lone spin option in the team, and he is likely to bowl more.
Bowling against England has not been an issue for Chase. In a Test match against the same opponent, Chase grabbed eight wickets in an innings in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Sharing his sentiments on the role he is expected to play with the ball alongside the four-pronged pace attack, Chase had this to say: “Yea, I am willing to do what it takes for my team, for us, to be successful. The last time we came to England, it’s something I had to do a bit, so it’s not new to me. I am looking forward for that challenge if it presents itself, if we go with a four-pronged pace attack, but if not, I’ll still contribute.”

Speaking on the significance of this tour, Chase said he believes that once you do well on this tour, your stock as a cricketer rises on the International scene.
“I am always looking to do well in England, just to take up your rankings in World Cricket,” Chase posited.
The 28-year-old, who has played in 32 Tests, described his Test match against England, wherein he took eight wickets, as the best he played.
“It was a great series that we won 2-1. It was the start of something good. We wanted to go 3-0, but it’s good to look back on that and have this ongoing in the series,” he said.
Chase believes that this West Indies bowling attack is one of the better line-ups in World Cricket, so England will have something to think about.
A Barbadian, Chase has no problem with Cornwall, who hails from Antigua and Barbuda, being the number one spinner in the squad; he says that once the team is moving in the right direction, that is priority.
Chase has had experience playing in England, and has since developed into a fine batting all-rounder. With the absence of Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer, Chase is uncertain about his batting position in this series.
Reflecting on his batting performance against England in the Caribbean, where he scored 160 runs, Chase countered the Englishmen with his strengths. “The England attack is a world class attack, so patience is key. You can look to dominate, but you have to try wear them down.”
The men in maroon are set to play two practice matches, and Chase believes the team has to take this as seriously as possible, since this is the only preparation outside of net training. With the ball swinging more in the UK, Chase believes that playing late is an essential asset.
“In England, you have to stay more side-on as a batsman,” he said.
Speaking of stocks, Chase has 1695 Test runs at an average of 31.3. He has five Test centuries and seven half-centuries. In the bowling department, the tall off-spinner took his 59 scalps at an average of 42. His best bowling figure is 8-60, which includes the two five-wicket hauls at this level. He is currently ranked 50 with the bat in Tests and 33 with the ball in the longest format. This middle order batsman, in a home series against India, bowled more overs than anyone else in India’s only innings, to finish with figures of 5 for 121; and he batted through all of the fifth day to score an unbeaten 137 and lead his side to an improbable draw.
In only his second Test, Chase had become only the fourth West Indian, after Denis Atkinson, Collie Smith and Sir Garfield Sobers, to take a five-wicket haul and score a hundred in the same Test match.