ADELAIDE, Australia, CMC – West Indies Test head coach Andre Coley said the focus of his side on the Tour of Australia was so far “good,” and they will use their opening match on the trip to start building the good habits they will require for higher intensity tussles later.
The Caribbean side will ramp up preparations for their two-Test series against hosts Australia with a three-day practice match against a young Cricket Australia XI, starting on Wednesday at Karen Rolton Oval.
West Indies sent an inexperienced side on the trip with seven of the 15 members of the squad uncapped in the sport’s most extended format and will be hoping for tremendous success on their second men’s Test tour in close to a year.
Team captain Kraigg Brathwaite is one of only five members of the squad returning to Australia, along with long-standing pacer Kemar Roach, fellow fast bowler (now vice-captain) Alzarri Joseph, wicketkeeper-batsman Joshua Da Silva, and opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who impressed in his maiden series last year.
The most notable absentees from last year are former captain Jason Holder and compatriot fellow all-rounder Kyle Mayers – both opting to pursue T20 franchise opportunities – and emerging fast bowler Jayden Seales, who is sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Also missing from last year’s trip on which West Indies suffered heavy losses in Perth and Adelaide are then vice-captain Jermaine Blackwood, as well as Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, and Devon Thomas.
Coley said a series of training sessions at the ground over the past ten days has helped the players knuckle down, and the more experienced players have been helping the newbies to settle in.
“The (new players) are not strangers,” he said. “They would have played against each other in regional cricket, and recently, the A-Team toured South Africa, and some of those players are here, and the camaraderie has been excellent,” he said.
“I have been very impressed with some of the feedback and nurturing from the senior players, watching them take leadership; for example, Alzarri (Joseph) and Kemar (Roach) have been very good in terms of how they have engaged the younger players and giving their insights about their experiences.”
He added: “Most of the senior players are a part of our leadership group, and we have discussions about how we want to play, and they are all keen on giving input and some guidance to the inexperienced players.
“Everybody wants to do well here, whether they have had the experience of playing here in the past or it is their first trip.
“It has been a good experience watching them get over the jetlag and then get into the work, whatever it has been on a specific day, and the focus has been good.”
The seven newbies – opener Zachary McCaskie, wicketkeeper-batsman Tevin Imlach, all-rounders Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, and Kevin Sinclair, plus pacer Akeem Jordan and Shamar Joseph – are all hoping to make their Test debuts against Patrick Cummins’ side during the trip.
The match does not have first-class status, so both teams can rotate more than 11 players through their line-ups, providing vital exposure for the visitors, whose squad bears little resemblance to the pack that played two Tests Down Under at the end of 2022.
Coley said leaving a lasting impression on the trip will start with them doing the little things right during the tour opener.
“When you think about Test matches, it’s essential that you can bat a day to set up the game from a batting standpoint,” he said. “On the flipside of that, it’s pretty simple for me – if you can get the opposition out before the end of a day’s play, so for me, those are easy markers.
“How we go about it as a batting and bowling group is where it becomes more specific as it relates to the roles and the different skill sets that each player brings to the table, but we are looking to keep it simple, and these are some of the markers that we are looking to get out of the game.”
Coley said he was satisfied with the preparation of the squad going into the match, especially since they arrived before the New Year started, so there are few excuses.
“I am happy with the progress that we have made and how we are transitioning towards the Test match,” he said.
“It has been a gradual adjustment (to the conditions), but at the end of the day, regardless of how the pitch plays and what response we get from the pitch when bowling, each player has to adapt to what is in front of him.
“Sometimes the pitch has little to do with it, as opposed to being locked into what is in front of you. I think we have covered that pretty well in the batting. Similarly, adjusting to bowling lengths and what we want to achieve and the ability to hit specific areas has been good, as well as getting a general feel for how the ball moves around in the atmosphere from a fielding standpoint, we have been able to spend some time on that.”
The first test starts on January 17 in Adelaide, followed by the second at The Gabba, beginning on January 25.
The last time West Indies won a Test series in Australia was in the 1992-93 series when they won 2-1.
Squads:
CRICKET AUSTRALIA XI (from): Peter Handscomb (captain), Jack Clayton, Harry Conway, Jake Doran, Jayden Goodwin, Liam Haskett, Bradley Hope, Jack Nisbet, Liam Scott, Tim Ward, Doug Warren, Teague Wyllie.
WEST INDIES (from): Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Alzarri Joseph (vice-captain), Alick Athanaze, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Joshua DaSilva, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Akeem Jordan, Shamar Joseph, Zachary McCaskie, Kirk McKenzie, Gudakesh Motie, Kemar Roach, Kevin Sinclair.
and then 