Roach/Holder/Gabriel chemistry crucial for success in Test series – newbie Thomas could be X-Factor

By Clifton Ross

What the West Indies’ lack in batting, they will relish in their bowling department, as the chemistry between their senior pacers could be the X-Factor against England this week when the Test series bowls off in Barbados.
The visitors flexed their muscles in both departments during the recently concluded pair of 2-day tour games; with the senior lot of players warming up nicely with runs and wickets against the Windies President’s XI team.
Although it is unclear whether someone like left-arm pacer Raymon Reifer, who was the best bowler with 4 wickets in total, or even Sunil Ambris, who narrowly missed a ton during the final tour game, could still find his way into the side before the 3-Test ends, the foursome of skipper Jason Holder, Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach and the bustling Oshane Thomas could be the difference between the inexperienced Windies batsmen being exploited by the England bowlers, or the tourists being snuffed out for little.
Likely to make his debut as cover for Alzarri Joseph, Jamaican fast-man Thomas will be used mainly as the Windies battering-ram due to his ability to clock speeds upwards of 154km on a good day. His average speeds of 140 plus will ease some stress from Gabriel and Roach, who usually hover around that mark.
The pacer was flung onto the international scene after roughing up a number of quality batsmen during the 2018 HERO CPL. His limited overs runs with the Windies team have been fruitful to date, but the right-arm quick could be the hosts’ surprise weapon against the English, who are unfamiliar with the 21- year-old.
Holder recently returned from injury which laid him off from the Asian tour of Bangladesh in December 2018, and although he has not stressed himself too much during the ongoing 4-day championships, the all-rounder will be a big player over the next few weeks.
His career 16 wickets from the 6 Tests, with a best of 4-54 against England, is something that Holder will want to improve on, especially having made enormous strides up the rankings as an all-rounder with his runs and 33 wickets last year; while his 2 Test tons and career average of 30 will further play a pivotal role come batting time.
Roach, the leader of the pack, will be tasked with much responsibility, especially having the most experience of his team as well as the most wickets at this level. The Bajan speedster has good home stats, with 106 of his 166 Test wickets coming on Caribbean soil, while his record against England is decent, with 24 wickets against them from just 7 games, with a best of 5-42.
As pack leader, Roach will be gunning to hit his straps immediately; and along with Holder, the pair will look to use all their experience playing at home in Barbados as well as other parts of the region to get the better of Joe Root and his team.
Another big player is Gabriel, who could easily blow away England given his recent form with the Red Ball. Gabriel last played against England back in 2017, but has since matured and gotten faster with better handling of the ball.
Since commencement of 2017, Gabriel snared 71 wickets in just 17 Tests at an average of 23.94, with his record 20-wicket series haul against Sri Lanka and 15 wickets at 18.80 against Pakistan. When Pakistan returned for the Caribbean series, the right-arm speedster bagged 25 wickets at a staggering average of 25.56.
However the Windies real charm could prove to be the chemistry between the three senior pacers, as they have been proven killers of batsmen when unleashed in the same wave. When teamed up with Roach and Holder, Gabriel becomes seemingly more dangerous, and his pace also seems to increase due to the rotation between himself and his two partners.
Selectors drafted two spinners in the side with Jomel Warrican and batting all-rounder Roston Chase being the slow bowling options, but given Reifer being the best bowler after the end of the two tour-games and Windies not having a genuine left-arm seamer in the side who can bat, it is likely that Reifer could be used in place of Warrican should they falter along the way.
Chase will cement his spot given he’s one of the top five Windies batsmen and a key part of their batting cog; which means Warrican, the only pure spinner in the team, could lose his place to a bowler or another batsmen if his returns are unfavourable.
In all, Windies’ 4-pronged pace attack will be tasked with containing the opposition and defending runs for their team. With the Windies just having a few batters to call upon, the bowlers will be the ones to even the playing field when the Test series bowls off from January 23 at the Kensington Oval, Barbados.