The opening partnership of the West Indies Test team has been a concern over the past years, and with John Campbell’s recent failures, that concern remains.
Lead selector of the West Indies, Roger Harper, has said this opening slot remains a concern, but it was pleasing to see captain Kraigg Brathwaite getting some big scores.
“I think it has been a concern for a while. It was pleasing to see the captain get some big scores, but we need the partnership on the whole to be solid,” Harper disclosed on the recent Mason and Guest Radio programme.
Lead Selector Roger Harper
Against Sri Lanka, Campbell scored 68 runs in four innings at an average of 17. With four carbon copy dismissals, he certainly is under the pump, and a possible axe looms for the Jamaican when South Africa tour the Caribbean later in June.
His Test record is also inferior. After 30 innings, the left-handed Campbell has amassed 640 runs with two half-centuries, at an average of 23.70.
“We were delighted to see Campbell applying himself and being more patient, but we need some more positive returns,” the Guyanese Roger Harper has said.
Asked what is being done to sort out this opening partnership problem, Harper responded: “It is something we are looking at. We are looking at our best options. At the moment, from a red ball perspective, we don’t have enough openers who are knocking down the door in terms of performances.”
It is still uncertain if a Regional 4-Day tournament would be played in 2021 before the South Africans enter the Caribbean, but reflecting on the openers’ performances in the truncated 2020 Regional 4-Day tournament, which seems a life-time ago, axed veteran Devon Smith was the best opening batsman, with 649 runs.
Campbell, playing for the Jamaican Scorpions franchise in the 4-Day tournament, was the next best opener in terms of runs, with 491. Sheyne Mosely scored 490 runs in that last 4-Day tourney, and was rewarded with a spot in the Test side, batting at number three in Bangladesh, where he failed.
Kieran Powell scored 429 runs at 30.6 with three fifties in the last 4-Day tournament. In addition to Powell, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Tevin Imlach and Tagenarine Chanderpaul are also promising openers who have the temperament and showed and played red-ball cricket.
John Campbell and Kraigg Brathwaite
The versatile Trinidadian Joshua Da Silva, who performed exceptionally well in Regional cricket, has shown his ability to bat at the top of the order. His 4-Day stats were superior to most of the Region’s batsmen, when he scored 507 runs at an average of 50.7.
Since making his Test debut in New Zealand, Da Silva has proven his worth, and is also willing to bat at any position the team requires.
For the next Test assignment, it will be interesting to see the selectors’ choice. The likes of Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer are also options that could be considered to open the batting along with captain Kraigg Brathwaite.
