PRE MATCH ANALYSIS
Follow UsIt is unlikely that one of West Indies or England will go on to make the final of the second cycle of the World Test Championship. As things stand, the former is ranked eighth, below Bangladesh, with 1 win in 6 matches, while the latter is rock bottom having shockingly won a solitary Test in 11 attempts.
But thus far in this series, what has looked even more unlikely is the prospect of one of the two teams getting a result. For a solitary moment in Barbados England looked like they might go on and do the unthinkable, but as it turned out they barely came close, dismissing only half the Windies side. Two Tests. Two dead wickets. Two draws.
The players have been vocal in expressing displeasure over the benign nature of the wickets. Especially the hosts.
After spending 150 overs on the field in the first innings of the second Test, Kemar Roach said that "there’s no enjoyment for fast bowling anymore" in the Caribbean. Even the man who seemed to enjoy the conditions, Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite, who faced a mind-boggling 673 balls in the Test, hoped for the third Test wicket to offer more for the pacers.
“Let’s hope in Grenada we can get some more assistance for the pacers,” Brathwaite said, after helping his team avoid defeat.
It remains to be seen, then, if the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada, a venue which last hosted a Test seven years ago, provides a wicket capable of producing a finale that’d make both the players and the fans happy.
One assumes that it would be England who would once again be the keener of the two sides to win. Certainly, thus far, they’ve been the more aggressive team, having pushed twice for an unlikely win, albeit unsuccessfully. The scoring rate of the two sides — 3.6 for England and 2.2 for West Indies — itself speaks volumes.
Whether they have the ammo with the ball to topple the defiant hosts is what remains to be seen. All their bowlers had a borderline-cruel workload in Barbados, and with Ollie Robinson having failed to clear the fitness Test, the inexperienced bowling unit will have its task cut out, especially with the turnaround being quick.
It is, nevertheless, a golden opportunity for all those who play. For some, like Chris Woakes, the Grenada encounter is perhaps one final chance at salvation. For others, like Saqib Mahmood, it is an opportunity to further enhance their reputation.
Alex Lees needs a big score for his own sake
Drafted into the side as a part of the ‘red-ball reset’, Alex Lees has been provided with quite the welcome. Two tosses won on two docile wickets against a struggling team in a series holding not too much consequence. A dream scenario for any batter making his way into the Test side.
The southpaw, however, has already blown multiple golden opportunities. Particularly in the first innings, where he’s managed scores of 4 and 30 on wickets in which the bowlers have found it impossible to outwit the batters.
The polar opposite of what you call a free-stroking batter — underlined by his strike rate of 27.70 — Lees has so far struggled against the ball coming into him, whether it be seam or spin.
He’s been twice set-up and trapped in front by the excellent Roach, and he’s struggled monumentally against the left-arm spin of Veerasammy Permaul, managing 10 runs of 48 balls at an average of 5.00. The Durham man has simply not found his footing despite the odds being stacked in his favor.
Lees can rest assured that he will keep his place in the starting XI even if he fails twice in Granada, but having been picked ahead of the likes of Sibley and Burns — both of whom possess significantly better recent first-class numbers — the 28-year-old will certainly start to feel the heat sooner or later. A big score or a promising knock is what he needs, to prove to the world — and most importantly himself — that he belongs at this level.
Because if there’s one thing we know, it’s that England openers post Strauss have dropped like flies. The last thing Lees would want is to go the Stoneman, Carberry, Robson and Lyth way.
Should Kyle Mayers get a look in for the Windies?
As many as four Windies players have averaged over 35 thus far this series — Brathwaite (101.33), Bonner (57.66), Joshua da Silva (47.50) and Blackwood (35.50) — and it is one of the things that’s been key to them keeping the visitors at bay. There have, however, been a couple of non-performers, both of whom have been passengers in the Test side for a concerningly long time.
Shamarh Brooks (16.50) and John Campbell (17.75) have averaged under 20 in this series, but it’s been quite some time since either of them made a worthwhile contribution. While Brooks is averaging 14.50 across his last 10 innings in Test cricket, Campbell has averaged 19.66 across his last 22 knocks. The southpaw, in fact, now averages 22.93 in Tests after 17 games.
With the series on the line, it makes one wonder whether the management will potentially be looking at drafting-in Kyle Mayers.
After a dream start to his Test career, the southpaw fell off a cliff as he averaged 15.81 in a stretch of twelve innings, that included a hat-trick of ducks. But Mayers has shown that he does possess the x-factor, something that the hosts are desperately in need of heading into the decider. Additionally, as a bonus, Mayers will also provide Brathwaite with an extra seam-bowling option. He’s happened to be the man with the golden arm too — in 10 Tests he’s taken 13 wickets at 25.15 a piece, breaking many a crucial stand.
The big question is who makes way for him. Campbell has been a perennial underperformer and the management ideally shouldn’t think twice to drop him, but Mayers has only opened the batting in first-class cricket once previously, against New Zealand ‘A’ in 2020 (he scored 19). Hence, asking him to open and exposing him to the new ball might not be the shrewdest of ideas.
Mayers coming into the side for Brooks makes more sense. The Windies middle-order, currently, is filled with right-handers and right-handers only, and Mayer could be used to potentially counter the threat of Jack Leach, who is currently the highest wicket-taker in the series and has also strangled the WI batters, maintaining a scarcely believable ER of 1.72. Mayers loves facing left-arm orthodox, and has averaged 76.5 against SLA bowlers. It is worth remembering that the southpaw has already played Tests in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, hence these numbers are not misleading.
Whether they like it or not, the Windies might have to gamble in order to push for a result.
