Why is Jahmar Hamilton selected ahead of Anthony Bramble?

By Brandon Corlette

No Shai Hope, no Nicholas Pooran, no Shane Dowrich, and yet Anthony Bramble is still not seen as an alternative wicketkeeper to tour Bangladesh.
It is evident that the promising Joshua Da Silva should make both squads, since he scored heavily in the regional Four-Day tournament and the Regional Super50 Cup in the 2019-2020 season. He also scored a Caribbean Premier League (CPL) fifty. To cap it off, Da Silva looked solid on his Test debut with a half-century.
The topic of discussion is Jahmar Hamilton and Anthony Bramble, both

wicketkeeper-batsmen. Hamilton is in the West Indies One-Day International squad that will tour Bangladesh. Bramble and Hamilton have inconsistent List A careers with their batting average in the 20s. Therefore, the yardstick for their selection to a West Indies squad would be based on their First-Class record.
Let us examine Bramble’s First-Class record. In the 2017-18 season, Bramble racked up 613 runs for the Guyana Jaguars. The cricketer, who plays for Albion Cricket Club locally, backed up his aggregate with 42 catches and three stumpings in that memorable season. Averaging 47.15 with the bat, Bramble had one century, a high score of 196*, and four half-centuries.

The right-handed batsman then proved his consistency, following up in the 2018-19 Four-Day season with 580 runs at a stunning average of 52.72. Bramble scored two centuries in that season and again was in top form with the gloves. He accounted for 42 catches and one stumping. After those back-to-back seasons, Bramble earned selection to the West Indies T20 team, but did not play a single match.

In Bramble’s most recent Four-Day season, in 2019-2020, he had promising outings; however, this performance was not as impressive compared to the previous seasons. He scored 339 runs at an average of 26.07, including two half-centuries with a high score of 91, just missing out on a century.
Hamilton has also been in the runs at the Regional Four-Day level, but from 2017-18 to the 2020 season, his numbers were inferior to Bramble’s.
Hamilton’s dream season was in 2016-17 where he scored 648 runs in nine matches at an average of 46.28, including two centuries and two half-centuries. The busy right-handed Hamilton then had an ordinary 2017-18 season, scoring 237 runs in eight matches with only one half-century at an average of 16.92. In 2018-19, Hamilton then scored 385 runs in seven matches at 29.61 with three half-centuries.

The most recent Regional Four-Day season saw Hamilton scoring 372 runs at 28.61 with four fifties. Hamilton has 89 First-Class matches under his belt and 4117 runs at an average of 26.56. He scored six centuries and 24 fifties and has 186 catches and 12 stumpings.
Meanwhile, Bramble played 66 First-Class matches and has 2742 runs at an average of 30.46 with three centuries and 12 fifties with 224 catches and 28 stumpings. The unlucky Bramble was selected for the West Indies T20 squad, but did not play a match, and in the next series, he was left out of the squad. His glovework remains supreme and over the years, his fitness has improved.
West Indies ODI squad to tour Bangladesh: Jason Mohammed (Captain); Sunil Ambris; Nkrumah Bonner; Joshua Da Silva; Jahmar Hamilton; Chemar Holder; Akeal Hosein; Alzarri Joseph; Kyle Mayers; Andre McCarthy; Kjorn Ottley; Rovman Powell; Raymon Reifer; Romario Shepherd and Hayden Walsh Jr.